July 4 gave our son an extra day to be with his children. The three oldest went with him to a theater to see the new Minions movie. Due in part to the Covid pandemic, it was the first time the five-year-old had seen a movie in a theater. It was interesting when I asked the 11-year-old how the movie was he responded by saying that he enjoyed the movie, but that it was pretty much the same plot as previous Minion movies. “Gru tries to be a supervillain, but he ends up being mostly a good guy.”

I’m sure that I would have been welcome to join them for the movie, but I’m happy to have let it be their experience with their father. Movies aren’t really my favorite form of entertainment and I haven’t become a fan of the tiny yellow creatures in overalls. I read that movie theaters are having problems with groups of teenagers dressing up as minions and causing problems with rowdy behavior during the movie. Our grandchildren didn’t experience any problems with minions in suits at their viewing.

While they watched the movie, I helped with some of the mowing at the farm. The grass has been so long that we have been picking up some of it with a lawn sweeper pulled behind the riding mower. The place where we dump it is getting to be a big pile and after each load is dumped, I use a pitchfork to make the pile higher and keep it from spreading out too much. It is a good workout for me. I get to ride the mower for a while and do the manual labor of pitching hay for a short time than go back to driving the mower.

After supper, the family came over to our house for fresh strawberry pie. The strawberries are great and very flavorful this year and the red berries in an open-face pie make for a really attractive dessert. We topped it with a scoop of ice cream. Our granddaughter ran out into the yard and picked fresh cherries to top each piece of pie. Having cherry trees in our back yard is a real treat. One has loads of ripe berries on it. We’ve already picked buckets full of cherries and there are a lot more to be picked. I haven’t yet put up a ladder, so the high branches are full of ripe berries.

After dessert it was time to head out to watch the fireworks. Our neighborhood was filled with people firing off their own fireworks. Susan and I had walked along the beach earlier in the day and we were impressed by all of the people. Our little area was packed full of people waiting for it to get dark. There were bonfires and picnics up and down the shoreline. Instead of heading to that location, however, we drove into the town of Blaine, a few miles away, to watch a professional firework show. We weren’t disappointed. We rode with our son and the three oldest grandchildren while the baby and their mother stayed at their house for some quiet time together.

“The best place to watch the fireworks will be the place with the most people,” declared our grandson as he led us towards the area of the park where there were a couple of food trucks parked. We found a space to set up our chairs and blankets in the middle of the small town crowd. There were a lot of people, but Blaine isn’t one of the major urban areas. Even with folks like us coming from all around the area, there was plenty of room.

As we waited for the fireworks to start, I was impressed with the line of people waiting to purchase mini donuts from a nearby food trailer. The line stretched across the park. Filled with fresh strawberry pie, I had no need for mini donuts. I think that even if I had been filled with cravings for donuts, I would not have been willing to endure the line. I’m not much for waiting in line in the first place. The food trailer was taking about a minute for each customer. At one point I counted more than 120 people waiting in line. That means that the folks at the end fo the line would have to wait two hours before being served. Sitting on our camp chairs on the lawn watching the fireworks was far more pleasant than standing in line.

The fireworks show was very respectable for a small town. I’ve seen bigger shows and I’ve watched a few choreographed to music, and it wasn’t the largest display that I’ve ever seen. After all, we saw some impressive shows at Mt. Rushmore before the combination of bark beetles and drought left the forest too fire prone for the show. Last night’s show, however, was just right for our mood and the ages of our grandchildren. Most fireworks shows end with a big volley of multiple bursts going off at the same time. This show had three such displays. I thought that the first one was probably the end of the show and was feeling a little disappointed that the show had been so brief. However, after that volley, the show continued and there were two more big volleys like that one before the show finally ended.

The happy crowd headed out of the park. Our car was a few blocks away, so we joined the crowd. The city had a couple of police officers directing traffic at some of the street crossings, so it was easy to make a safe walk back to the car. There were some portable toilets along the street, which made a convenient stop for children who had enjoyed a few more snacks and beverages after supper than usual.

The children were asleep before the car reached our house to drop us off. I suspect that our son had to make a couple of trips carrying sleeping children up to their beds after they got to the farm.

It was just the right size of a celebration for our family this year. I hope you found ways to celebrate the holiday that were meaningful, safe and fun.