Jordan Family 4th!

When I was a kid I remember a few occasional BBQ's on the 4th at my Aunts and Uncles with some fireworks, it was safe, sane and fun. When I grew up, got married and we started our careers as Property Managers we spent the 4th with hoses on the front lawn of the property's we worked at. No seriously, one of our last ones in Auburn back in 2004 James put out a lawn fire from a firework for a neighbor, he was outside and we had set out sprinklers it was a very hot year and most of the lawn was dead already so we just wet everything down when some boneheads (its a family blog have to keep it clean) drove by and shot fireworks out the window of their car. Catching the lawn on fire of a elderly family across the street. Needless to say it was not our favorite time of year. Loved the meaning, just not how it had become so.....flammable and a drink/drunk fest. Not to mention its the 4th and rent was due on the 5th......most people in our neighborhood would spend money usually some if not all of there rent on fireworks. Lovely.

So with these fond ;) memories we set out to make sure the 4th for our family was fun and we honor the holiday as a family in our own way. With our SPD kiddos that means for now quietly! Some children (and people of all ages) with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) are unable to be around loud noises. In some cases it isn't even a noise as loud as a firework. My oldest son Wyatt is very sensitive to noises like fans, vacuums, and alarms. In Wyatts case most of the time its from sounds that he can not *SEE* a reason or the source. So a fan in a ceiling of a public restroom or a loud unusual car or motorcycle, especially alarms. So the fireworks while we have been preparing them for tonight are just another loud noise. Wyatt's learning coping techniques which is helping a lot so I am really happy with the progress he is making. But not to push our luck we planned a fun family 4th at home.

This year we ran some errands and made sure to be home before dinner. We are dog sitting my Dads dog, since we are having a quiet holiday it was the best place for him to be while my Dad is away at work for the night. We had planned to get the boys sand table/box going in the grass out front while we BBQ'd but with the rain we moved it to the back porch.We fired up the BBQ.....then about 10 minutes later realized we had no propane. Plan B, baked chicken, corn on the cob. Turned out good! :)

No fireworks in this house (maybe someday who knows) so Wyatt went with Dad to pick out some glow sticks earlier today. A lot of fun bright colors and a little imagination make for a fun show! We also placed a box fan in the boys room for more white noise, so far seams to work for Wyatt who is out like a light exhausted from a fun day. Poor Nash had a unplanned nap (tried to keep him up with hopes he would sleep fast and hard like Wyatt is but no luck) so we will see how it goes. The fireworks are in full swing near our house so wish us luck.

Happy Independence Day. I hope your family is having a fun and safe holiday!

*** To get the firework effect with a camera change your settings off AUTO and to P, S, or A . You dont need to know how to do these settings. Experiment with changing them to see what works. The idea is to hold the shutter open long enough to capture the movement of the light sticks. Tell the kids, or people in your pictures to hold everything but the light sticks and hands very still. That way you capture the movement of the hands and light and not of body's or heads. You as the photographer will also have to hold the camera very still, a tip for that is to hold your breath when you take the photo. The kids love going back and looking at the "firework" photos. We did these in a dark bedroom but you can also do them in a hallway or bathroom and get the same effect. Have fun!! ***