It’s become a yearly ritual ’round these here parts to celebrate July 4th…well, on July 3rd. Yes, you read that right. We do the fireworks, the picnic with friends, the hanging out in the heat all a day early.
Why do we do this?  No, it’s not because my husband’s an Aggie. It’s all Addison’s fault. Years ago, the small town Addison began a tradition of celebrating Independence Day on July 3. The celebration is called Kaboom-town and includes a full street festival in the central district with arts and crafts and food and music and live entertainment and all the things that make a fun time. But when it started, there were very few houses in Addison. Mostly it was a commercial/business district with lots of restaurants, shopping and office complexes. So in order not to compete with the surrounding cities and towns, Addison held their festival a day early, allowing residents to attend their hometown celebrations on July 4.
We began going to Kaboom-town before we were even married. We used to go with my parents…until my dad passed away and it just wasn’t fun for my mom. Then we took a few years to go by ourselves or with friends…until they changed churches and we lost contact with them. So for the past few years we’ve been getting together with our good friends the Stueves for a joint Independence Day celebration at “our” location in Addison.
Of course, no good celebration goes without cookies, so we made and decorated our own in unique styles:
While we bring cookies, Jon brings his awesome hat:
We get there early so we can pick a prime viewing spot, and so we can hang with our friends. The boys hang out together…
The girls hang out together…
And the old married couple hangs out together:
We eat our fill of picnic fare and yummy treats, we wave to the biker groups that parade up and down Midway Road, we watch the historic aircraft fly overhead. And as the sun begins to set, we gear up for glow-stick fun.
We bring our own so we’re not limited on our creativity. Sometimes our creations require a little bit of assistance…
But when they’re finished, there’s so much that can be done with them. They can be used as a hat:
or, if you prefer, a beanie:
Perhaps you’d prefer to use yours as a yo-yo:
Or maybe you’d just rather have a ball to play with:
Whatever you choose, it’s guaranteed to be fun! And all too soon, it’s time for the main event: the fireworks! We always listen to the simulcast on the radio and enjoy the unique displays every year. It’s a great tradition, and a super way to celebrate all the great things about America!