Suzy with the kids Bubble Time! Cole is having a good time The kids are lining up for access to the toys. The water pistols were a surprising hit with the "adults". Bubbles! It wouldn't be a proper summer BBQ without a nicely carved fruit basket. No more water! Graeme manages to overcome his fear of animals to pat the cat. Musket Maintenance. Cole's parents, Sylvie and Nick. Graeme has discovered the foam disc gun. Water vs. Foam Discs. He's such a boy. Bubbles and water make a good party. The flagstone at the rear of the property contains a neat geode. Cole is manning the BBQ. Boys and their toys. Nick and Graeme face off with the foam disc launchers. I like this one because the four kids are lined up in a row. Quiet family time. Yup, it's Canada Day. Having a raised garden surrounding your yard makes for convenient seating. With the right theme music, this pose could be from a movie. And then the photograher was shot. I thought the three girls lined up with their burgers was cute. In how many houses are swords so mundane that they get used as clip holders? I'm picturing him with a shovel in his hands... Mayhem continues. Soaking someone's bum with water pistols is fun for little kids. er... big kids. Chicken race time! Graeme gets in on that! Okay, that's just scary. Toby. Alison and Ken. Graeme showing off his bubble toys. The sparklers are coming out! Cole is distributing to the kids. Graeme is wondering if he should get in on this. What is Daddy doing? No, I *don't* want to hold it. Thanks Dad. That's a cute look... ...as is that. Ah, the fireworks begin. I've included a lot of shots because... ...I was experimenting with exposure times, etc. A 1.6 second exposure. Some fireworks require different exposures than others. I didn't get many shots of bursts because (a) there weren't many with bursts, and... ...(b) I didn't know which ones would have bursts, so the camera wasn't usually pointed in the right direction. The long exposure makes it seem a lot brighter than it really is. Sparklers Nice spark shower! Handing out sparklers. Graeme is entranced. This shot of Suzy and their (just arrived from Mexico) boarder Anna is one of my favs. from the fireworks set. It looks like sparks on a string. A bright one. A long exposure / sparkler shot. Two groups launching at the same time. Cole and Suzy are sitting back, watching the show. The wind really whipped up the dust, combined with the smoke. Nice silhouette.. A spiral I like this one because of how it lit up the ground. A nice, colourful, spark shower. The wind makes for some neat effects. Notice the guy in the background running away after lighting his fireworks.