Chicago-area children celebrate Independence Day with sparklers, bubbles and ice-cold lemonade. “This is one of my favorite holidays because we enjoy celebrating with everyone else,” said Maryam Hussain (extreme left), 9 of Villa Park. Here she enjoys red-white-and-blue cupcakes with her cousins, Gibran Ali, Hafsah Asjad and Yusuf Rasul in the backyard on a bright, sunny afternoon. “It is a family tradition to take our camping chairs, coolers (and bug spray) and go watch the fireworks together in a different town each year,” she added.