The Fourth.

I love celebrating the Fourth of July.  It's the perfect holiday.  No work, stress, or gifts.  Plenty of sunshine, family, and fun.  There is just so much to celebrate and be thankful for! As usual, I spent the weekend at my parents' cottage.  It's a short 15 minute drive North of the little town we live in, so it has made for the perfect getaway place for my family since I was 10 years old.  I consider it my own personal little heaven on earth, sometimes.

The day started off with a few laughs.  We put the boat in 150 yards from our shore... but it didn't start. So Brad, Brian, and Josh swam it to our shore to get it working.  

Smoke Bomb.

Slayton Lake's very own "Nessy"

 Brad and his friend, Nick, building a sand fort.  Can you see the bottle rockets sticking out of the sand?  They are aiming in every direction.  I think it's pretty hilarious how much boys love blowing stuff up.  It just isn't something I enjoy, but my goodness the boys enjoyed it all. day. long.  After several near heart attacks, the ladies on the beach requested that after the lighting of any explosive, the boys yell, "FIRE IN THE HOLE!". They obliged, and our hearts were able to calm down a bit.

I really enjoyed taking pictures.  I think that photography is something I could really enjoy! 

The prettiest girl I know.

Sweet Summer Sunsets

Katie was taking this picture, and, well, I wasn't ready. and I was making a funny face.  Mostly I just love how you can tell my Mom is laughing in this photo. 

Buddy didn't like the guys fishing behind me.  Neither did I.  I think it's because they called him a rat dog and said something flirtatious like, "He must think we're cute."  Um, no, fisher man.  He doesn't think you're cute, and neither do I.  Dogs don't bark at things they think are cute, they lick or hump them.  I rescued him from the evil fish-killers just as Josh was returning to the beach.  The flirtatious "quips" and barking from our very own protector stopped at his arrival. Ha.

Little Miss Katie has quite the eye for photography herself!  The next four pictures were taken by her.

We purchased several of these lanterns.  These are the type of fireworks I love.  They slowly blow up and magically float across the sky until you can't see them anywhere.  Delightful.  

This one was shaped like a big, red, heart.  Mom, Kyrie, Katie, and myself released this one together.  

A fountain of sparks.

What animal do you see?

A Giant Sparkly Octopus, of course!

We then decided to re-enact the final battle scene at Hogwarts.  

Unfortunately, Voldy is just off to the left of these pictures.  It's really too bad we missed getting a picture of him.  Now no one will believe us!

Little Miss Katie.

It was such a beautiful weekend and I had so much fun resting and relaxing with my family!  We live in such a beautiful, free country.  It was our last Fourth of July in the States for a few years, so we really tried to make sure it was a memorable occasion!