Thursday, July 08, 2010

Fourth of July

We had such an amazing Fourth of July!
Nate had a four day weekend, which was wonderful ... and we were able to relax and just enjoy being a family.
In the afternoon, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the beach to swim. It was in the 90s and the sand at Silver Beach was so hot, you could literally burn your feet in it! Gabe couldn't play soccer without putting his flip flops on!
After lunch, I took the kids home to nap while Nate stayed at the beach and got in a few games of sand volleyball. Once home, I started cooking dinner. I made a really yummy sandwich on a loaf of crusty bread that included zucchini, artichokes, cannellini beans, prosciutto, olives and parmesan cheese ... there were also tomatoes stuffed with goat cheese and the good American standbys ... macaroni salad (with TONS of hard-boiled eggs) and grape soda.
That night, we biked down to the beach yet again, with our dinner in backpacks, and picnicked with thousands of others on Silver Beach. It was a GORGEOUS night. Fireworks didn't go off until 10:45 p.m. so we killed time by eating, swimming, playing catch, and setting off sparklers. Rhy was so excited for the fireworks, she kept yelling "KABOOM!" at the top of her lungs. Really, I think she was just trying to stay awake, because as soon as the show ended and we put her in the seat attached to my bike, she was out like a light!


This is a picture of the crowd, but you really have to multiply it times four (at least) to get an idea of the sea of people all around us.


My boys!


We set up our dinner in the sand and wait for the fireworks.


Smooches for my sweetie girl.


The tradition at the beach, is that people dig out "chairs" in the sand, and then recline in them to watch the fireworks. When everyone leaves, it looks like a bunch of ginormous sand crabs have been hard at work on Silver Beach. Here, my boys are creating their "chairs."


Asher and his sparkler. He LOVED them!


Gabe and Ash both pretended their sparklers were magic wands, and kept shouting "Alohomora!" and "Expeliarmus!" at each other, a la Harry Potter.


Daddy helps Rhy light and hold her sparkler.


Lighting up the sparklers.


A blurry shot, but I love this hazy photo of my boys.


Gabe with his sparkler.


Another blurry shot, as it was getting quite dark, but you can see how much they're enjoying themselves!


The blurriest of all blurry shots, but I just LOVE how the beach looks late at night, with the lights of all the boats twinkling on the water as they wait for the fireworks. Just beautiful!!

2 comments:

DawnK said...

It doesn't get cold there, as the sun goes down? We always end up with sweaters and blankets, by the time the fireworks start, at 9:30pm in Sheboygan! LOL! This year, wind was off the lake, so it was pretty chilly!

Looks like you all had a great day! Your food sounds delicious, too!

Katrina said...

Not to chilly, no! :) I think I was the only one who put on a thin, long sleeved shirt over my bathing suit. And the water was like a bathtub!