Ahhhh (sigh) the 4th of July! Beautiful weather, lots of color, sand in our toes, fish to catch and kiss, family, laughing children, paddle boards, paddle boat, amazing fireworks from the front yard, refreshing lake, good food, and the list goes on. It was like a dream.
What did I imagine for this backyard and space? The above describes it all. When our house was suggested as a place to have all the family over for the 4th, I was all in.......except when just a few weeks prior we had no grass, hard as a rock sand, and ZERO landscaping. That in and of itself was freaking me out! But, just in the nick of time, it was 95% finished for the holiday.
Not to mention the sand toys and everybody's red, white, and blue attire, made for a photographer's dream. Although I can never quite capture everything but that's a good thing..... because I want to be IN on the action not always behind the lens.
Austin loved catching fish! This was probably the first time we have really tried to fish on the lake and the fish couldn't help but bite as soon as the lure hit the water.
No fish could return to the water without a kiss first
Uncle Gary let Austin help reel in some more!
Baby Grace is still a huge hit with Austin. He talks about her and Jackie all the time.
One Grandma and her granddaughter after another
I can't believe how blonde Ava is becoming this summer.
Austin and Jackie never seemed to separate once they started playing together.
Fourth of July is never complete until the Bomb pops are broken out!
Aunt Fran was more than happy to sit in the sand under the umbrella and watch the children play.
We seem to be getting better at getting family pictures this summer.
I think this successful 4th of July put us in the running to let this be our holiday that we host for years to come. I couldn't have been happier with how it turned out. My family makes it easy. They come ready for anything and leave the house just as clean as it was before they came.....likely cleaner! I'm thinking we should just do it again before the summer is over regardless if it's a holiday or not. We are lucky to have a family that wants to spend time with each other and make it so effortless. The only thing missing was the staple of us all, Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Don. We know they are watching us and smiling as they do, but we always wish they were with us to join in on the fun.
The day ended with awesome neighborhood fireworks. Jason volunteered to help light them off, so a few neighbors and I watched them from the front yard. I was kinda nervous for Jason to come home missing a finger or two, but thankfully he went to bed with all ten!
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