Happy 232nd Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, America!

The lake near our house is one of my most favorite places on earth. I love it there. I could spend all day on the lake and be in complete bliss. I'm lucky that my family feels the same way. Since we were sticking close to home this year for the 4th, we decided to spend it on the lake, swimming and boating. They also shoot fireworks off of an island in the middle of the lake at night, and the best seats in the house (or lake!) are on a boat in the water. Kirk was a little hesitant about getting off the lake after fireworks were over with all the millions of other people trying to get off the lake, but he decided to indulge me.

So we wake up Friday morning, to find the weatherman calling for rain. What? It can't rain on the 4th of July! That has to be unconstitutional!! So, we spend half the morning doing the "what-do-you-want-to-do?" "No-what-do-you-want-to-do?" thing, and finally decided to go ahead and try the lake. If it rains, it rains.

We got to the beach in the early afternoon and let the kids play in the sand and swim until dinner time. It started to sprinkle once or twice, but that was it. So glad we decided to go ahead and go. It was beautiful out there. After the kids were satisfied with the swim, we decided to head out on the water.

Yup, those are my feet playing in the sand at the beach. None of my boys at the moment sport pink toenail polish!!

We put the boat in at a boat ramp that is pretty far away. The idea being, maybe it won't be as busy when it is time to get off the lake. After putting in, we cruised around the lake for a little bit, ate a picnic on the boat, and found a cove for the kids to swim. They love to swim off the boat with the help of their life jackets. Me? I sun myself. I don't swim. Here they are swimming with their daddy.

Around dusk, we decided that we better get our spot lined out for fireworks. We found a great little island directly across from where they were shooting them off, so we anchored up and waited. The kids were able to play on the beach of the island. It was so cool. It had waves crashing just like ocean waves (without the salty foam), so they had a blast. At dark, we all snuggled up under blankets and towels to wait.

And wait. And wait. I thought they would never shoot those suckers off. It really was a long time, even longer with tired, cranky kids in the boat. But, when they started...we soon forgot all the waiting. They were so beautiful. And we did have a great spot. A perfect clear shot of all the action, except for that one houseboat that drove right in front of us in the middle of the show.

Kirk's hesitancies about getting off the lake proved true. It is pitch black, and all you can see on the lake are the little lights that are flickering on the boats. So many boats. We had a rather dangerous experience trying to get back to the boat ramp (that is very far away), so by the time we arrived back at the truck around 11:30, we were tense, tired, and completely drained.

I don't know that we will ever watch the fireworks from the boat again, but I'm so glad that I was able to do it once. The day (leading up to the aftermath of the fireworks) was a really good one.

I'm glad that we were able to spend the day together as a family. Laughing, smiling, and doing what we love the most -- just being together.