Happy 4th of July!

This 4th of July was very different for us...something that makes me a little sad as one tradition ends and new ones begin.  It was the first year that we did not go to my Grandma and Ernie's house for their shrimp and crab feast.  Yes, we all enjoyed the food, but more importantly it was the time gathered as a family that I loved and appreciated the most.  With that being said it was time to come up with something new to do as I could not handle the thought of just being at home when I never have before.  The 4th of July still needed to be about putting on our red, white, and blue and sharing a meal with family and enjoying time together.

This year we decided to head down to Nana and Grandad's after naps to enjoy some time in the pool.  Then we cooked hot dogs on the grill, played for a little while, and headed to Colonial Williamsburg for Hannah and Owen's first fireworks experience.  It was a different day, but still fun filled!  Owen said the fireworks made his whole day happy which of course brought a smile to my face!  He also cracked us up at dinner with his patriotic blessing before we sat down to eat.  It went like this:  "OK!  July 4th...America's Birthday.  God is Great.  America's Birthday.  Amen!"  It was all I could do not to bust out laughing and I was not able to keep a straight face.  It will never be topped!

 This kid is soooo cute with his goggles on!

 I spent some time experimenting with my camera over the holiday weekend so I've got some different shots that I took as I was playing around with different settings.

 A toy turtle that Hannah and Owen have affectionately named little D.

 Hannah's goggles draped over our bag of pool toys.

Dressed and ready to go see fireworks!  Hannah and Owen were so excited! Thanks Grandma and Papa for the adorably patriotic outfits!

 Waiting for fireworks to start:

Some of the fireworks that Nana was able to capture: