celebrating the 4th.........

The 4th of July is one of my favorite holidays! I love the food, being out on the boat, the water, the beach, the fun, spending time family and friends, the fireworks, well, just about everything about this day.....today was no exception. Peter, Nathan, & I headed out in the boat around 4 pm to meet up with friends at the beach.

Over the past 7-8 years or so, we have celebrated the 4th of July with Gina {Peter's cousin/ my classmate}, and her family. We plan a huge menu including fried chicken, crab salad, deviled eggs, macaroni salad, brownies, rolls, watermelon, dip/chips, and lots more. We even had chocolate covered stawberries this year{{{{soooooo good}}}}!! We sit and eat and talk and laugh, and after we eat, the teens hang out with their friends. This year I wanted to do something different, I wanted to take the kayak to the beach with us. Of course, Peter doesn't want to try anything "different" from our regular agenda, and wasn't too excited with my idea, but I was a bit pushy, so we ended up taking the kayak to the beach! Gina had never kayaked before, but after we took our first trip out, she was hooked! Peter also ended up giving it a try! :O) A fun time....a gorgeous evening!! We stayed until 7:30ish, then headed home for showers and then the fireworks at 9pm. Here are a few pictures from our day:

the 4th of July.........

our picnic....

let's eat!!!

so cute....Gwyneth filling her bucket, one scoop at a time :O)

fun for the kids.....

Nathan waiting for his friend Kayla to arrive.....

boats anchored in the harbor.............

the beach has changed so much...

this is fun!!!

more kayaking....Nathan & friends in the background

heading home

the best I could do with my new camera....

I <3 fireworks!!! Thanks TVFD!!

Nathan finally showed up for a shower and a quick check on his itouch before heading back out with friends...

photo taken by a friend {Peter & I} added 7/07/12