Fireworks on the Beach

  Today was the last day of our Independence Day celebrations and it finished with a bang.  (see what I did there?)  James had to work in the morning and the boys and I spent most of the day trying to stay cool since it was in the mid nineties and very humid.  But after nap we all headed to Short Sands Beach in Maine for a family get together and fireworks.  We were joined by my parents, Camille, my brother Joe and his wife Elisa, James' friend Bob and his daughter Hannah and finance Amber.

Joe and Elisa

Relaxing on the beach

Bob and Amber

The fireworks barge

Short Sands Beach

   We got to the beach around 4:30 which was perfect because the people who had been at the beach all day were leaving so we were able to get a good parking space.  It was still ridiculously hot and as soon as we put sunscreen on the boys we headed down to the water.  The tide was out and to get to the ocean we had to traverse a wide stretch of very painful rocks.  I thought the ocean was supposed to wear down rocks until they are smooth but all of these had very sharp sides.

Cold water!

Jon heads in



Hannah on the beach

Charlie watches the waves

 

  Will and Jon ran eagerly down to the water and just as quickly ran out again.  The water was freezing!!  Fortunately there was a large tide pool that the boys which was much warmer.  I was the only one to brave the water and actually go swimming.  I don't know why every one else stayed out, once your body goes numb it isn't that bad.  :-)

running into the water

Jon and Hannah running up the beach

Me and Will in the water

Will in the waves

  We had brought a picnic dinner and we all just hung out on the beach talking and watching the kids play in the sand and in the water.  The boys and Hannah made some new friends that were sitting nearby and all the kids had a great time together.  Charlie even got to play football with an older girl and a little boy his own age.  They were so cute!!

Charlie makes a new friend

Playing with new friends

Charlie gives Aunt Elisa a hug



Bob and Hannah

Very sandy boys

 






















  Today I did more sitting down and watching than I did active playing with Will and Jon which felt a little strange.  It was good, they were playing with friends and they didn't need me, but I missed it. 

Charlie at the beach

Hanging out with Uncle Joe and Aunt Elisa

Talking to Uncle Joe

Will on the beach

Jon and Amber talk by the water

Jon throws rocks into the water

Charlie loves the water

Jon plays in the sand as we wait for fireworks

 
















































 

The fireworks were amazing!!  There was a bunch of new fireworks and it was a really good show.  Unfortunately the kids weren't as excited.  Will asked why we were seeing fireworks again and said that he wanted "to be home in my own bed".  Charlie shouted "Yay" and clapped excitedly for the first few minutes and then spent the rest of the time moving around from person to person.  But I thought it was a great show and I am so glad we came.

Short Sands Fireworks

Fireworks on the beach

2012 Short Sands show

 All the boys were asleep long before we got home and now it is time for me to sleep as well.  I hope you all had as much fun celebrating the 4th of July as we did. 
Goodnight!!

4th of July

Happy 4th of July!!

  We had a relaxing and fun day.  After the late night yesterday we all took it easy and slept in a little.  Well, Charlie was still up at his usual time so I had to be up with him but everyone else slept in.  But he was still tired and he ended up taking an early nap.

  After an early nap and a late lunch, James and I took the kids to our favorite local beach.  Although it is a little bit of a drive for us, this beach is on a beautiful lake and hardly anyone else is there.  But today it was packed!  There were twice as many people there as I have ever seen.  Hopefully it was a combination of the heat and the holiday and not a glimpse of the rest of the summer. 

Our super crowded beach (Yes, we are spoiled)

 

Sandcastles on the shore

A family of ducks came right up among the swimmers

  Despite the crowd we braved the beach and immediately headed into the water.  All the boys love being as deep as they can and it was so nice to have all of us swimming out together.  For many years James or I have had to do little kid duty on the shore so it was great to actually get to swim with him.

Playing with Daddy

Jon in the lake

Floating in the lake

Daddy gives Will a ride

  Charlie was actually pretty content to be in his float or held for most of the time.  I was happy that he wasn't actively trying to swim by himself, although he did have a blast trying to dunk me.



Charlie trying to dunk me



  Will and Jon were mermaid hunters for a bit and they spent a lot of time trying to capture me and then catch me again after my daring escapes. 

mermaid hunters

 
  We had fun closer to shore too.  Will and Jon both practiced their "swimming skills" and Jon says that he only needs to have swimming practice for three more days.  He actually did pretty well with his head above water.  Will, of course, is great at swimming under water.  He tries to swim with his head above water but, like me, his real love is being under the water all the time.  We have to invest in some goggles this summer because he won't ever shut his eyes.

Will under water

Jon under water

Playing close to shore

Jon can lift his foot in the water!!! (he was very excited...)

  Charlie got tired first and he spent a long time cuddling up with James.  Finally, James had to drag me and the boys out of the water so we could get home in time for supper.  But not before we had a squirt gun fight!  Sometimes I think that being a parent is just a great excuse to be silly and to recapture all the fun of childhood.

Silly boy

splashing

squirt gun!!!

On the way home we stopped at our favorite place for ice cream.  Tommy's in Cleveland had some good ice cream but nothing beats what we have in New England.  Delicious!  Ice cream was followed by a pasta dinner with James' amazing meat sauce.  I love having a husband who can cook!  (especially since I can't!)  And then it was time for the best part of the night... Fireworks!! 

watching Jon's wizard hat

up, up, up it goes!

  James and Jon had picked some out earlier this year and we set them off in our backyard.  Well, first we tried setting them off in the driveway.  But one that we thought would just spin around ended up flying 50 feet in the air (OK, I'm guessing, but it went over the roof of our two story house) and hit the tree above our driveway.  Next time I'll be the one reading the directions...

explosions in our driveway

Watching the fireworks

 















  The boys hid behind the barrier, which is just a bench that we usually use to block the driveway off when the kids are playing, and watched with their hands over their ears.  After each one went off, Jon would jump up and yell "That was awesome!!!"  He was so very happy.  Charlie didn't join us in the backyard, even though he wasn't scared by the bigger fireworks I think that these closer ones intimidated him. 

behind the barrier

Fireworks in the backyard

  I had so much fun!!  I grew up in a town that barely allowed sparklers so I've never really shot off fireworks before.  But it was such a blast that I think I've convinced James to do it again this weekend.  :-)

  Today was just such a perfect day.  And tomorrow we are going to the ocean to see more fireworks with our family!  By the time this weekend ends I will need two weeks to catch up on my sleep.

Happy Independence Day!!!! 

July 3rd - Fireworks

  Today was an excellent way to begin our long 4th of July weekend.  This morning I took all three boys to visit my friend Emily at her new house.  They loved her house and immediately started running around the "racetrack" through her living room, dining room and hallway.  Charlie enjoyed running too but he was also captivated by the chandeliers in her downstairs rooms which he called "cool lights" (Hooray for putting two words together!! Now let's add a thrid...).  And Will enjoyed the piano where he was able to play some "Bowser Music".

  After a quick tour of her amazing house we decided to take the boys to the local playground where they could play more constructively.  It has been raining all this week and last but the playground was mostly dry except for some large puddles in the surrounding field.  Under the swings was damp and it looked there was just a small bit of water on the mulch.  Charlie walked over and was immediately over his ankles in a pool of water.  I took him out and warned the boys not to go near the swings but Charlie ran over again and this time fell down in the puddle.  He was soaked!

  Despite the wet toddler we all had a good time and Will and Jon were very upset when they heard of my future plans to visit Emily without them.  James need to take the car to work so all too soon we headed home for lunch and naps.  During nap time (which is really only a nap for Charlie) Will finished the book he was reading on vacation, his very first chapter book!!  So of course we had to head down to the library to get another one.

  I took my brother David and his friend A.J. with was fortuitous since they were both needed to keep Charlie out of trouble.  As Will picked out his next chapter book, Mummies in the Morning, a shark book and two audio books, I helped Jon get his first library card!!  He was happy to take out two books of his very own!  Jon was so excited that on our walk home he told everyone we passed that "I have my own library card!".  I am so proud of my little boy.

 James works second shift but unbeknownst to me he had worked while I was visiting Emily so that he could join us for the local fireworks tonight.  We went with the three kids, my dad, David and we met up with Charlie's paternal grandmother, Sally*.  We had so much fun!!  There was a free face painting booth set up as well as a place for kids to temporarily color their hair.  My wiggly Jon got a Spider man mask and Will was determined to describe the Sonic face he wanted to a woman who had never heard of Sonic the Hedgehog.  She did a pretty good job considering, and he was very happy about it.  Charlie, however, didn't want to have anything to do with the face paint. 

Will as Sonic

Spider Jon

Face paint!

Spider Jon with a bubble gun

  On our way back to our chairs, Sally bought Will a glowing blue sword and Jon and Charlie each a bubble gun.  We were sitting next to kids around the boys ages and I was proud of my three for sharing their brand new toys.  The kids also shared their bubbles and sparklers and they all had fun running around together.  We ran into Colin, Will and Jon's best friend, as well as some of my friends.    We had a great time waiting for the fireworks which was good because it took a long time for them to start!  



Grandpa and Charlie play with bubbles

Jon plays with a sparker

waiting for fireworks



tempting toys

 















  I had thought the show would be at 9 or 9:30 but it didn't begin until 10:00 which was a bit late for us.  But the fireworks were great and we all loved them.  Will sat with David and I had Jon on my lap for most of the show.  Charlie went back and forth from me to his Grammie the whole time.  I realized tonight that I will be very sad when I have to watch the fireworks without a child in my lap.  Hopefully that won't be for many years!

Will and David watch the fireworks

Sally, Charlie, Me and Jon enjoy the show

Grandpa watches the fireworks

  This was the first year that Jon didn't have his hands over his ears the whole time!!  He is growing up!  Charlie loved the fireworks, he wasn't scared at all.  He alternated between saying "Boom" and clapping his hands and yelling "Yay!"  He was so cute!  I wish I could have gotten a picture of his face but James and my dad hogged the camera the whole night. Though they did get some great pictures, including some amazing ones of Charlie that, alas, I can't show you.  (But take my word for it, he is very cute!)



Daddy gives Jon a ride

Boys in the dark



David and James

waiting for cheesy fries

Colin and Jon swordfight

  Even though it was 11:00 before we got the kids in bed, Will insisted on using a flashlight to read the first chapters of his book before he fell asleep.  He is just like me!  I know it may have been a bad parenting move to let him stay up later but I just can't say no to reading...  :-)



* I always change the names for anyone connected to an active foster care case.