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.
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| Our super crowded beach (Yes, we are spoiled) |
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| Sandcastles on the shore |
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| 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.
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| Playing with Daddy |
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| Jon in the lake |
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| Floating in the lake |
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| Will under water |
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| Jon under water |
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| Playing close to shore |
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| 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.
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| Silly boy |
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| splashing |
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| 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!!
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| watching Jon's wizard hat |
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| up, up, up it goes! |
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| explosions in our driveway |
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| 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.
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| behind the barrier |
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| 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!!!!
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