Pennies In My Couch: Happy Birthday, America!

I was so disappointed that our city had to cut our annual fireworks display thanks to city budget cuts (but so glad they hadn't had to cut out the Armed Forces day parade instead- great choice, city!) and we couldn't do the same thing we did last year and the year before for fireworks. We had been hoping that this year we'd be able to join Dave at his work on the Fourth of July, but unfortunately since he's stationed at Disney and the station is technically on Disney property, we weren't able to even visit him for a bit, let alone stay for Disney's fireworks. We did have other options, though, and we were blessed by three separate invitations! I was torn about which invitation to accept, but in the end I was really happy with my decision, even though we had to miss out on great fun with friends and even though we didn't end up getting home until 11pm.

Since I knew we were going to have a late night, I decided to keep the boys home all day and try to extend Sam's nap as late as possible so that he wouldn't freak out too badly later on. So we invited some family over to splash in the backyard! Grandma accepted the invitation, of course, and Grammy and grandpa both also stopped by for a while, and the boys were thrilled! We had a great time playing, and my plan worked well- Sam ended up taking an epic nap!

Then grandma started a water fight...

... and Jack had so much fun getting her back! I bet she regretted that! (You can really see how much Jack's body has changed lately- he's really thinned out and is starting to look so grown up!)

We took a break for lunch,

Then Jack decided to make a waterslide

Sam loved it, too!

So much so, that he pooped. Since it was almost naptime at that point I decided not to waste another diaper and just let him "swim" naked. He LOVED that! I have a video that I wish I could post, but there isn't really a way to put a modestly patch on a video, so you'll have to settle for photos ;)

Meanwhile, Jack and grandpa took over the water fight where grandma and Jack left off

As it turned out, my strategy worked a little too well- not only was Sam exhausted, but grandma, grandpa and Jack were, too! Jack hasn't napped in well over a year and he didn't that day, but he did need a nice rest! So grandma wrapped him up in a towel and they told stories (one of his very favorite things to do is tell stories!). Grandpa DID need a nap, though, which was no surprise to us since he is the King of naps!

While Sam slept, my parents ran back home to get ready for our outing that night and I made sure that the car was packed with all of the stuff we'd need that night, too! I called them as soon as Sam woke up from his nap and they came over to hitch a ride with us. We stopped at Subway to grab some sandwiches on our way to the beach to watch fireworks!!! We knew that we would be able to see two fireworks shows from there, so we threw Sam in teh wagon along with a bunch of other stuff to keep us busy while we waited for our friends, the "H" family, to join us!

And then our friends got there! Jack and Sadie played in the sand while Savannah and Serena played frisbee with their dad

And then Serena came to play in the sand while Savannah played with Sam

When the sun went down, Jack started going crazy with excitement! We were about a mile or two down the beach from the fireworks, and we had a great view! When they were over, though, we had a short intermission before the next show started... right in front of us! They shot the fireworks off of a barge in the water, and it was really cool! Jack and Sam LOVED the shows, and they stayed awake the whole time despite it being WAY past their bedtime!