Fourth of July 2012

I can honestly say that Fourth of July 2012 is one of the BEST 4ths our family has had.  We were blessed to have Kate and her boyfriend Travis come down for 4 days to celebrate the 4th and Kevin's birthday on the 6th. They arrived around midnight on the 3rd and we ended up sitting up and talking until almost 3 am, so we ended up sleeping through the Main St. parade...(all but Kevin who got up and rode his bike down town to see the parade...he said it was fabulous and we definitely missed out!...oh well next year!) but made it down to the beach a little after 1 pm where we spent the entire afternoon and evening until after the fireworks.

Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate with us and it was overcast all day. Luckily however it wasn't cold until it got dark so we still were able to be in bathing suits and shorts very comfortably. Since moving to this wonderful So Cal beach community in May we have only had 3 overcast days and it was too bad that one of them had to be on the fourth. Kate and Travis had their hearts set on working on their tans at the beach!!

The one bonus for me was the opportunity to take some GREAT pictures. Since Kevin, Kate, Kyle and Travis all have light blue eyes....they are all very sensitive to the bright sun and I typically get a lot of squinting and shut eyes when I try to take pics of any of them out in the bright sun. However with the overcast day...there was no squinting and I was able to get some fabulous pictures. 

For example I LOVE LOVE LOVE these pictures of my two beautiful children Kate and Kyle. It has truly been a joy to see their relationship blossom into what it is today. They truly enjoy each other and it is wonderful!

 

Here they are looking out at a trio of dolphins that were jumping and swimming just off the coast! Unfortunately I was unable to catch a shot of the dolphins though.

 

Kate and Travis have now been together for a year and it has been so fantastic watching these two. They are so wonderful together and it Kevin and I both agree after spending more time with Travis again this weekend...he is a WONDERFUL young man and we are pleased with this relationship.

 

 

Kevin and Kyle enjoying a sweet father/son moment.

 

 Another shot of Kate and Travis

Kevin and I

Kevin lights the fire in our little Weber. 

 

 

Kyle enjoys an afternoon snack and a whole lot of being silly....

 

 Kyle and I

 The kids just "chillin"

 Kate just "chillin"

 Kevin just "chillin"

 Since moving here Kyle has become a total fish in the ocean! He LOVES to boogie board. He has taken a few surf lessons but enjoys boogie boarding more. I found this wet suit for him at a garage sale for only $40. It's a nearly new O Neil wetsuit and a thermal undershirt that sells for nearly $300 new! Although the water has warmed up a lot due to the currents coming up from Mexico, Kyle still prefers to be in a wet suit.

Sunset over the pier..even on an overcast day it was still beautiful.

 Right before it got dark, Kate decided she wanted to go boogie boarding with Kyle without wet suits. They had a blast!

 Here they are after a fun time riding waves. I love the sunset in the background.

 Promptly at nine pm the firework show started! They shot them right off the pier and the pictures don't even begin to do justice to the incredible firework show we enjoyed.

 Kate and Travis enjoying the fireworks.

 The show went on for about 30 minutes and then it was time for Kevin to ride his bike over 2 miles to go get the car! There was approximately 300,000 people on the beach for the 4th of July and Kevin dropped us and our stuff off in the afternoon, went and parked the car and rode his bike back to the beach. When the show was over he rode his bike back, got the car and came to pick us up. Next year we have already decided that we are getting to the beach at 7 am and getting set up so we can get a spot to park in the lot near the beach. 

I hope you and yours had a wonderful 4th of July!!! We sure did.