The Lake for the 4th

Week 58:  On Saturday after Vacation Bible School, we headed back to Alabama to celebrate the 4th!  There is nothing like the lake on a holiday week!  We were able to visit with lots of family and spend lots of time on the water!  As soon as we arrived on Saturday, the kids grabbed their bathing suits out of the back of the car and headed straight for the tube!  It was fun to watch the cousins playing together...

The kids switched up to tube with Ed so that I had time to play with Maggie on the boat!

Then it was time for a little swimming and Cash wanted to join in the fun...

 Mim and Ed even spent some time on the tube while Wade tried his best to flip them off!

 

The Youngbloods came down for a visit on Sunday.  Of course, it was the hottest day of the summer.  At 106 degrees it was too hot to be on the boat and the pool water felt like a bathtub!  The kids had so much fun playing together, as always - we can't wait to spend more time with them over the next week!

As the week went on, it was a must that we head to Chuck's for some pizza and to play with all of the dogs.  On the way there, Jaja needed help driving the boat...

We had fun relaxing and sitting in the shade (trying to cool off) while waiting for our lunch! 

With full bellies, it was back to the boat so that we could spend a little more time on the boat and in the tube!

It was finally the 4th and we headed out to the boat parade.  The kids loved driving by Chimney Rock and watching a man jump off..while his friend was too scared to go.  Then we headed to the bridge for the parade - it was way too crowded for me, but the kids loved seeing the boats decorated with flags, balloons, streamers and more!  I think my favorite part was the impromptu air show! 

The plane made two or three passes over the bridge before flying away! And then the kids and Ed had one more tube ride!

 

Ed had to head back to Louisiana, but we kept on celebrating. Mom bought poppers for the kids, which they loved.

And then we had some other poppers!  The kids had a blast throwing them on the ground and then loved throwing them at each other's feet.  After some fun with both types of poppers, we watched the fireworks from a neighbor's porch!

This has been an amazing and relaxing trip to the lake!  I couldn't believe that it was already time to leave, but we will be back soon!