Our Fourth

We had a fun Fourth of July, although the rain kept us from enjoying ourselves too much. We had plans to meet up with a bunch of friends at Jacksonville Beach to play and watch the fireworks, but after a morning filled with constant drizzle, we were worried that we might have to change our plans so we could stay dry. Fortunately, the rain cleared out and by late afternoon we were on our way to a big whoopdeedoo (I've never actually seen that word in print, so who knows how to spell it). We asked Kyla what she thought about everything and here she is pondering it all.


The waves, although they look fairly tame in this picture, were pretty big and we couldn't just let the kids go out by themselves. Fortunately, they found other ways to entertain themselves. Here's Damon and Romy playing in the sand.

Allie decided to cover her body in sand from head to toe. She did a fairly thorough job and doesn't seem too dissatisfied with the results.

April organized the whole event, inviting families both from our ward and her new ward. She even invited a girl she met at the library, so we had quite the group! Here are most of the ladies (some were busy watching the kids and didn't make it into the shot). Me, Noel, Daisy, Lindsey, Mariah, Lindsay, April and Heather, as well as a few of the kiddies.

We posed for a family shot as the sun was getting ready to go down. If you look closely, you can see a tiny grin on Kyla's face.

As it got dark, and we were waiting for the fireworks to start, Damon mooched a sparkler off of someone. Even though the sign said "No Fireworks on the Beach," he wasn't the only one celebrating his independence with some fireworks of his own.

When it was dark enough, the fireworks show began. Damon thought Kyla would enjoy them more from his lap. I'm not sure what kind of expression that is on her face, but she doesn't seem to disagree entirely.

I know you can barely tell, but there is actually a firework in the background. They were shot off from the pier so we had a great view from the beach.

It was getting late, and Allie was tired from covering herself with sand. She nearly fell asleep on Jeff's lap, but somehow managed to stay awake. Damon thought that Jeff's other knee might be a comfortable place to watch the show, or at least somewhere with a better view of Allie's tired eyes.

Just before the fireworks ended, we posed for one more family picture. We were sandy, wet, and tired, but happy. Of course, the kids fell asleep on the way home and got to sleep in their clothes, as tiny piles of sand covered nearly every inch of their beds. Neither one complained, though. Isn't it great to be young? We had a great Fourth and Allie is already asking when we can go back for more fireworks. Hope you all had a great time, too!