The 4th of July at the Lake

I can't think of anywhere else I would rather celebrate a warm, sunny 4th of July than on the lake.

And neither can Audrey for that matter. She loves spending time at the lake playing on the beach and dipping her toes in the water.

Grant, on the other hand dives right in. He was rescuing a dead sunfish with that purple bucket and he was so proud of himslef.

Shortly thereafter we talked Grandpa Oscar into giving us a pontoon ride around the entire lake. Everyone was all sunblocked, sunglasses and life jacked up and ready to roll.

Of course, Grant had to torment his little Sissy a bit. She wasn't having any of it and about chomped his finger off!

Daddy even had to step in and play referee.

But that didn't stop our tenacious 4 year old. He had to give her one more poke! I think I would have laughed if she had nipped him, just to teach him a little lesson!

Sooner or later, everyone kept their hands to themselves and we simply enjoyed the scenery.

Grant was bummed that we missed the boat parade but at least we got to watch it from shore and wave until our arms were ready to fall off!

Emily and Julie were along for the ride too. Notice, Em still has her face paint on from the night before.

Not sure what was going on here, but that is a pretty funny face she is making. Looks like maybe her Mom goosed her!

Tootie was thoroughly enjoying her front row seat stand.

Grant even got a taste of his own medicine by Emily tickling him. That serves him right!

By popular request, Grandpa even "punched it" for the kids. The always get a kick out of going fast.

I love being able to share these special times and make memories with my kids. Seeing the smiles on their faces makes even the bad times fade away.

Speaking of fading...Tootie hadn't napped all day and she started falling asleep standing up! Look at how drowsy her eyes are here!!!

Minutes later she could no longer stand it and just had to lie down. Don't fool yourself though. She only stayed down for about a minute. She must have caught her second wind cause she was up the rest of the trip.

Towards the end of the ride we came across a mama loon and her two babies. I didn't have my zoom lens on so I didn't get any extreme close ups but it is always cool to see a loon up close and personal.

We even got to see the mama feeding her baby. How precious!

I am so thankful that I have been blessed with a wonderful husband, two beautiful children and good health for us all so that we are able to share these special times.

I wish the same good fortune upon you all!