Fauxtographer Mom's Photo Blog: 4th of July

I guess a lot of people were busy or out of town this weekend, but I attempted to have a get together for the 4th ok July fireworks at the park by our house today. Only a few people ended up making it, and only one could stay for the fireworks, but we still had a good time.

Mmmmmm...banana pudding. I wanted to use blueberries, but Walmart didn't have a single package of them. And, actually, that was the last package of blackberries.

Fun with the splash mat (or "birthday water," as Levi calls it)

Hannah had fun too

Jonas is not a fan of the splash mat, so I didn't even bother putting him in his swim trunks, but then he went and dumped water from the water table all down his shirt. Oh well.

Cutie Kady (Ethan was here too, but somehow I didn't get a single photo of him!)

Levi never plays with this climber thing, but when other kids come over it's always a hit. Go figure.

Daniel and Daddy (Robert)

I was lazy and didn't set up my tripod, so my fireworks shots are not that exciting, but I took a few anyway

The fireworks weren't as good as they were at the Chesapeake Jubilee in May, but it was a decent show. They had a live orchestra, which was neat. Grant was the only one to stay for the fireworks and he actually cleaned up most of the stuff in the kitchen while I got Jonas to bed, so that was really nice! We also ended up having exactly the right amount of food, so I guess it's not so bad that hardly anybody could make it.

After getting home from northern VA, I was home for a week and then packed up again to go to Ocean City, MD, where my family has a condo. The boys and I went up on Wednesday afternoon, and spent a few days with my sister, brother in law, and nephew. Shane got home from his underway on Friday and spent Friday night with us, then my sister's family went home Saturday morning. Shane spent that day (4th of July) with us and then went home just before the fireworks started in the evening because he had duty the next day. My dad and his fiancee came up the next day, and then Shane came back on Monday and we all drove home Tuesday night. Shane had to work Wednesday, but he wanted to spend some time with the family while he had the chance.

We've been to the beach before, but this is the first time Levi really enjoyed it. He had a blast digging in the sand, and he loved the water. I tried to get him to get his feet wet and he was NOT interested in it at all, but then Darren, my brother in law, asked him if he wanted to go in and he said ok. So Darren helped him jump over the waves as they came in, and he loved it. He would have dove right in if we let him! Crazy, fearless kid! Jonas just relaxed and napped on the beach. I only went out to the beach twice while we were there, because it was just so much work to drag all the stuff for everybody down there, and then all I did was sit under an umbrella with the baby. But my dad and Jackie took Levi to a playground on the beach both mornings we were there with them, and they took him out to the beach one afternoon too. Thank goodness he's not a huge mama's boy like he used to be - he was happy to go with anyone that was doing something fun! We took several walks with both boys in the stroller, and they loved that.

Monday was Shane's birthday, so we went to a somewhat fancy seafood restaurant for dinner. I managed to pump a full feeding's worth of milk the morning before, so after dinner we dropped the boys off at the condo with Dad and Jackie and got to go out on a date by ourselves for the first time in 11 months. We played putt-putt (and I won) and then drove around a bit looking for somewhere to get dessert, then realized that most places were closed because it was after 10 on a Monday, so we just parked at the condo and went to the boardwalk and got ice cream. It was a nice couple of hours together alone, and a much needed break. Oh, and I got Shane a new laptop for his birthday. He wanted a small netbook to take on the boat but I found such a great deal on a full size laptop that I couldn't pass it up and got that instead. I don't think he is the least bit disappointed!

The 4th of July was fun, but a bit different than usual. We try to go up to the condo for the 4th of July each summer, but this summer my dad wasn't able to be there, so it was just us, and then Shane had to leave before the fireworks. So we just hung around all day, then went to the picnic thrown by the condo complex for dinner, then the boys and I watched the fireworks from the condo, because there was NO way I was taking both of them in the crowds by myself, especially when it was Levi's bedtime and I wasn't sure how he was going to do with the noise, etc. He ended up LOVING the fireworks, and has asked where the fireworks are every time we've gone outside at night since then.

Overall, it was a fun trip, but it's definitely nicer when our whole family can be together instead of people coming and going the entire time!

Here are a few videos (hopefully they work on here...they are from my cell phone, so not very good quality, but you get the general idea):

Daddy comes "home" and Levi sees him for the first time in nearly a month

Levi enjoyed the fireworks!