our weekend in pictures: fourth of july

i love that our weekend was 4 days long.  you can pack a lot into 4 days - well, you know we can.  and we did.

it started early thursday morning. it's so hard to get everyone up early on a day when there is no water polo practice and we can all sleep in.  but we had a ship to see and if we were going to see it we needed to leave early{ish}.  luckily the kids wanted to see it too, so it wasn't terribly difficult getting them out of bed.

the iowa battleship is on display at the san pedro harbor. bobby is a war buff and andrew is turning into one.

it's amazing how much he knows and was able to share with us on the tour.  tidbits about weaponry, specific battles and presidents' roles and decisions that impacted our history.

my favorite part is seeing the history and reading about the stories that live here.

listening to the veterans talk about their experiences and sharing their knowledge of what went on during this time.

imagining the meals that were shared around this table. the conversations that were had.  were they afraid, determined, confident?  was there laughter, maybe tears, support of each other and our country?  i'm sure it was all there.

bobby's grandpa is a veteran of a wwii battleship.  he was a radioman on the uss cleveland.  you can read more about that ship here. i always think about him when we do things like this. what he experienced and the stories that live in his memory. we've heard some of them but i know there are more to tell.

we try to take the kids on trips like this when we can.  we all enjoy it. you can read more about the iowa here.  visiting on the 4th of july was a perfect start to our day.

after the battleship, it was time for a bbq at my parents' house.  we grilled hot dogs and turkey burgers, the kids got in the pool and i made peach and blueberry crisp with vanilla ice cream.  de-li-cious.

we were also invited to a friend's house to watch the fireworks from their deck.

um, what a view. and what a sunset.  and the fireworks were fabulous.

we heard the explosion and saw the lights from the terrible accident in simi valley.  we had no idea what it was at the time but we could see it over the hills.  hoping everyone is ok.

on friday we took a quick trip up to kernville.  it's been a while and we were looking forward to some relaxing time together.

saturday night was their fireworks show.  usually we go in our cars and sit on the side of the road and watch from there.

this year since it was just us and bob and d, we took the boat out on the lake for some fishing and the perfect view of the fireworks.

stunning, awesome, spectacular view.

we were so close.  it was the best way to see the sparkle.  dakes if you're reading this, next year bring the boat.  it's the only way to go.

the kids went quad riding, we ate and drank wine, we slept so soundly - we always do up there. it was a nice getaway.

and i finished reading this laugh out loud funny book.

4 days of fun.  hope you had a great, and safe, 4th as well.