Our 4th of July

Our 4th of July festivities began the day before.

Dad came home early so that we could  go to Sky Zone for some high energy fun.

We did this once when we were in Texas visiting my parents and had a blast.

I was a little worried that I might "tweak" my back/hip again, so I just bounced up and down.

No fancy tricks for me!  Me and my back/hip survived just fine

I'm just grateful that I'm the photographer.  

That way I can assure no incriminating photos of me appear.  

But what am I saying?  Everyone in these photos looks perfectly normal!

See that cute girl in the upper left?  Although she looks like one of mine, she is our neice, Shelby (Tammy's daughter).  She came to stay for a couple of weeks to get out of the Arizona heat.

She's been a treat to have!

The morning of the 4th, our congregation always joins with another congregation that

meets in our building as well, to have a pancake breakfast.

We sat with our friends the Grasingers, the girls got their faces painted, and we just enjoyed the morning.  Notice Esther in the back of the teenagers?

Well, she has made it a goal to "photo bomb" any picture she sees being taken.

She really wants to be a part of everything!

We had such a good time last year with our friends the Grasingers, we hoped we could tag

along with them again this year to the fireworks.  

There is an area on our hill that overlooks the bay area and the beach below that you

often see in my pictures.  Dad was concerned about it last year, because, well, it is a cliff.

It's kind of a dangerous place for little children.

So this year, Larry showed him that although it is a cliff, it's not a straight droop off.

At least there are some brush, and ledges that could slow the fall.

Feel better?

Thankfully Abby has no interest in heights.  She's not a thrill seeker, to be sure.

We brought our food, blankets and coats (although we still greatly underestimated the breeze off the ocean).  The fireworks were shot off a barge in the bay and we could see

fireworks all along the coast, even as far as Malibu.

It was a nice evening, so you'll probably find us there again next year . . .

with a few more blankets.