Oh Beautiful...

We had another fantastic July 4th weekend at the lake. We headed out there Friday morning and spent the day decorating the lake house for all of Saturday's festivities and getting food ready. It was a fun family day with our nieces. Derek and Ryan Hadley entertained themselves with some sparklers, and we got a little swimming in before cousins Lindsey, Kathryn and Taylor arrived late Friday night from Auburn. They drove six hours for a weekend of fun at the lake!

Here are some pics, starting with Frances in her 4th of July outfit. It doesn't get much cuter than that...

Ryan Hadley and her sparkler... I think she looks like a little Hermione from Harry Potter with her magic wand. :)

Cousins...

Saturday was the annual boat parade, and this year we just stayed at the pier and watched since the pontoon boat wasn't working. We had the pier all decorated, and it fun to just watch from the sidelines. We took the ski boat out for a while after the parade for some tubing and visited the Redneck Yacht Club for a while before dinner time. :)

Live music next door...

After a delicious dinner of smoked pork and all the fixings to go along with it, we floated with our full bellies for a while before the fireworks show at 9. I have to say, my father-in-law's fireworks get bigger and better every year, and this year was no exception. They were AMAZING, and there must have been 75 people spread out on the hill and the pier to watch them.

We ended the night at Chotard to hear our favorite holiday band, Magnolias and Moonshine. We couldn't let a weekend at the lake pass without letting Kathryn experience it. Some of the band members were substitutes for the night, so unfortunately there were no matching patriotic costumes this year. We had fun regardless.

Derek and I came back yesterday afternoon and spent the rest of the day in the air conditioning. It was an absolutely fabulous weekend. And having today off for the holiday made it even better. Four whole days off work... I love summer holidays!