4th of July!! (Blasts from the Past)

Soooooo, yesterday was the 4th of July, and it was the biggest BUST ever. It monsooned ALLLL DAYYY LONGGG, and I think it's still doing so all over the country. Many of our friends and family are at the beach and have been texting us pictures of extensive flooding, storms, and washed away roads (including the strip in PCB - what will the cruisers do??). Sigh.

Anyhow, we literally didn't leave the house all day. In some ways, it was glorious, but I at least wish we could've seen an ounce of sun to grill out or something......we had tacos last night....how American is THAT?? So, I thought I would reflect back on some of our awesome July 4ths of the past. I'll start with Nora's first 4th of July:

2007

In 2007, we headed over to "Uncle Bug's" to party with some of our friends. The only kiddos at that time were Nora and J.J.Jones (now there are a PLETHORA of little rugrats!!!)

 And the next day, we headed out to Tybee Island for Nora's first "island adventure." Josh was catching a ton of sharks on this trip, and we got to spend a little time with our cousin, McKayla (they were such babies.....tugs at my heart a little. And, yes, that IS my mother climbing a pole in the top right-hand corner. She is part orangutan.) ;)

2008

In 2008, we headed BACK to Tybee and spent a lot of time with McKayla!! :)

2009

This was Ella's first 4th of July, so we headed to Panama City Beach when she was only 3 months old. She was such a chunky-monkey!!

We also got to hang out and play with the Blackerby girls and fly a few kites with them. :)

2010

This year, we had just gotten back from the beach with all the Nesbitt's, and we met mom and Lea at our neighborhood beach to watch the fireworks. We kept it low-key because we were gearing up to head to DisneyWorld!!

2011

This year, we were back in PCB. I swear, Josh and Lea act just like little kids in the ocean. :)

2012

Last year, we had a newborn, so we didn't get to travel, but we still celebrated!!

We got to watch the sky-diving show in our neighborhood and eat with the neighbors for a bit. :)

2013

So, what did we do this year??? A whole 'lotta NOTHING!! We did manage to hang some lights and play some Jimmy Buffet on the back porch to pretend like we were at the beach. And the girls really enjoyed playing in the rain. :)

Side note - Nora and Ella had to visit the eye doctor this week. While they each have astigmatisms, only Nora has to have glasses right now (which she is very excited about - she picked out a purple pair with butterflies). Yesterday, Clairy found her own pair of glasses....she stole them right off the Build-a-Bear!!! :)

Happy 4th from all of our 4-eyes!!!!

And Happy Birfday, 'Merica!!!