4th of July

The 4^th of July is always a little hectic. We have to get up early to get down to Newport Beach by 8am to get parking.  It’s a lot of stuff to unload and set up and usually, it isn’t even that nice out until the clouds burn off around noon.  This year, the weather was nice right from the start and the water was warm, so that got things off to a great start.  Peter was pretty whiny most of the day, but Jane was absolutely adorable.  She loved chasing the waves and danced between each set.  We had fun going into the water together.  I would hold her and crouch down and she would scream stand up nervous-excitedly as the next wave approached and I would pop up just in time.  She loved it, and I loved having that one on one time with her.  No cameras, just mommy and Jane time.  After lunch, Daddy got some great Jane time in collecting shells with her.  They found tons and filled up a bucket with their treasures.  Alice took a killer nap on the beach, giving us lots of free, relaxing beach time.  It was wonderful.  

 It was so nice to have Theresa stop in, even if it was just for a few minutes.  Jane had so much fun with her Grandma.

 I love this kid.  He sticks those lips out so far.  It's the cutest thing.

After cleaning up the beach stuff and bathing sandy children, we headed over to watch the fireworks.  It was a little colder than I expected, but listening to Jane and Peter chattering away as they watched made it worth it.  Back at the Reid homestead, Dave had purchased a bunch of fireworks, but of course the kids were way too tired to enjoy them, so we lit off a few ourselves, which was just as fun.