FOURTH OF JULY: PART I

On Thursday there was a free carnival at Ft. Stewart for soldiers and their families, and so after only an hour of sleep, Kevin loaded into the car with us and we headed out.  (Just so you know, I told Kevin that we didn't have to go, but he really wanted to do it for the kids, even though he was SO tired.) 

On the way there, I drove through a massive rainstorm, and I kept thinking, "Great, we dragged Kevin out of bed, the kids are all excited, and we are going to drive 45 minutes to get there, only to find it rained out."  Luckily my pessimism was not rewarded, and not a drop fell on the carnival the whole time we were there :).

Once we got there, we had a great time, even though the rides were a little questionable.  The kid ones were so low to the ground, they seemed okay, but as dare-devilish as I am, I was NOT setting foot in one.  Kevin did take Lily on the Gravitron, but decided that it was not a good idea to mix all that spinning with no sleep.

The kids had a blast though; they rode on every little kid ride, ate funnel cakes and cotton candy, and even got to play a carnival game.  It was everything Lily wanted it to be, and Derek was in heaven.  We had the best time watching them, and I included a little video of them on the rides, just so you can feel like you were there :). 

We spent the rest of the night taking it easy and trying to let Kevin get some sleep.

FOURTH OF JULY: PART II

Today we decided to relax, so that we would all have have energy for tonight.  We spent the day napping, cleaning up, and playing games.  The I baked a yummy cake and got some other food ready for our BBQ.  At 5pm we headed to my friend Valorie's house, and a bunch of us got together to eat and hang out while the kids played.  It was really nice and low key.

Then the group of us headed across the Savannah River to watch the big fireworks show.  Derek was pretty tired and grumpy, but John and Victoria took him for a walk, and then Kevin and I traded off holding him until the fireworks began.  It was a great show, and Lily especially loved it.  And we were able to make it out fast enough that we were home by 10:30 pm.

It was a great holiday, and it was well spent together and with great friends.  I hope all of you had a wonderful Fourth also :).