the fourth

Well, I've got some catching up to do! At the beginning of last week, my friend, Jennifer, came to town with her two cute little girls. This is the only halfway-decent picture I took:

Jennifer had her good camera and took some, so I'll see if I can round up a few.

I packed everything red, white and blue we owned, and on Thursday morning, we headed to Savannah to celebrate the Fourth. I actually brought my Canon and have something other than iPhone photos to show from our trip. (I tried to condense in this post.)

We drove directly to Ellis Square where we met another long-time friend of mine, Beth, and one of the twins (the other was sick and missed out). The kids enjoyed themselves in the cold water of the fountains on what was a very hot day. Adorable red and blue gingham matching bathing suits courtesy of Meme.

Joseph and sunglasses. It's really a special relationship. He lost his second pair of the summer just before this trip, so theses are the ones I wear when I run. I have a small head; these seem to fit him ok enough. You will see his new Braves ones below.

After the fountains we walked through City Market and grabbed lunch…

By afternoon we were more than ready for some fun - but in the air conditioning. What's more fun that playing at soft play and riding "excavators" (escalators in Joseph-speak) in the mall? Remember, we are small-town folk now - 6 years and counting - and our children only know that way of life. It doesn't necessarily cost a cent for these little ones to be entertained.

Friday was a great day. We played at Meme's and relaxed a little before heading out to lunch and a few shops. Hannah and Joseph donned their new star-spangled outfits and obliged to a flag waving photo op:

Happy Birthday America! We are proud to be Americans and love celebrating our great country!!

I couldn't help but take these two shots:

One of Daddy's girl watching Food Network with him, and one of the wedding couple she orchestrated on Meme's iPad laying next to me. She is sweet and curious, girly and imaginative…and totally not phased by skin color. I love all those qualities.

After resting, the munchkins changed clothes (have to wear all of our patriotic attire!) and we went downtown for pizza in City Market - Vinnie's, obviously - and for our first attempt at fireworks. As usual, there was a long wait for a table, so we just ordered a pizza to-go and found a spot on a bench to eat. Perfect. And the kids loved running around, dancing to the live music.

We thoroughly checked out all the goodies at the candy shop, planning our desert as we waited for our pizza.

Joseph had his own camera to play with and took hundreds of pictures. He thought it was really funny when we took pictures of each other. Love his cute face.

And that's not half bad for a three-year old photographer! Now, take a look at Hannah chowing down on her favorite: pizza.

We filled bags of candy and set off to find a place to park and watch the fireworks over the Savannah River.

Growing up, my uncle would get down to River Street and set up camp. All the cousins would come, have a picnic, throw the ball, and run around until the fireworks started at 9 o'clock. It was great fun, and a family tradition.

Joe and I didn't want to invest a lot of time in the fireworks planning as we really weren't sure how the kids were going to do. This was the first year we've been anywhere on the Fourth where we could see fireworks in person, so I hated to miss the chance. I figured it would be worth it, even if we ended up having to leave. And so we decided to avoid River Street and the crowds this first year. The cobblestone ramp onto River Street ended up being a good spot. Wouldn't you know, the kids LOVED every second of it.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Goodbye Meme! Thanks for dressing my babies so adorably in red, white and blue. Next time, we are dragging you down in the heat and crowds with us.