camping on the 4th of July

It's a grand ol flag . . . a high flyin' flag . . .

Hailee & Makayla with glow sticks up their nose

Tegan cooling off in the pool

Tegan passed out standing up on the boat ride.

Hailee & mommy having a ball!

Ahhh . ... relaxation!

All the men relaxing in the water

Tegan striking a pose on the boat.

Samantha & me taking a break from the sun on the boat.

This year for the 4th of July we went camping at Lake Don Pedro with our good friends the Sanchez family and with my sister's family. We got a late start on the road Thursday afternoon leaving home around 4 o'clock. Three hours later we FINALLY made it to the campgrounds. The nice thing about having a trailer is you don't have to set up camp. We backed in and started to relax right away! Friday was a GREAT day. Everyone loaded up and we headed down to the lake. Victor & Heather have a boat which of course they brought so we all climbed in (all 15 of us!) and we headed out to a cove to anchor and play in the water all day. They had just bought an awesome tube and the kids had a blast jumping off of it into the water while we were anchored. It was such a fun relaxing day spent in the sun and water. On the way back to camp Hailee and I hopped onto the tube for a wild ride back. I was a bit worried how Hailee would do since she'd never been towed by a boat before but she laughed the ENTIRE time and had a blast. Now that I know she has NO FEAR next step will be teaching her to wakeboard! Friday was a very hot day so when we got back to camp I blew up a baby pool for Tegan while the big girls had a water balloon fight. After a long day all 3 girls passed out just to wake up bright and early on the 4th. The 4th was another day full of water and sun. Rather than loading up on the boat again we set up camp on the beach and teathered the tubes down so the kids could play in the water while the parents were able to hang on the beach (though we spent a lot of time in the water too!). After another long day playing we headed back to camp to bbq dinner and get ready for the fireworks. I tried to keep Tegan awake for the show but she was just so tired that I put her down about 5 min. before the show started. While I was putting her down the big girls put on a parade singing "Grand 'ol Flag" and marching around with their flags and glow sticks. I came out of the trailer just in time to see an AMAZING show over the lake. The girls were in awe of the huge display but after it was done they were happy to crash into bed. The next day we packed up and headed home. The girls slept the entire way home and it was a trip to remember.