the 4th in the South

Apparently everyone in Pawleys Island was caught up in the whole decorating-your-vehicle hoopla that day because the only thing the boys could find at the local convenience store were cleared out empty shelves and these two little doilies the girls are holding below.  Luckily the house we were renting had a little bit of festiveness we could add to our doilies. 

 I mean, they got to be in a parade, for crying out loud!  Not much better than that.

Lucy had a vice-grip all day long on an American flag she found.

Claire morphed into a mermaid:

…and some others joined in.  Mermaids scream “I love America” like nothing else, don’t you think?  Ha!

After a day in the sun and sand and mermaid-land, we had a bbq.

And watched the gorgeous sunset over the marsh.

The night before the 4th we had assigned each child twelve and up to give us a little report about one of the Founding Fathers to help celebrate the next day.

I loved the feeling of sitting out on this deck listening to these great kids report on fabulous men who did so much for our country.

The sky became darker and richer filling in around us, my heart became fuller, and the sound of the first fireworks going off on the nearby beach became louder and more frequent.

 …and of course, a little volleyball never hurt any ambiance in my humble opinion:

After our little 4th of July Founding Fathers reports we headed to the beach to watch fireworks go off in every direction while listening to the waves roll in beside us.

SO grateful for this great country of ours.