Happy 4th of July

For the 4th we stayed here and our friends had a cookout and LOTS of fireworks. 

games

water activies

lots of cute kids :)

and good friends

LOTS and LOTS of fireworks

the lighting station.

getting chairs set up for the viewing

don't cross the safety line. (yep, that's Zander out front, pushing it)

started with the smoke bombs

sparklers for the kids

glow sticks

then moving on to the big stuff

Beauty and Beast

The broadway play of Beauty and the Beast came here and we decided to take Ellie. We didn't tell her she was going. All we told her was that she was going to go with us on date night. She was so excited. We took her to dinner and then walked to the theater. When she saw the signs for it, she was so excited. She sat on the edge of her seat through most of it, laughing out loud, and loving it all. At the end she said, "I don't know who those people were, but the real beauty and the beast are in Disney World." That's my girl. 

Looking Glass Falls

We went to Looking Glass Falls near the Blue Ridge Parkway. The kids sure do get excited about playing in creeks and hiking. After splashing around we drove a little further and went for a walk in the woods. (I wouldn't call it a hike since it was an easy, relatively flat, and mostly paved path.) :) These weekend mountain day trips have been such a fun family time together.