Happy 4th!!

We had the privilege of being visited by Brian's family from Maryland for the 4th of July weekend.  We were also blessed, by my husbands diligent searching, to find a boat to rent on Lake Norman!  It was a BEAUTIFUL day  on the 3rd and we had an amazing time enjoying each other and the Lord's creation.  On the 4th, we had a great cookout here at our house and then were again blessed to find the most amazing fireworks ever!  A few neighborhoods over (the "mansion community" as we call them) dropped thousands on some killer fireworks.  They closed down their culdesac and shot them off right there in the street.  We were maybe 50 feet away from the "launch zone" and those bad boys were RIGHT up over our heads.  These were no home made fireworks either.  They were what you would see at a professional display.  The neighbors behind them and around the corner also had a great show going on.  It was like "fireworks wars" between these two streets.  We were surrounded 360 degrees by beautiful fireworks (and nasty smoke but beggars cant be choosers!!)  The girls loved them but were sooo exhausted that they both fell asleep!  How they could sleep through the bangs and cheers who knows but they did.  Here are some photos of the boat trip on Lake Norman that Justin Mein (Brian's super talented cousin) took.  His website is www.jmeinphotography.com if you ever need a professional in MD!  God Bless America (Lord knows we need it)!