Independence Day

Yesterday was the 4th of July. We had a relaxing slow morning, then after lunch we went to the pool for a few hours. The weather was suprisingly perfect, as in comfortable and not too hot for July in South Carolina. The highlight at the pool was watching Dean compete to catch a greased watermelon! He almost had it, but man, those guys aren’t fooling around! He got dunked a few times, even kidney punched, but don’t worry, he can take it, and he can also dish it out! Alyssa took this picture of the melee. Dean’s somewhere in the mess:

Later, in the evening, we went to the Fort Jackson Torchlight Tattoo as is our usual tradition. This time we sat in the stands, which was cool because we had a much better view. They also had more kids’ activities this year and they got tattoos, toy airplanes, and punching balloons. We had a great time hanging out, watching the soldiers, and enjoying the music (although Dean feels he took one too many trips to the bathroom with various kids).

The music was played by the 282nd Army ‘Victory Band’. They were awesome! Dean says the highlight was the Green Hornet Theme Song! I filmed the kids goofing around to it. There are two things you need to know before watching. 1) Alyssa is eating from a bowl of watermelon. 2) It spills. Watch it here now.

How can you not feel patriotic when you’re celebrating with the real deal? They did the presentation of the fifty states with the cannon firing after each one, and the fireworks were cool. We had a wonderful day ending with all three kids falling asleep in the van on the way home. (Kai denies this) Roan was still holding his balloon. Cute.

NOTE: Today is my dad's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!!