our 4th of july holiday

what a glorious 4th we had yesterday!  it was full of summertime fun and definitely did not disappoint.  we started out our day at the pool where baby girl delightfully splashed her toes in the water and stayed close to dada when going under the waterfall.  there was one heck of a bbq going on so naturally we took part in that and had hot dogs and watermelon soup in the grass.  i think it's a rule that you have to eat outside on the 4th of july, no?  well it should be.

after getting our fill of the sun we went back home for an anticipated nap.  another midday holiday festivity, i believe.  our little lady work up just in time for us all to go to the park to engage in the real fun.  fireworks!  we did not get all crazy but smoke bombs and rainbow sparklers were involved.  andrew found us a little cove amidst some trees overlooking the grass.  there, we spread out a blanket, popped open a bottle of bubbly, and toasted to a beautiful day.  stella held onto the wine cork and her blue smoke bomb the entire time.  

we could tell the big show was about to start by the booming echoes going off every other second, so we headed home to our rooftop to watch the fireworks go off around us from the neighboring villages.  i grew up watching fireworks on my home town's downtown bridge with one wonderful show it sight.  there were blankets on streets and etta james in the background.  so americana and utterly beautiful.  this experience could not have been more different from what i grew up watching back in iowa, but stunning nonetheless.  it is a humbling perspective to be on top of a tall building watching the sky light up from every direction in a 360 degree panoramic view.  we laid on the sun chairs and gave baby girl her bottle while watching fireworks boom off in the distance for what must have been many miles.  it was perfect and really relaxing.  and romantic.  :)  with our tired eyes and sun burned shoulders we crept back down stairs into our beds that warmly welcomed us.  


...now for some family time for the rest of the week!