Let Freedom Ring

When it comes to sharing with you guys our adventures I tend to skip around a bit. Partly because that is how I edit photos. Partly because I get bored with writing the same type of post so I assume that you get tired of reading the same type of post too. With that said, I decided to bring in a little Independence Day fun in to the mix to shake it up a little. Also, because I felt that posting about the fourth of July in August might be a little odd. However, in true Whitney fashion, I will extend this day out into a couple of posts so you can get a true feel for the day vs. night activities. You're welcome.

Our family's tradition for Independence Day is to spend it in Fairhope, AL with our families. We usually will congregate at my grandparents' house, which is within walking distance of the bay and "party hard" {i.e. eat and drink whilst running after kiddos} until the sun goes down and the fireworks come out. This year, in order to accomplish this, we had to travel a bit further down so we split our time staying with my parents and Craig's. My grandparents are in the process of moving, so the whole party-at-their-house thing went out the window this year. Instead we had a low-key morning with my parents and siblings before heading to the bay to watch our water baby swim all afternoon. Seriously, the boy couldn't get enough.

I asked Craig to stand in front of the sun so that I could test out some lighting stuff. Really I just wanted to get a picture of him alone. #hubbahubba

The fourth of July weekend is the one time of year that Canon is guaranteed to see his cousin Gracie, who lives in Texas, so when she came to swim with him he was...overjoyed to say the least. It doesn't matter what she does - he thinks it is amazing. Case in point: here she is throwing a stick so he can go get it and bring it back to her. I believe that most experts will call this game "Fetch" and it is generally played with a dog in the position of Canon. Go Gracie!

One thing to note about Fairhope, AL : they have epic sunsets.

Once it began to get too dark to swim, we gathered up the kids and headed to the pier to get settled in for the fireworks show. I couldn't resist one last picture before everyone crowded out this spot though.

I will be back next week with shots of the fireworks so you can get the full experience. Get ready.