4th of July

(Pictures are out of order.)

July 4th: Heritage Park Ampitheatre

(A sample of the fireworks at the ampitheatre.)

(The Greenville Symphony Orchestra performed before the fireworks show.)

(Patriotic Eva waiting for the fireworks at the Charter Ampitheatre in Simpsonville.)

July 2nd: Lake Cherokee with the Gross family.

(Group shot: Brad, Eva, Holly, Kristen, Riley, and James with Lake Cherokee behind us.)

(Kristen and Riley.)

(Eva fell asleep on our last boat ride of the day.)

(A view of Lake Cherokee while out on a boat ride.)

(Eva loves Riley so much! This is her trying to snuggle with Riley. She was trying to get as close to her as possible, and ended up just smothering her. Riley was a good sport about it, though.)

(Eva and Riley went out four-wheeling together.)

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(Brad and Eva swimming in the lake. The water is so warm! Nothing like the lake water in the Northwest.)

(Eva really did not like wearing the life jacket.)

(Brad eating boiled peanuts for the first time. Apparently it's a southern snack around here. They turned out to be pretty good.)

(A shot of the boiled peanuts we bought from a stand where a sign was written in permanent marker stating, "Get U Nutz!" {Written with a heavy southern accent.})

June 25th: Fluor 4th of July Celebration.

(Eva chilling on the grass with a shot of a bouncy toy behind her.)

Our 4th of July celebration began on June 25th with Brad's work party. Fluor really knows how to throw down a party. There were carnival rides, bouncy toys, great BBQ, and as always at these South Carolina celebrations, there was funnel cake. There were so many people there. It was so much bigger than I originally thought a work party would be. The best part was that it was all free for us. Eva had so much fun just walking around and watching everyone around her. The party ended after a fabulous firework show. Well done, Fluor!

On July 2nd, we were invited to Lake Cherokee with our friends James, Kristen, and Riley Gross. Kristen's family has a cute lake house there. We got to go on a boat ride, where Brad landed his first 360 while wakeboarding. Woot woot! Then we got to go four-wheeling. I was pretty much scared out of my mind, I'm not the biggest daredevil, and I have never gone four-wheeling before. Plus, having Eva with me only magnifies my worries by a billion. But, the ride was safe and fun and I really enjoyed it. Then, James took Brad and I shooting. That's right. I shot things. With guns. It was pretty cool. I definitely have never done that before. I felt very out of my element, but I definitely enjoyed it. Then, we ended the day with a swim in the lake and one last boat ride. We all had so much fun. Especially Eva, who loves Riley very, very much. She kept wanting to hug, snuggle, or kiss Riley. She follows her around and thinks everything she does is pretty much awesome. Poor Riley was smothered, but she was pretty patient with Eva. At the end of the day, I felt very southern. I ate boiled peanuts, I swam in a lake with snapping turtles, I rode four-wheelers, I shot guns. Success! We definitely want to say THANK YOU to the Gross family for having us for the day, and for making our 4th of July weekend so much fun!

On the 4th of July we woke up and went to a ward breakfast. Afterwards, we went home and had a relaxing day with just the 3 of us. We all got a nap, and we just enjoyed our amazing AC and stayed out of the heat. That evening we went to Charter Ampitheatre at Heritage Park in Simpsonville. This event was recommended by a friend in the ward (thank you, Julie!). When we got there, we spent some time just walking around. This is Eva's favorite activity, because she feels like she gets to choose to walk wherever her heart desires, which does not happen in public very often. Then, we laid out on a blanket and were treated to some wonderful music by the Greenville Symphony Orchestra. After the music, we enjoyed a fabulous firework show. It was the perfect end to our 4th of July celebrations.