One of my favorite things about spending the summer on the Cape is being able to spend time with my whole family. I’m not sure if my parents knew this would happen when they bought their beach house but I know they are ever so grateful my siblings and I have planted our summer roots here as well.
We spent the 4th of July together, as a family. We had appetizers and dinner at my sister’s house, where the kids swarmed the swing set, and the adults sat by the fire pit until it was time to eat dinner. We sat crammed together at the table, knees touching, and elbows bumping, as we talked and ate (way too much), anxiously awaiting the sunset so we could move down to my parents deck for dessert and fireworks. When we got there, I decided I wanted to try to take some real firework pictures so I steadied my camera on the top of the grill and fiddled with my settings as the first round of fireworks lit the sky. I kept checking and changing my settings, trying to anticipate when to press the shutter down, smiling as I heard the kids all claiming the largest and most colorful fireworks as their own. And then I realized I was missing the whole show–not just the one in the sky, but the one on my parent’s deck. So I stopped shooting and sat down to watch the sky just in time for Abby to climb onto my lap and wrap her 8 year old arms around my neck.
I actually did manage to get a decent shot of the fireworks. It isn’t perfect, but it’s the best one of the bunch and I think all the kids would claim it as theirs in the end, don’t you?
Amazing! Sadly, this is the closest I came to seeing fireworks on the 4th of July! Wish I was right there with you guys. 🙂