Leading up to the BIG Event!

We arrived home from the beach to find that the few "little elves" who didn't go with us had once again set out a beautiful array of appetizers for us and the guests who were soon to arrive to munch on until more food got put out for dinner. I am always envious of the bloggers who post their wonderful spreads of holiday foods. We too have wonderful spreads of food served up in beautiful holiday vessels but apparently I am always too busy feeding my face to get out the camera. Rest assured there is never a lack of food where our family get-togethers are concerned.

This time, the 2 middle granddaughters actually made some of the cake pops that are featured all over the blogs. They used red velvet cake and coated them in red or blue chocolate with 4th of July sprinkles. Then, they tied them up in cellophane with 4th of July ribbon and displayed them in a red, white & blue basket. They looked so great...but, once again, you will have to take my word for it!






The rest of the day was filled with swimming, visiting with friends and family, fire crackers, and sparklers. And then.......

Nana requested the "dreaded" family photo. Believe me, this is the BEST of many, many pictures! Once again, my only requirement these days is that we are all in the frame...no matter what! I just love putting out every year's photos and seeing how we all have changed - everyone a year older! Yikes!!!!!

And then we hear, "Nana, look the show has started! " It wasn't "the" show yet, but neighbors up and down the water were shooting off their own fireworks, so it was more than enough to keep us interested until the "big guns" started.

And, I must say, Gulfport really outdid themselves this year! The firework show was absolutely gorgeous and lasted a long, long time. There were colors this year that I don't think I ever saw before! It truly was breathtaking!!!

And then, as if we hadn't had enough of a show, the neighbor just 2 doors down started his own show. He had REAL fireworks! NOT the kind you can buy at the stands or the kind that everyone else was using! Don't know where or how he got them, but he shot them off right over our house and when we looked up, we literally looked up into the fireworks!!! I'm sure it was super dangerous as the embers were falling down on the roof, but by the time I got over the beauty of them and realized the danger, they were done! And, we were all safe and totally awestruck!

Once again, the kids get front row seats!


I saw some blogs this year that had tutorials on how to take pictures of fireworks and I thought I might actually give it a try...for just a moment! Then, I realized that I would rather watch the fireworks myself than sit there messing with camera settings! Hopefully you all had your own wonderful show to watch cause this is all I got! It was a wonderful ending to a wonderful weekend and I really didn't want to head home the next day, but head home I did.

Now, reality must set in. For the last month, I have had either company, grand children, grand dogs or all of the above! This afternoon the last of the gang is heading off on vacation and I will have to face the ugly facts!!! My house is a mess...and still decorated for the 4th! Can anyone guess what I will be doing this weekend?

Once everything is once again clean, the late summer decorating will begin....and can autumn be far behind?! Ah, I think I can already feel the slightest crispness in the air - or is that just the A/C I have cranked up because it's 100 degrees in the shade outdoors? Oh well, I can dream can't I? Stay tuned!