4th of July Weekend in Charlotte

We headed to Angela and Doug's for the 4th weekend to spend some time with them as it's rare that they have a three day weekend away from work. The kids had a blast playing together...Joshua and Daniel were inseparable, Taylor and Lindsay played well together most of the time (with only a few instances where they wanted one or the other's toys), and Ashley is growing up and mainly watched the kids play or she would wander off to do her own thing. She changes each time we see her. Last time she was reserved and quiet, and this visit she was engaging and warm and smiled at the kids funny antics during the weekend. We went to the Reed Gold Mine near Charlotte on Saturday and went through a small museum and then a self guided tour through the old mine. The kids then got to pan for some gold. Joshua and Daniel both found a tiny piece of gold in their pans, but Ashley didn't find any this time. Both boys were very excited to find their tiny treasure. On Sunday, we went to their church and then went to the mall for lunch and shopping/playtime for the kids. I got Taylor and Lindsay matching flower bags with a little flower that snaps on them and they were ready cute strutting through the mall with their bags over their shoulders. Monday was the big day and we spent the earlier part of the day preparing food for the lake party and just having some down time. Doug and Angela's church has a party each year at one of their church member's homes on Lake Norman. This will be the last year, though, because he is trying to sell his home. It was just finishing up raining from a pretty strong storm that had blown through as we arrived. We had a pot luck dinner and then the kids were anxious to get into the water. Once the thunder subsided, the boys took turns using the paddle boat and Taylor and Lindsay got into a double seated inner tube as Doug pulled them around in the water. Doug, Taylor and I took a ride on a pontoon boat as Joshua went with Daniel and Uncle Doug on the speed boat for a ride. We played chicken a couple of times on the water and had a "fake" boat race with the speed boat zooming past us and the kids grinning ear to ear. Angela, Ashley, and Lindsay were on the pontoon boat with us and we had a nice time taking a tour of the lake and having a tour guide telling us about some of the homes, etc on the lake. Taylor LOVED the ride and when we got back, Glen (the home owner) asked us if we wanted a speed boat ride next. Of course, we couldn't not turn down this offer and so we all jumped into the boat and Taylor headed straight for the front of the boat to grab a seat...our little adventure seeker! She, Ashley and I sat in the front and felt the wind rushing past us as we sped around the lake once more. Taylor was having the time of her life in this boat! No fear...During this time, Joshua was busy playing in the water and on the paddle boat with Daniel. When it got dark, we watched a spectacular fireworks show from some of the homeowners near the party. We sat on the peer and watched. We were amazed at the amount of fireworks these people had invested and it was literally as good as any city fireworks production. After awhile, Taylor decided that she wasn't crazy about being out there in the dark and so we went inside until it was time to go at 10pm. Lindsay was already inside as she does not like the loud booming coming from the lake...just like her mom was at her age! The kids managed to stay awake (Daniel rode with us) as they were munching on food for half the ride home and watching a movie. Taylor zonked out first, then Joshua and Daniel stayed awake the entire ride! This was definitely one of my favorite 4th of Julys and wish we could do it again next year!!