Happy 4th of July!

Happy 4th of July! I hope you have had a fun and relaxing day.

First off, if you follow me on twitter or facebook, you know that I got stung by a wasp a few days ago when I was trying to hang 4th of July decorations. Ugh! Turns out, they like to make nests under the rail on our front porch and I made them really angry. They were flying at me before I even realized I had invaded their home. Anywho, I got a sting on my arm and pouted around about it for the rest of the afternoon. After buying some wasp spray, my dad eradicated the area of all stinging insects and I went back out to finish decorating the porch. I am so happy with the results so I thought I would share. I also wrapped white twinkle lights, but you obviously can't see those. It looks really pretty at night.

This morning we all got up and took a bike ride to Seaside for the annual 4th of July parade. I have been in Watercolor for the past few 4th's but have never made it to the parade, which is completely crazy. It was a great time. We got a spot right on the sidewalk and in the shade. I even ran into Seleta and her dog Pippi, which was an added bonus. You have got to check out her blog. It is full of great interior design goodies and absolutely hysterical insights into her world as a mommy of 4 children and a dog! I often find myself laughing out loud at her posts. Hop on over and check it out.

The men waiting for the parade to start. Mike, Seth and Dad.

The ladies waiting for the parade to start. Mom, yours truly, Brittany and Michelle.

Seriously, how cute is this post office?

I took over 20 pictures of parade floats. Ha! Looking back, I probably went a little overboard on float pictures :) Here are some of my favorites.

There was a fire truck...

There were boats...

There was dancing...

There were floats of all kinds! Including this next one, who easily won the competition in my book. This float had a group of ladies on it all wearing sequined patriotic dresses. There was also one man wearing a flag vest, very nice ;) They stopped the float right in front of the judges and performed a great dance routine to the song bugle boy. It was a hoot! The crowd was going wild. The ladies were dancing and the one man had a baton and was doing a routine of his own in front of them. I took some video and will try to edit it together and post it. They were great!

After the parade we walked over to the Great Southern Cafe and had breakfast.

Britt and me at breakfast.

After breakfast, we rode our bikes home and packed up for the beach! We spent the afternoon on the beach and in the ocean. Also, shout out to Brittany here... she has always been afraid of going out into the ocean, and today she went out with us and had a great time! I was so proud. Yay for overcoming fears!

Seth and Dad took the kayaks out for a little spin. They were so funny out there together. Today was a red flag day so the waves were pretty big at times. I think they only capsized one time each, ha!

After the beach we came home, cleaned up and got ready for dinner. Dad has really gotten good at using his smoker and he smoked us a pork butt for sandwiches. Oh my word, it was YUM! We had pulled pork sandwiches, corn on the cob, cole slaw, baked beans and potato salad. It was the perfect 4th of July meal.

After dinner, we went back up to Seaside for a concert and fireworks. Unfortunately, it started to rain and they had to cancel the concert. Bummer. We ended up going to Bud and Alleys which turned out to be perfect.

Me and Britt in Seaside

Britt and Seth.

Michelle and Mom. Aren't they cute in their matching shirts?! hehe, that was not actually planned, but it was funny ;-)

Mom and me.

This is quite the pair! Dad and Mike.

The family, minus Kristin, Lee and Breck.

Mike, Michelle and Brittany.

Bud and Alleys is a restaurant and bar that sits right on the ocean. It almost worked out better that the concert in Seaside got cancelled, because we ended up getting an amazing table at Bud and Alleys. They were literally firing off the firework show on the beach right in front of us. It was the perfect spot to see them!

Despite the rain, it turned out to be such a fun day!

I'll be back soon with a post on how I made this cake... Have a happy Monday!