Happy 4th of July!!!

Happy 4th of July everyone. I had such a great weekend I feel compelled to share.

John Leahy had the brilliant idea of renting out a party barge for 50 of his closest friends. It was AWESOME. There were lots of noodles and the water was perfect.

The boys brought a TON of beer and a cooler full of margaritas. I shotgunned a beer for the very 1st time ever at like 9:30 in the morning. It was terrible. Why do people do that?

We drove out about 20 minutes to an "island" and docked. Then the mayhem began.

I think the best part was the 2 story slide. We spent most of the time creating fun ways of going down the slide.

First I did the standard just go down by myself- while taking care to hold on to my top. Then we started going down 2 at a time. Two of the guys tried stacking- horizontally...it was awkward... the boat staffer guy told them not to do that...awkward.

Javi and Jaimie were great sliding partners. Jaimie even saved my sunglasses from certain drowning. She's like a super-hero!

I was supposed to go down with John too, but he preferred to watch Jaimie and I go down together. Can you blame him?

I also tried jumping off the siding on the 2nd story. It was a long way down, but so much fun. My top had a much harder time with that jump, but luckily I was fully submerged and able to adjust things before resurfacing.

It was such a blast- I can't wait to do it again!

After swimming, we needed to refuel, so we dropped by the Oasis which happens to be one of my favorite Austin places. The view is amazing! We then stuffed ourselves into a coma (at least I did with about a pound of chips and salsa and some yummy fajitas!) and drove back to Austin.

I think most of us napped for a bit and then we went to see the fireworks at Auditorium Shores. It was like 107 degrees when Javi and I got there at 7:30pm. We staked out a good spot. There was some crazy lady that sat in front of us who was yelling at her son-in-law(maybe?) because she was beating him at Sorry. It was funny.

The Austin Symphony Orchestra played while the beautiful fireworks were going off. The show lasted almost 30 minutes with an incredible finale. Oh how I love Austin.

We finished the day off with a little Kerby Lane. I had a massive brownie. It was deliciousness.

On a more serious note... as the granddaughter of a Marine, the fourth of July always causes me to stop and think about those who have fought or are fighting for our country and our freedom. I know people don't always agree with the wars that the U.S. ends up fighting, but the soldiers have to follow orders. I am so thankful for my grandfather. He earned a purple heart while fighting in the Vietnam war and I am so proud that I am part of his lineage. His courage and selflessness has made our country safer. Despite all the politics, I can truly say that I am proud to be an American.

Was that a sappy enough ending for everyone? Hope you had a wonderful fourth!