July 4th 2011

 We headed to the beach! 

First on the agenda for the kids was jumping in the canal

 Ayden learned to swim last time we were there 

so he decided to learn to dive this time.... well, canon ball dive that is

 

 

 Brock stayed a little safe with diving in a 6 six water range

 

 Next was a bike ride with grandma

 video games and

 naps

 Bethany did a little diving of her own too

 so cousin Brylee took a shot at it

 Pretending to be a fisherman

 Most of the time, everyone hung out on the porch and enjoyed the breeze

 How cute are those pony tails!

 Uncle Tony (these are photos taken by Bethany)

 Mom and dad

 uncle Tony, aunt Donna, great grandma, & Brylee

 Then she said "take my picture mommy!"

 If you ask Brock what is his favorite part of the beach he'll say great grandma making me food!

She did it again, making ham, squash, potato salad, and the list goes on and on!

 Brylee's birthday was the week before so she got to celebrate again with the rest of the family. 

Great grandma made a cake that literally melted in your mouth!

 After all that dinner and cake another bike ride was a must!

 This year we did something that we've never done before.

We searched for ghost crabs at sunset

 They come out right right as the sun is setting

We never got a real good look at any but it was a great experiance for the kids

... and the adults had fun too.

The very last thing we did before leaving was watching for fireworks. 

The kids started looking for them early, real early.

 Brock had grandma cover his ears because it was too loud.

 We left the beach Sunday night at about 9:30 pm 

and litterally waited 51 minutes in line to get off of Topsail Island. 

As aggivating as that was waiting it was worth every minute!

 

The next day,

the actually 4th of July, 

after I got off work 

we went to a BBQ at my friend's Sandra's house

 Ayden had really master his diving skills by then!

 And then headed over to my mom and dad's house for another BBQ

 

 

 

 

 The kids helped grandma get clothes off the line, how cute

After everything was cleaned up my brothers wanted to shoot off fireworks.

Anyone who knows my side of the family knows that fire and them do not mix!

My brother Eric, had all the kids excited getting the fireworks ready

 

 

 

 My brother Shawn and his girlfriend Tiffany

As we were leaving my brothers decided to shoot just one more. 

Well, the dog grabbed at it, knocked it over and it went straight for the woods

..... can you guess what happened next ?????????

 Luckily they had water close by and the woods were saved :)

Never a dull moment at the Arbeau house!

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.  

-The Declaration of Independence July 4, 1776