A Weekend of Independence

We've had a great weekend so far filled with friends, road trips, lots and lots of food, fireworks, and great memories. 

Friday night kicked off with a fun barbecue at our friends the Damins' home. Saturday morning I woke up and had the sudden urge to go to Rochester. And so we did. When we showed up, it was in the middle of Geoff Catlin's Gratuation party, and we stuffed ourselves on delicious homemade food. Sunday we drove out to the beach and walked the pier, followed by some awesome sushi. The sun was shining and it was a perfect day for the beach, despite the hundreds of people there! 

 That night, we ate pizza and played games and shared stories with the Catlin family in their backyard until Fireworks started. They weren't anything big but it was fun to play with sparklers and watch the sky light up. 

We drove home the next day and got ourselves ready for Alexandria Bay. It's a great big bay with restaurants on the water and shops all up and down the streets. There is a great big beautiful castle called Bolt Castle (see photo)  about a mile off shore on a little island. We could've taken a boat tour out onto the water for the fireworks, but we weren't aware we needed reservations. Note to self, Alexandria Bay is crawling with people around the holidays. Particularly on Independence Day weekend. There was a great firework show over the water. Here are just a few pictures of our night:

Beautiful Bolt Castle. When the sun went down, it lit up.

 

The gorgeous sunset. Notice the # of people on the TIP of the bay

Our Friends, Amanda&James Mocco, celebrating with us.

It was so great to celebrate our freedom this year with our soldiers and heroes, since we had to celebrate independence day last year with them in Afghanistan. We had so much fun, but there was certainly a lot missing. This is the first holiday I spent away from family and friends, away from home. Let me tell you, It's not an easy thing to do. I'm sorry to everyone at home that I couldn't be home for this holiday. You are on my mind always. At one point during the fireworks, Dugan leaned down to me and told me he was happy, that he had all the fireworks he needed already. I love my life! But I sure miss the life I left behind.
We love you all.
We miss you.
Happy independence day!