Happy Independence Day, America!

I have had four days reprieve from work so why is it that I’m so exhausted and can barely keep my eyes open and body moving?  Maybe it’s because we did so much. 

We ALL went to San Diego for the long July 4^th weekend.  When I say all, I also mean our canine children, Buddy and Bella.  We arrived Thursday afternoon, and Lance took all the kids (canine included) to a nearby beach while I went to the store to stock up on grocery items etc.  When they returned, we had our very first meal as a family on the boat.  Lance recently installed our new gas range, and I cooked on it for the first time.  We had chicken, scalloped potatoes, and Caesar salad.  The evening was spent just relaxing.  The kids watched a movie. 

 

Our first family meal on Tide the Knott and me cooking? Yep, that's right!

 

On July 4^th, we took the dinghy and rode up to San Diego Harbor where we got a unique close up view of the ships in the maritime museum.  Following that, we drove to a beach next to the Coronado bridge where we swam endlessly.  We had packed a picnic lunch, and it was a wonderful afternoon.  Lance was eager to return back to Tide the Knott before the harbor got even more crowded.  Because of the holiday, there were boats everywhere.  The return ride on the dinghy was a little bumpier than what we were accustomed to, but it was still fun.

 

great view of the San Diego skyline

 

 

Brandon and Dylan by the Midway Museum

 

 

 

yep, that is Dylan and Brandon way out there. 

Mia and Brandon's sand fort.

I love this family photo.

I love this photo of Mia.  It's classic!

 

For July 4^th, I made burgers.  We had delicious strawberry, blueberry shortcake for dessert.  Basically, my diet was thrown out the window.  We watched a movie to kill the time before the 9 p.m. firework show began.  Lance stayed on the bridge with the two dogs while we sat on the foredeck.  Wow! It was amazing.  The 20-minute show was probably one of the best I had ever seen.  Of course, I remember as a child watching the firework show by the Washington Monument in DC with my family so I don’t think anything can compare to that, but this was a very close second.  There were four sequential firework shows in the air.  Poor Lance did not get to enjoy it.  The dogs, as we expected, freaked.  Bella cowered in fear.  Buddy was ready to bolt somewhere to safety.  He was petrified.  Lance had to wrestle him to the ground and use his might to hold him down.  Lance said, “it was the longest 20 minutes ever….”  The dogs did survive though they were very frightened.  It was hard to get them to calm down for the rest of the night.

 

 

Lance got drunk.  I think I have only seen him drunk less than 5 times in our marriage, and that night, he was drunk.  He went to bed and faintly recalled the activities from the evening.

We returned to Orange County on Saturday afternoon.  I took a quick nap and then headed to the gym.  I don’t know, but I was so exhausted.  However, I felt obligated to work out after consuming the vast amount of unhealthy foods.  I also knew we were going to the Queen Mary on Sunday for a belated birthday celebration for Dylan, but that will be another post.

 

Lance called me up this morning and was so grateful for all that I had done to make the weekend so memorable.  He said it was one of the best 4^th of July’s he ever had…..Well, I didn’t do much.  I did cook quite a bit, but it was actually him who did everything to make it such a great weekend.  I loved spending time with the family, and the boat is getting more and more comfortable.  It does still feel like we are doing an upscale camping trip, and I know it won’t always be like that, but for now, it’s actually kind of fun.

 

Lance, Bella, and Buddy's bed