We were able to do something a little different for Independence Day this year. We went to a friend's house to swim and have dinner, then we went to the river to watch the fireworks. We've never been to the Melbourne show before; we usually watch the Palm Bay show. But on the river, you can see ALL the shows, and also the people who are doing backyard fireworks! It was neat to have such a great vantage point. We were also concerned about the weather all day long; but it turned into a beautiful Florida day--about the nicest day we've had in several weeks!

The first picture is some homes right on the river at the very end of the Melbourne Causeway, where we parked our cars. I took the other pictures because it was too good of a sunset to miss. The last picture is looking west (inland) back over the causeway. Happy Independence Day, all!

The kids played a mean game of Uno while we waited for the sun to go down. Here is Aaron, CJ, and Jonathan. CJ always seems to know when the camera is on--he always strikes a pose! :)

This is CJ's third year in swimming lessons at the local pool. Last year, we began signing him up for 2 sessions instead of 1, and that worked out for him much better, since we don't have a pool of our own to play in. Here are some pics that Eric took this morning, by personal request, that show how CJ's doing--he really has a lot of fun!

Here is some side breathing, and a well-placed smile! CJ's having too much fun!

CJ is just learning the backstroke.

Here's some before and after diving pictures! :)

The last few minutes of each day, they usually let the kids do some of their own stuff. Here's a Cannonball!