Round Lake Fourth

My beach babes. 

We celebrated Independence Day with our whole community at Round Lake Park. It is a fun lake and park about five minutes from home with so much to do. It is one of our favorite places to go and play during the week, and it was even more fun on the 4th with all of the extra events and treats. We had a lot of fun! 

We spent the morning at the beach and splash pad. Brooklyn experienced sand for the first time and was an instant fan. It was so cute to see her crawling and tottering around on the beach. Peter loved the beach, especially being in the water. It is the perfect size for him, and I'm excited to spend a lot of time there this summer. 

Peter was all over the splash pad. He seriously didn't stop. He made sure to dart through every single water spray and get as wet as possible. It was so fun to follow him around the splash pad and watch his excitement. 

We had a picnic lunch at Round Lake and then went home for afternoon naps. After naps, we decided to go back to Round Lake for the parade, some canoeing, paddle boarding, more beach time, and food (we learned there are certain Midwest staples we don't need to sample... fried cheese curds. Bleh!). Both kids loved the canoe ride. They were so relaxed and calm (until Peter decided he wanted to rescue a kid who had fallen out of his kayak. Then he was very concerned). Peter kept saying, "Oh. This is very beautiful." I love getting our kids out on the water. They have boat and river love in their blood.   

Above: Me on a paddleboard. Below: Scott on a paddleboard. A first time for both of us, and it was fun! It was so relaxing with a new perspective of the water. We will definitely have to look into paddleboarding in Santa Barbara and at the cabin. 

We ended our 4th of July with dinner at home, early bedtime for the kids, and a view of the fireworks from our bedroom window. We missed being away from family this year, but we had a great time getting to know our area a little better and spending time together. At the end of the night, we were toast!