4th of July

I can't believe the 4th of July was already over a week ago. I've been a little slow to get to all my pictures I've taken recently, but I'll be all caught up soon... and then I'm sure I'll fall behind since I'm headed to Missouri this weekend and starting a photography class at the same time and won't have access to my computer for 5 days. This is where I wish I had a laptop, but whatever. I will live.

We spent the 4th of July with my in-laws where we had a fabulous dinner and then headed to the boat for a cruise around the lake and a viewing of the fireworks.

This was the first year we decided to show Riley the Fireworks from the boat. Last year, was the first year she braved watching them (from afar). She's never been a fan of noise - loud noises just turned into lots and lots of crying. Not only was she okay with the fireworks, but she loved sitting at the front of the boat and kept asking to go faster.

This kid is not the same kid I knew a couple years ago.

Lots of parties and patriotism on the lake

Quickly over having his picture taken

Such a cute picture of these two.

Love this one too.

We decided to 'park' pretty early to make sure we got a good spot. Poor, excited for fireworks, Riley had to wait patiently for another two hours for the show. Luckily, she's somewhat self entertaining.

Slowly, the boats start to gather.

Almost time! it's getting darker!

I was hesitant to even attempt pictures of fireworks with out a tripod and solid ground, but I think these turned out pretty good considering I placed the camera in my lap for stability and just pushed the shutter from time to time, ballparking how long I'd keep the shutter open.

I love all the squiggly, fuzzy boat lights at the bottom.

These fireworks weren't the only ones nearby. We could also see some from Valley Fair, Mystic Lake Casino, and from quite a number of people who live on Prior Lake.

I don't remember this one looking like a bug, but cool for it to look that way in the picture. It's like a ginormous mosquito. Very fitting for Minnesota.

It was a late night for our wee one (and for us too), but she did great. I didn't get to bed until 11:30, but Riley was up at 6:30 am. I tried to convince her to go back to bed, but that only bought me another 7 minutes. Still, I'll take it since there was no crying at the fireworks - only excitement.

Can wait for all the future 4th of July celebrations!