We started the holiday off by heading to the beach to fly kites and play in the sand. It had been a while since Carter flew a kite, and I don't think Ella ever had, so it was fun for them!
Pretty girl!
Most handsome boy in the world
Grandad flew that princess kite for a while! :)
Ella wasn't sure she wanted to get her feet in the water, and I love that she snuggled up to my baby bump!
Girl toes!
Happy kids!
They love each other so much!
And a few family shots....
Mommy flew Ella's kite, too.
So fascinated watching it way up in the air!
Later that morning we spent some time in the pool.
Ella is getting braver in the water!
Carter and his snorkel goggles, so cute!
Flipping and flopping around like a little fish.
More fun with Grandad!
Eric cooked us all a wonderful 4th of July dinner of steaks and baked potatoes, and then we got cleaned up to go back to the beach for fireworks.
We started the fun with smoke bombs at the beach. We made a little volcano, and the kids loved watching the colors of smoke out!
Time for some pictures with the pretty sunset!
Ella was a little afraid to get her feet wet again, and Carter was very sweet to watch out for her!
So many great family shots, hard to choose a favorite!!
Blurry, but love this shot anyway.
Back to the fireworks fun!
They loved the glow sticks, too!
Eric was the fireworks master!
We ran out of our own fireworks right before it got dark, so we enjoyed
watching everyone else's, they were much bigger and better!! It was
one of the best 4th of July's I can remember. The view of all the
fireworks around us, our comfy spot on the beach, the perfect, cool
weather, and the lack of a crowd made it pretty amazing! Everyone had such a great time!
We left the next morning and drove to Jackson, MS. Couldn't resist this adorable picture of Ella snoozing at the hotel... bow and all! 
And Eric and Ella shared a yummy milkshake at a great pizza and ice cream shop that we found. Such a good dinner!
The next morning we drove the rest of the way home, but made a stop in Ruston at LA Tech for Eric to find his brick. It's been there for a few years now, and we haven't had a chance to stop and find it, and it didn't take us long!
We made it home just a few hours after that, and although it was an amazing trip full of lots of fun and memories made, we were all VERY happy to be home safe and sound, and sleeping in our own beds again. The kids are still talking about our trip, and I hope they will be for a very long time!!
