4th of July in OkObOji!

It has always been a family tradition of ours to spend our 4th of July up in Okoboji! Unfortunately, this year Mark was not able to join us in our family vacation.

To save on vacation time for when Baby H gets here, I only took off Wed-Fri this year, usually we go up for the whole week! Tuesday afternoon after work I headed up as far as my parent's house. When I got home we grilled out and finished packing up in anticipation to be off to the lakes first thing in the morning!

Mom, Dad, and I all woke up bright 'n early and loaded up the pick up and headed up to the lakes! Of course we stopped at McDonald's on our way to get our $1 sodas :) When we got up there, the first thing Mom and I did was run to the dreaded Wal Mart for groceries for the week while Dad set up the camper.

My sister, Addie, Wade, Shayla, and her friend Sarah all arrived around noon and we grilled out for lunch and then... got out on the water for the afternoon! This was Addie's very 1st boat ride! Can't you see how excited she was?! ;)

 

 

She did SO good on the boat for it being her first time! She did NOT like her life jacket right at first because it just hugs their neck. She reminded me of a dog with a cone around her neck because she was so 'stiff' looking, poor monkey! She slept in her carseat for awhile too so she couldn't have been too uncomfortable!

 

After we got off the boat, Josh was at the camper waiting for us and that evening for dinner we went to the long awaited....Taco House! Dad, Mom, Josh, Mark, and I went over Father's Day weekend but Laura, Wade, and the fam had not been there yet this year so they were super excited to indulge!

 

When we got back to the campground, my friend Kendra who was staying at her inlaw's camper right down the row from us, came over to our camper and visited! It was so nice catching up with her and seeing her two super cute little ones!! Later on that night we started a camp fire and had s'mores of course!

 

Before we winded down for bed, we just had to get a few more giggles out of this little sweetie! She is such a happy girl, even when she's sick! (she had a little bit of a cough and runny nose:( ) I got this little onesie for her last summer when we were up at the Lakes, little punkin is growing up so fast!

Thursday morning Mom and I got up before it got too hot outside and went for our morning walk. It's so nice walking by the lake when the sun is still rising and seeing how calm the water can actually be before everyone gets going for the day! We got back, ate breakfast, and went for a morning boat ride! We had to go in 'shifts' since our boat only holds 8 people. Addie was ready for the boat, even though it was just a bit chilly yet in the AM, it warmed up fast though!

 

 

And off goes shift 1! :)

It was so nice getting out earlier than normal because the water wasn't near as rough! Look, Addie even got a little break from her life jacket and got to help Uncle Josh drive the boat through the Harbor!!

 

After shifts 1 and 2 were done with their boat rides, we grilled out for a later lunch and cleaned up for the day. That afternoon we headed over to the Barefoot Bar!

No shirt, no shoes, no problem, right?!?!

It was a fun time, as always, even thought I couldn't enjoy my ice cold Margarita!! As you can see below, Addie and I stayed sober (gotta love the big 'ol bottle in the pic)

Also while at the Barefoot Bar, I got to meet up with my long lost friend Lindsey!!! Lindsey and I went to Iowa Central and BV together, worked together at Iowa Central and also lived together for about a year! I sure do miss this girl. I see her about once a year and it's usually over the 4th!

 

After we left the Barefoot we headed back to the campground to grill out for dinner and off to the fireworks we went! But not before a few pictures of course!

 

Love her little ice cream 4th of July outfit! I helped her mommy pick this out:)

 

Cory and the Fireflies were playing at the Greenspace when we got there and around 10:00 the fireworks display actually started! Needless to say, Addie was out the whole time! :)

Baby Hefley wasn't out the whole time though, whoa! She was going crazy in mama's tummy, I think she liked all the 'booms'! ;)

Friday morning Wade and Laura and the fam took off for home and my friend Sarah came up to the lakes for the day to do some boating with us! We were happy to have her join us!! It was nice catching up as always and fun just hanging out for the day.

We hopped on the boat with my aunt and uncle, Shelly and Glenn, for the afternoon. They just got a new boat with a bathroom on it, wouldn't that be nice?! (esp with my bladder nowadays!) We headed over to the Barefoot Bar for a drink for them and then headed back in for the afternoon.

After Sarah left, Mom, Dad, Josh, and I went to the Dry Dock to eat and then went over to the Emporium for alittle shopping. Unfortunately they are not running any big sales yet though.

Saturday morning Mom and I got up, went for our walk, and unfortunately had to start packing up to head back home. For lunch we went to the Family Diner and it was amazing! Talk about huge portions of food for cheap-o! We will most definitely be going back there!!:)

After lunch, I went over to my friend Trevir and Jodi's, who live in Okoboji and just had their little baby girl, Aspyn Leigh! I finally got to meet her, not even a week old yet! I can't wait to get her and Baby Hefley together!

After our little visit and catching up, we headed back to my parent's house and unpacked and grilled out, again:) We relaxed that evening which was nice. It was also nice to sleep in a 'real' bed!

Sunday morning we were pretty lazy, did some stuff around the house, grilled out again for lunch and back to KC I went. I was excited to see Mark but of course sad that vacation and family time was already over. That's how it goes everytime though, time flies when you're havin' fun:)