The Lewis compound will be home too this weekend's Fourth of July celebration.
The holiday revolves around food.
This basket of goodies doesn't look very low-cal.
This was gooooood!
Any ideas? Lemons Squares which were delicious.
However, a last minute shopping experience would add too the calorie experience.
We needed some heavy whipping cream.
And some Swiss milk chocolate. You'll see why later.
James and Kristy have some cooking ideas for Trackchasing's First Mother.
We found some of these candy toppings were more than ten years old.
This was our first Fourth of July party with ACTIVE grandchildren.
Mitch discovers a hat.
He's a serious young man who never takes his eyes off you.
He'll have to grow into this hat.
There will be time for that.
I'm pretty proud of Mitch and his sister.
Astrid and Mitch can eat.
Check out the teeth. Recently Astrid bit a hole in their plastic swimming pool!
The kids can feed themselves now.
We're guessing they will be walking in a week or so.
Look Ma, “One hand”.
James confirms the “alcoholic” cooler is well stocked.
These young ladies are ready to party.
Now that they are mobile it's hard to keep up with them.
Grandma keeps a close eye on them.
The kids are just fun.
What's in the background? The ice cream maker.
Everyone is heading to the beach!
It's a short walk to the sand.
Just a few steps down the hill....
And then a walk across the bridge....
The pedestrian bridge is built over the railroad tracks.
The Fourth of July is the busiest beach day of the year...by far.
The lifeguard station keeps an eye on the crowd.
The San Clemente Pier, in the background, will be where the fireworks come from.
The local police seem to be going casual today.
Check out the bucket hat.
J.J. and Mitch are major buds.
Astrid always has a smile on her face.
When will Mitch get his first pair of sunglasses?
You have to get here early to get a space.
A beautiful Mother/Daughter couple.
At least he's starting out in Oakleys!
This young lady wants to walk.
Life doesn't get much easier than this.
I need to get to the beach more often.
He wouldn't let go of those glasses.
I'm shielding Mitch from the sun.
Who is that big guy up there?
Mitch seems uncertain about this situation.
How about your own pool when you come to the beach.
Dad's getting Mitch's pool ready to go as well.
Ya....this works.
Water on water.
How about some sand in my pool.
What's he thinking?
Hey Dad, this is sand.
This is fun.
I don't know if this is going on or coming off.
The beach is one popular place.
Yes, I've got to come to the beach much more often.
Amtrak runs between our house and the beach.
The fireworks are shot from the end of the pier.
Kristy and friend Sarah have things under control.
Kristy and our good friend, Melanie are having a good time.
Before the fireworks show we were treated to a fly over.
The Marine Corps base, Camp Pendleton, is less than five miles from our house.
This was way cool.
And away they go.
It's time to start cookin'.
Ramin will do the honors tonight.
Melanie, Sarah and J.J. relax while the cooking gets done.
What could this be?
It's mint for the chocolate chip mint homemade ice cream.
James is quite the gourmet.
In goes the heavy cream, mint and chocolate.
I scream, you scream....ice cream!
It's getting dark. It won't be long now.
Our neighbors are ready too.
We'll watch everything from the roof deck.
Bang!
The city of San Clemente has some of the best fireworks anywhere.
Kaboom!
Fortunately, the wind blew the smoke just to the left of our house.
We've got a great viewing spot.
With just a chill in the air, every one enjoys the action.
Check out the illumination of the water.
It's fun to see how different shots will turn out.
Doesn't the gold firework look like a face?
We're getting into the finale now.
A litte bit of everything.
Beautiful.
Shaky.
The road in front of our house is packed with cars.
Check out the fireworks to the right. That comes from Dana Point, the city to our north.
Our fireworks are over. Now the traffic clears out quickly.
Now it's time for homemade ice cream.
Kristy serves.
The next morning everyone gets back to their regular duties......like eating.
These guys can put it away.
Mitch joins me in my favorite activity.
We're bonding.
I'm teaching Mitch my best skills.
Give me food.
The babies both have blue eyes.
Using a spoon is new.
It's fun to see the babies advance from one skill to the next.
I won't stick my finger in their mouth anymore.
Drinking from a cup is a new skill.
Is this a turf battle?
Food and drink...that's all I need.
The twins now have new high chairs that stay permanently in San Clemente.
Is she eating my chocolate chip cookie?
Did Mitch already eat my chocolate chip cookie?
I bet he did.
Yes...he did.
Is he eating another one of my cookies?
Yes, eating is a major time-consuming hobby.
Who is Mitch looking at?
Yes, Grandma can look at her grandbabies for ever.
The kids can drink with straws too.
I think these kids will be well cared for.
A great father/son combo.
Now the kids can get into drawers.
Who me?
Mitch in his money shirt.
Mitch waves good-bye to another fun Fourth of July weekend.
