4th of july remembered

the past few days i have been a hot mess. this past weekend was stressful and i have lost some people in my life. friends who just didn't work out i guess. the other night i was at a friends house thinking back on my time in florida and i started thinking about all the amazing times i did have when i was there. i realized that one of my most favorite days in florida i never wrote about. so i wanted to take the time today to write about it so i won't ever forget it.

fourth of july two thousand twelve. 

independence day is my favorite holiday and has been since i was a little girl. i love the food, the fireworks, and the meaning behind the day. i love everything about it. i was worried that being so far from home i wouldn't have a good day. i usually spend 4th of july with my best friend. whether it was at our old church's carnival or in tahoe as we got older. but being two thousand miles from each other it made that hard to do. we did skype however so we could say we still celebrated together. after we skyped i headed downstairs to make some yummy food with jordan. we had spent the morning shopping for supplies and spent the next few hours preparing a feast. we made deviled eggs, pasta salad, and fruit salad. we also made delicious little red, white, and blue fruit tarts. we drank champagne with strawberries and blueberries and listened to the 4th of july pandora station while we painted our fingernails. 

 once the food was ready to be eaten we busted out some hot dogs and had a huge feast for the two of us. and man was it delicious. i wish i had gotten a picture of the inside of the refrigerator because it was packed. we also attempted to make cake balls but kind of had a hard time. they were still delicious just not very pretty. 

once it started to get evening i knew i wanted to get out of the house. i needed to see some fireworks! my friend tim had texted me saying, "don't worry dear, we will have fun on your favorite holla day" and invited me over to celebrate with his family at their house on the water. i got myself ready in my new american eagle lace navy blue dress and my white cardigan. i put on red flats and used a red flower to pull back my hair. with my festival nails and whole american themed outfit i felt beautiful. i hopped into my little white car, cranked up the country station, and drove across town to tim's parent's house. i was nervous when i got there because i didn't know anyone but tim but everyone was nice and i quietly grabbed a chair next to his sister and her kids. in alabama fireworks are legal and since alabama is only about an hour away they had got some awesome fireworks. as soon as the sun started to set they started to light them off of the dock. probably the coolest thing was that all their neighbors had bought illegal fireworks too so they were awesome. it was like a giant show right in front of  us. they sizzled, crackled, and lighted up the sky. it was simply amazing. 

once they finished setting off all their fireworks tim came over to me and told me to wait for the best. the way his families house sits on the water and four different town's are on all sides of the bay. so all at once at 9 pm all of the town's started their fireworks productions. so not only did we get to see ONE set of professional fireworks we got to see four! from the comfort of their own backyard. it was AMAZING. there is no word to even describe it. simply breathtaking. i don't think i moved the entire time. i was frozen in awe and happiness. the sound of the fireworks echoed across the bay so we could even hear them going off. it was amazing. after the unbelievable grand finale's of all of them everyone had to leave. every person had come with kids and it had started to get late. i helped clean up and kind of lingered talking to one of tim's friends i knew and the little girl she was baby sitting. once they left it was just me and tim standing on the dock. he grabbed two beers and lead me to the end of the dock to the boat that was tied up. he helped we climb in and the boat drifted a little ways from the dock out into the water. we squished down next to each other and talked about the day. i thanked him for inviting me over and for making my favorite holiday amazing. but even though the day was amazing the end of the day was my favorite part. a neighbor a few houses down had bought a raft and floated it out on the water to set off their own fireworks after all the commotion of the evening had died down. so after everything me and tim got our own private fireworks show. it was probably one of my most favorite moments of all time. he put his arm around me and i leaned my head against his chest and i knew that in that moment, on that boat with someone who truly cared about me, i was more blessed than i could ever imagine. 

(the view from the boat. it's a lot closer than it looks. stupid camera phone!)

it was an amazing fourth of july. thinking back on it makes my heart hurt. i didn't know that less than a few weeks later tim would be offered a job in the bahamas and a few weeks after that i would be home. i didn't know that it was an evening to mark the end of my time in florida. i didn't know it would be one of the last special nights i'll ever share with him. but on the boat with that special man i was so happy. i was so beautiful. i was so free. and i will never forget that fourth of july. i will never forget the fireworks. the beer we drank. or the way i felt. it was the best because i shared it with the best.

tim, wherever you are out in the caribbean. thank you. from the bottom of my heart. you took care of me so much in florida and i will never forget that night. you made my favorite holla day one to remember always. xoxo.