Fun for the 4th!

We got invited to the Childer's family 4th of July event near Decatur, AL, so we headed up on Sunday after church.  Not so much of a drive that anybody got too antsy...

We brought some watermelons and this flag dessert and Arvel, Cel, Adam, Dane and their family and friends did the rest. 
It was a feast! 
We all ate too much! 
Arvel does some serious barbecue! 
The kids played and swam and ran all day long.  Then there was a WILD and CRAZY fireworks display.  And after that an outdoor movie (Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief) shown on their giant outdoor screen.  The little ones got so tired, we didn't make it all the way through...had to head on to the motel and crash!  It was a fab 4th for sure!

Next morning, we headed out to see some local attractions...
First the Space & Rocket Center at Redstone Arsenal:

We checked out all the cool exhibits...

And rode some scary rides...

And some that weren't so scary...

Then we headed off for lunch and the short drive to Cathedral Caverns State Park.
Here are Jim and the kids at the mouth of the cave:

And here are some shots inside:

Unfortunately, my camera didn't do well with this.  I couldn't hold it still enough to get good pics.  So these don't do the caverns any justice.  But, we all agreed that this was much better than Mammoth Cave National Park where we went last November.  Absolutely awesome formations!  And the paths and lighting were much better as well (wheelchair accessbile!!)  We hiked in about a mile with a tour guide, but then were allowed to wander out at our own pace...no rushing to keep up!  We really enjoyed having the extra time to enjoy the cave and get photos (even my bad photos!)
Josh at the "frozen" waterfalls:

Abby and some stalagmites:

Hannah in the cathedral room...wish this showed how amazing this was:

Here we are heading back out into the 95 degree weather, after almost 2 hours underground at 55 degrees:

This park got a 5 star rating from all of us!!  Totally worth the admission price! 

On the way home, we stopped off to visit Jim's dad in Birmingham.  He is at Lakeshore Rehab following knee-replacement surgery.  He looks to be making a great recovery...expecting him home soon.

Got home just after bedtime for the little ones...catching up on laundry and chores today...and recording the memories from our fun 4th!

Amy