Happy July 4th!! {day 1}

Husband's off all weekend, weather is cooperating and we are all together!  This definitely makes for a wonderful 4th of July weekend. 
Here's a pictorial of our first day...Field trip to a civil war museum, bar-b-q with friends and just being together!

 This morning we woke up and decided to take a field trip to a museum.  Not far from where we live are many historical places to visit. This one is called "Crooked Creek Civil War Museum". Choc-full of all kinds of civil war guns, uniforms, saddles, cannon balls, photos, and too many other items to name, we took a short trip to a little area in our county called West Point. It is such a quaint little part of our county. I wouldn't mind living there. The curator is full of stories and trivia that tell about what happened here during the civil war.

The guns they are holding are authentic and all were used during the civil war. 

  This a one of 2 huge dioramas that are in the museum. Look at the little tiny men, complete with guns.

 Here the curator is giving us a personal tour and describing many things in great detail.

 You can take a walk along the paths that cover the 40 acre historical site or you can drive down to the winding creek below. Various trails lead to different parts of the river, and to many holes where the soldiers actually fought and hide from their foes. One boulder even has 2 bullet holes in it.  They found several bullets near the boulder and they are on display at the museum.

 My husband and I are standing next to a cabin that was moved to this property for the benefit of becoming a bed and breakfast. Inside is simply lovely. All very primitive, but thankfully, complete with air conditioner. (our warm Alabama days are hitting up into the high 90's)

 This is a pavilion complete with a few pic-nic tables and 2 carriages. The old wheels date back to the late 1800's on one and 1904 on the other.

 Each buggy is a 2-seater. 

 This bullet collection shows and assortment used during and after the civil war.

 One of the things I love about visiting a place like this is watching the kids explore on their own. Austin is looking at a couple of pages from an old book.  The magnifying light/glass really shows the detail of the photo. He thought it was fun to turn the light on and off too.

 These guns are so heavy...built well and lasted nearly 150 years.

The back side of the little cabin. This cabin was actually taken apart and moved. All the boards were numbered, disassembled and  then put completely reconstructed as the original building. It's really something amazing to see. 

 After leaving the museum, we headed on over to visit with our good friends, Jeff and Bridget and their family. We had such a good time together!~

All the kids were there...having fun outside. We were inside getting all the food ready. Hamburgers, hot dogs, steak, along with macaroni 'n cheese, and au gratin potatoes and chips, topped off with sweet tea. It was yummie and everyone ate way too much!

Afterwards we went outdoors and watched fireworks go off one after another.  It was loud and bright! We loved it! Then we ate snow cones and let the kids light sparklers.     Such a great way to start our celebration of our 4th of July!

We hope you have a wonderful time celebrating Independence Day and that you are able to spend time with those you love and care about too.