4th of July beach BBQ

After the parade and hanging at my parents for a bit, we headed down to Normandy beach, where Michael's awesome girlfriend, Laura's dad owns a house on the beach.  We never really go that far down to the beach and have definitely not been there since Sandy.  We went over the Manasquan bridge and it was crazy to see all the damage.  OMG, homes still looking like they did on the news right after the water washed away.  But the crazy part was when we did come over the bridge and all the property on the water, was completely clear.  There were so many homes that were just completely gone.  Even just 2 homes over from Laura's dads house, was gone and a few more over 3 in a row, gone.  So sad to see it in person.  Laura's dad had minor damage.  He had to replace his deck but inside there wasn't much damage, so lucky.

It was crazy how chilly it was on the beach there.  However, that didn't stop us from going on!

 You can see the houses that are gone in this pic.  Laura's fathers is the one with the deck farthest left.

 Building houses on the beach with in ground pools!  Surrounding them with shells, fun times.

 Where's Mya?

 Ash, love her.

 Living the life here, looking out to the ocean.

 This is how close they are to the beach.  The sand is literally under the deck.  I would literally be here every weekend! 

 Amazing!

 NuNu and Pop Pop were there too but didn't hit the beach with us.  They enjoyed the cocktails and deck!!!

 Ash was climbing the stairs to the top deck with the big girls, who Mya had SO MUCH FUN WITH!

 AND, onto the top deck she is.

 I tried to sneak this pic of Mya with the older girls playing.  They were so sweet and were including Mya in what they were doing which made her feel so cool.  LOVE!

 Playing on the beach.

 Love these 2 cuties...

 xoxo

 I got sparklers from someone at work who lives in PA.  They were a hit with all the kids once it got dark out. 

Even Ash loved them. 

 MOREEEEEEEE

 They couldn't light them fast enough.

We watched some of the fireworks on the beach too.  They were much less quiet and freaking awesome.  In my entire life I never remember seeing any on the beach.  I can check that off my list.  Plus, they were happening in both directions.  Just so beautiful! 
Thanks again Laura, we can't wait to come down again!!!!