Well I’m going to try it out anyway:
HAPPY 4th OF JULY EVERYONE!!
I have obviously been away from technology (thank goodness) for the 4th but am happy to be back with a few moments to myself to report back on our second, FABULOUS trip to the Clark Hill for the 4th with fabulous company… thanks to Josh’s wonderful family for having us again :)
The only requirement was for us to bring something sweet… besides myself Lou, of course ;)
I was so excited with this news because I knew just what to make…
Click here for Dulce De Leche recipe
Here’s a few more pics of this salivating master piece including Alex coming home only to dip the outer edges I cut off into the caramel… guess who had a tummy ache that night:
There were many other versions of how to make this that I can’t wait to try, especially the cheesecake praline and toffee bars one!
On to our trip: 
Does it surprise you that Lou felt the need to bring every bit of his toys? Nope, me either.
It also didn’t surprise me that we got there super late….similar to last year :(
But how could I complain after waking up to the sound of this cute little bug yelling “JennyLouuuuu wake uppppp”!!
The same wake up call as last year and I couldn’t have asked for anything better!
Speaking of waking up, can we talk about our sleeping arrangements:
That would be Lou and I’s tent in the far right corner (look very closely)… and the massive one straight ahead fit EVERYONE else (3 air mattresses) not to mention a freaking air conditioner that allowed me the privilege of hearing Renee and Stephanie complain about being COLD.
You poor things.
Anyway, besides Kaileys wake up call, we also woke up to the smell of Mrs. Georgette and Mr. Eric making eggs, bacon and cheese grits… mmm, mmm, mmm!
So we scarfed it down along with my caramel bars (although I hadn’t planned on them being a breakfast option?) and then loaded up the boats, made sandwiches and headed to the beach!
(the picture above may be the only time Mrs. Georgette sat down the entire weekend- LOVE YOU!)
Lets move on to the lake shall we!
Day 1 : Little did I know this would be almost the only day that I was ALL about water sports! Probably because the night before (when we arrived) was the only night we didn’t drink ourselves to sleep….
It’s not fun to be thrown off a tube or jet ski after a full night of drinking the night before :)
Kailey held this dead fish for about 30 minutes, no one knows how she found it but she was intrigued (and in case anyone doesn’t know 30 minutes is a long time for a kid to hold something in water!)
Papa is PROUD of anything Kailey does :) 
as are the rest of us…..
Hey Stinkster, it’s lunch and cookie time :) 
This is what the beach chairs look like at lunch time: empty!
Oh Joe, Stop being so romantic….
The picture above was taken way earlier into day one than you would think….. and this big fella had a lot to do with it!
Just an FYI, Renee and Josh’s family are either the largest 2 families in Statesboro or the most likely to be at Clarke hill during July 4th…. I swear, we not only had a family reunion (upon accident after getting there and seeing how many Thompsons were there) but ran into pieces of them on the lake all weekend!
Which is extremely bizarre for Alex and I to comprehend since we have to drive a minimum of 9 hours to see any of our family members… 
I’m not sure how this woman does it but by the time we got back to the camper Mrs. Georgette was already peeling potatoes for dinner…. and had recruited Stephanie to help!
So Lauren, Renee and I ran off to find a shower house that Mr. Eric had totally talked up…. after getting lost and seeing they all looked the same and were all busy we decided to just pick one…. apparently it was the one he talked up?
On a good note it fit all 3 of us and had good water pressure which is a rare form in bath houses!
Luckily we got back just in time for “Show time” starring Josh Whitfield and Joe’s bike…..
(notice the black truck behind him: they waited to load their boat until after he went because they just “had to see this” they also video taped him….)
We are pretty sure he got some hits on his head and You Tube!
Yay Josh!
Back to the food… we were all super excited about dinner that every night which allowed us to equate helping with getting it in our bellies faster!
others waited and entertained Kay bug…. 
Which was includes teaching Kailey how to use my “big girl camera”!
The pics below may be the only 2 not of boobs that Kailey shot :) GO Kay!
By then it was time for me to be entertained….. so Steph put a BEAUTIFUL braid in my hair that made me feel the need to get a haircut appt. ASAP after seeing this!
Ew- but yayyy for dinner time!
…and yayyy for 8 layer cakes!
Let the drinking games begin! 
I believe this was the night Alex opted out of the guys fishing trip (to sleep off Mrs. Georgettes good southern cooking) that lasted about 5 hours only for them to come home empty handed… so they allowed us to come on board to play drinking games with them on the water!
Only after some pretty “convincing” text messages from Stephanie Renee and Lauren….. of course!
Thankfully that night came to a successfully drunk ending and we woke up early ready to do it all over again!
Kailey woke up painting seashells and ready to hit the water!
The “choo choo” and “Jump to Lou” entertained her until Mrs. Georgettes huge family reunion feast was ready back at the camp site! 
The boys did a little trade off with entertaining Kay bug….
Time to eat!
Highlights of the meal: POTATO SALAD!
Not to eat and run or anything but the water was calling us!
Have i mentioned yet that I love these girls!?!?
….well I do!
And I know I don’t need to mention my love for this little cutie but he’s not so bad himself either ;)
Lou was pumped and ready on our second day to try out his wake board for the first time since last year on the fourth!
Yayyy Lou!
…such the little ladies man!
Our fun was quickly interrupted when Lauren and I started spotting clouds and lightening that quickly turned into a massive storm!
Our storm plan was to “grab the drinks and head for the tent”!! 
No complaints here!
It ended up getting pretty bad though, so we made a run for it but unlike Stephanie I managed to down my amazing Margarita before taking off (thanks Joe)!
Home Safe!
Do not hate: Kay and I had some pretty wild hair (and I had some nice coon eyes)….
No worries here though, nothing a pair of sunglasses can’t fix :)
Thankfully we all made it back to shore safely to enjoy another night of drinking games and me, Stephanie and our men stayed up hours past the rest of the crew to enjoy a long walk with Lous night vision in attempts to make my dizzies go away:)
“More walking please”
Our last day was amazing and patriotic of course :)
Ok, not really any more “patriotic” than the rest of the weekend (fyi: we did have red, white and blue tablecloths all weekend) but leave it to me to wear my most patriotic bathing suit on the actual 4th of July :)
We had a blast and similar to last year did not want this trip to end! Especially after seeing the woman who “does it all” do even more by trying her luck on the skis and wake board!! 
She was amazing on the ski’s and although she didn’t master the wake board she was the closest to getting up on it out of Josh and his cousins :)
What a great way to spend the 4th of July yet again this year! I know I try to turn every vacation into a yearly trip but honestly, I would love to see this as something we do every year with our own children in the future!
It’s an amazing tradition Josh’s family has given to him and Erica to grow up with and that him and Renee have passed down to Kailey….
We love ya’ll all and are so honored to be a part of your very special Fourth at Clark Hill.
Happy [belated] Fourth of July everyone!
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