2nd Annual 4th of July on the water

Nothing says the 4th better than hanging out together with family on a boat out in the ocean. Scallop season just opened and the 4th of july was a perfect opportunity to go scalloping! Grant and I and the kids went out of the gulf with his brother Todd and his family, his sister Lana and her family, and my sister Tillia and her kids (can you say 10 kids, 7 adults and two of those adults were pregnant, oh my). We had a blast even though it was a little crowded! The scallops were thick this year and the first spot that we pulled up on we got our limit of 10 gallons within about an hour. The kids always have a blast snorkeling around and spotting the scallops so that we can dive down and grab them. Shelbie would say, "Daddy I see one", and Grant would then come up with 10. It, again, was so much fun.
One of our 5 gallon buckets filled up to the limit.
Best buds Evelyn and Miles.
Here's the kids swimming around after all the scallops had been collected.
Here's our Coral hanging out in what Grant was calling, "Coral's Cave". It was actually the small storage compartment in the boat, such fun!

I will add that when we finally got back home we spent hours pulling out the scallop meat out of the shells and then making our favorite pasta dish with tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and scallops of course. I know that most people have hamburgers and hot dogs on the fourth, but in the Cooper household we pretty much celebrate all occasions with seafood, plus it's even better when you catch it and clean it yourself. Happy Fourth to everyone!