My day began on July 4th with getting up and making blueberry coffee cake, which we took to the brunch at a friends house on the parade route in the community of Normandy Park.
There we visited and ate far too much, what with all of the goodies that everyone who attended brought.
As the parade got under way, we moved down near the end of the route to where we had planted our chairs. From there we watched the parade, and could then make a quick get away to join the kids at The Cove.
Meanwhile Jill had charge of Gus the Bus and five teens, including Isaac and Irene, their cousin Allie from Nebraska, and their second cousins Bryan and Sara from California, all staying with Jill for a few days or more.
Jake showed up to join the fun and drive the van.
After getting the old vintage VW camper van ready, Isaac and Irene became T-Rexes to accompany a friends entry into the community parade.
The parade was mostly vintage cars, with a few trailer "floats", lots of kids, cops, fire engines, and candy tossing. George was there too.
Tom and I followed at the end of the parade over to The Cove, a Park owned by the City of Normandy Park, where parade entries gathered and the city fed everyone hot dogs, pop corn and ice cream. Tom and I were too full to eat. We met up with the crew.
Irene is in there.
Eventually we drifted off back to our car and headed home for some R & R and lots of Facebooking.
At 4:00 we loaded up our pies and potato salad and headed for Jan's house on Henderson Bay.
There we ate some more!
Tom cooked the grill pizzas. 
There was lots of pie!
And a very cool cake!
The kids went kayaking while we waited for dark. Then Jill and the kids put on their fireworks show before the big show from out on the barge in the bay started. All along the bay families were also putting on their shows.
Then the big show began.
It was long and loud and wonderful.
Another Independence Day went out with a bang and is now in the books. We all had fun and ate too much and will now work on getting back to "normal".
We celebrate the freedoms we have as Americans, knowing we will have to work to protect them, and we acknowledge with gratitude the opportunities we have been provided that allow us to not only be well fed, and even indulgent.
What a wonderful way to celebrate the Fourth, Linda. Thank you for all the great pictures. I was holed up in my room during the fireworks noise, and it worked pretty well. They did go on long into the night, though. By midnight they had mostly stopped.
ReplyDeleteWhat a busy and fun day! Happy Fourth (a day late).
ReplyDeleteThat vintage VW camper is amazing! As was that last cake. Still trying to figure out how they got that blue in the top layer.
ReplyDeleteI love Jill's bus full of young people!! Looks like fun.
ReplyDeleteThat is the way to celebrate the 4th. Love the VW and I hope those T-Rex costumes weren't too hot. Thanks for the fireworks.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful. I sat at home, but did get a rare visit from my son!!!
ReplyDeleteYou made a great day for yourself. We should make an effort to celebrate and join with family.
ReplyDeleteYou celebrated the Fourth in quintessential style! I loved the parade, the food photos, the family gatherings, the fireworks over the water. Every bit of it was truly perfect. I stayed home alone as Jim had to work. I could have joined the kids up near Erie for a small town Fourth of July, but I dreaded the drive and didn’t want to stay in a hotel. There was no room in the inn at my daughter’s house. I dug in the dirt a bit and enjoyed the day while I tried not to think about missing out on having a traditional Fourth experience.
ReplyDeleteGreat way to celebrate. I was not feeling up to par and slept through most of it, but I did see fireworks from the comfort of my front yard.
ReplyDeleteHappy 4th a bit late! That cakes looked amazing! Not to mention the pies! Looks like the teens had a great day:)
ReplyDeleteI look forward to your holiday posts and did visit on the 4th, but didn't have time to leave a comment. I've missed seeing Jill and children lately. Your July 4th parade is always fun and especially seeing the gang in the old VW camper. Your family really knows how to have fun with each other.
ReplyDeleteOh how quickly they grow from babies into dinosaurs. What a wonderful day. I miss our own family fourth celebrations. Of course, I could go to Alaska one summer for the Fourth but it's so hard to leave the garden at this time of year. Good to know that Gus the Bus is still going strong!
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