Flashback :: Fourth of July in Eugene

What a fun-filled summer we are having! Phew, it seems like every time I sit down to write an update, we're off on another adventure. Please indulge me as I take a few posts to catch you up on all of the fun our little family has had this summer.

Let's start with the Fourth of July (since it happens to be one of my favorite holidays!). We had planned on heading north to WA to spend the day with family at my aunt and uncle's on Samish Island. Unfortunately, the closer to the day we got, the less likely the chances of going became. So instead of fretting about it and being all alone that day, Gamma, Gampa, and Gary all hopped in the car and headed south to spend the day with us! We had a fun day relaxing and playing games in the backyard, picking up a few fireworks to light with Jonathan, and enjoying your typical Fourth foods. As evening approached, we decided to pack a picnic and head over to Fern Ridge Lake (only a few miles from us) to watch the fireworks at the Eugene Yacht Club. Boy were we in for a treat!



Turns out that the parks around the lake are all closed early on the Fourth, so we had to set up our picnic just off the road by the dam alongside 30 or 40 of our closest friends. :) It ended up being just fine since it was right across from the Yacht Club and had plenty of space to eat a meal. Jonathan loved his watermelon!

The view across the lake was beautiful. As dusk settled in, the moon popped out right above where the fireworks would be. It was a beautiful sight!



Gary and I were lucky. We offered to sit on the ground instead of in our cozy REI chairs and ended up having the best seat . . . a concrete slab that kept us warm through the evening.



The fireworks were, uh . . . interesting. In pictures it looks beautiful, and they were. However, the pictures don't show that this very small show was actually spaced out over about an hour and a half! Ugh. We sat and waited for each one to be lit (they were about five minutes apart for most of the show!). We had fun laughing about it with the other families around us, and actually stuck it out until the end. We most certainly will always remember this fourth as the one with the slowest fireworks show ever!



We then headed back to our house for a few fireworks of our own. Since Jonathan was already asleep, we held onto his until the following night. We're so thankful that my family could join us for the day. We hope you had a great Fourth as well!