We had a great 4th of July yesterday. The day started with a walk to downtown Issaquah where we watched the family 4th of July parade. The kids had a great time trying to get all of the candy that was thrown in their direction. Most of it seemed to go right into their mouths without having time to be put in their pockets.
Families can register to walk in the parade with their pets. Every year someone brings their pet chicken, but mostly its all kinds of dogs. Maybe next year we'll walk in the parade.
Speaking of pets, Porter and Fallon continue to talk about Alby. Occasionally I'm not sure if they quite understand that he's gone for good. Toni really wants to go look at dogs this week while I'm on vacation. I've been thinking about a German Shepherd. There's a good breeder just east of here in the Cascades. I don't think we're ready for another dog just yet...but we'll see...
Back to the 4th...
After the parade we walked over to Veteran's Memorial Field, where all of the 4th of July music, food, games and, most importantly, pony rides were located. We got in line for the rides immediately, but there were already about forty people ahead of us. As we got nearer to the rides Fallon's excitement couldn't be contained. Porter, on the other hand, was a bit upset that Toni had left to go buy some delicious curly fries at the vendor next to the pony ride.
When we finally got to the front of the line and it was our turn Fallon couldn't wait to get on the pony. She kept saying that she wanted to ride the Apaloosa. She was all smiles, and rode all the way around with just the horses handler. Porter decided he didn't want to go. He was still a bit upset that his mother wasn't their. Plus, I don't think he likes being the center of attention, just like his dad.
Afterwards we went over to the playground and played on the rides, ate, and eventually made our way to the huge blow-up bouncy house, slides, and obstacle course. They totally loved playing on all of them, and immediately ran back to the line after finishing each time.
We stayed until they shut down the festivities, which was around 2pm. Then we made our way back up Squak Mountain, where we all crashed for a little nap.
Fortunately, the kids took a long nap. We had to bribe them with going to see the fireworks to get them to cooperate. Since the fireworks don't start until after 10pm here (sunset), they had to get a good nap so that they wouldn't be too grumpy.
After their nap we ate a good dinner of grilled hot dogs, chicken sausages, yellow corn and watermelon. Our neighbor, Carol, also joined us for the meal. It was declicious, but the mosquitoes in the front yard got a bit annoying. We've had a ton of rain the last few days. In fact, it rained so hard earlier in the week that Toni and I both commented on how the weather reminded us of Florida...especially the rare thunderstorms we've been having. The roads even smelled like Florida a bit, with the hot steam rising off of them after the rain. It brought back that feeling of summer that you only get in Florida - hot and muggy, but nice in some ways.
We finally finished dinner and hurriedly jumped in the car to find our way up to the fireworks show on Sammamish plateau, about fifteen minutes from here. Traffic wasn't bad, but there didn't seem to be any parking within a mile or so of the park where the fireworks display was to take place. By luck, we turned down a neighborhood street and found a spot pretty close by.
The fireworks were scheduled to begin at 10:15pm, which was only minutes away. So we put the kids on our shoulders and hurried towards the park. Just as we arrived, the fireworks began with a volley of loud bangs. Fallon immediately began screaming. Fortunately it was out of happiness and excitement (the entire ride to the plateau she kept alternating between exclaiming that she couldn't wait because she was so excited, and that she was afraid). It was really great to see her so happy.
Porter was a little more reserved, but the wide-open mouth gave away the awe he was feeling as he craned his neck to see the first fireworks go off.
We eventually found a good spot for our blanket, on the side of a hill. We watched for the next thirty or minutes or so, each of us commenting on our favorites. Surprisingly, the noise didn't seem to bother them a single bit. It was one of those rare occasions when we were all in a good mood and everyone was having a great time just being together.
Soon, I could tell that the fireworks people were setting up for the finale. I kept telling the kids that the finale was coming up. You could see the anticipation building in their expressions.
The finale was fantastic...really well-timed...and probably one of the best displays I've seen to date. The kids totally loved seeing them and we had a great time experiencing their first fireworks display with them. It was wonderful.