Normally the weather in the Seattle area is rainy towards the end of June. Growing up, we spent all too many 4th of Julys indoors. This year, however, we were blessed with amazing weather for our entire trip.
Our trip started with Brian running the Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon. While my parents took Jackson and Charlie down to the lakehouse in Olympia, Brian and I headed up to Jeanette and Kurt's home the night before the big race. Brian ran the full marathon, while Jeanette and Kurt ran the 1/2. I made my way to the I-90 bridge in the morning to greet and cheer Brian on around 10 miles. It was a gorgeous day -- Mt. Rainier was out and I had some kid-free time to soak in all the wonderful sights and smells of the PNW.
While waiting for Brian to finish his 4+ hours of running, Jeanette and sunned ourselves in her backyard and got caught up. When Brian returned, we drove down south to Olympia where my Great Aunt and Uncle on my dad's side of the family were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. We made the tail-end of the party and relieved my parents of the kids. It was nice to pop into the party, as we will be missing the annual family reunion (a.k.a. the "Marshall Open") this year.
The following day, we had a "June birthday party" for Charlie, Jackson, Great Grandma et. al. at the lake house. We enjoyed seeing extended family on both my mom and dad's side of the family. The kids/cousins all enjoyed boat rides and playing in the lake and finding trouble.
The next few days were spent back up in the Seattle area. I got a bit of shopping time in with my mom and sisters, and a much-needed girl-only dinner at the Roanoke Tavern on Mercer Island(fondly nicknamed "The Rowy").
Before we knew it, we were headed back down to the lake to get a jump start on 4th of July fireworks. Now that most of the kids are a bit older, fireworks are huge -- and my dad and Brian literally bought into their childhood fantasies. The stash of pyromaniacal madness was just that -- madness. Every evening for 4 days the kids gathered 'round and got to light off fireworks before bedtime.
Daytime rituals did not deviate much. It was the same fun day after day -- fun in the sun, on the boat, and playing with the cousins. The adults had their own little ritual. After the fireworks everynight, we brought out a new game introduced by my mom: Mexican Train dice! Put a bunch of attorneys in a room together and the competitive juices get flowing. I think we played until almost 1:00 a.m. one night! Unfortunately, we chose the wrong night to stay up late. Some type of flu bug hit us all and we were all down for the count the following day (or so).
On the 4th of July we were sad to have to say goodbye to Stephanie, Matt, Joe, Sam and Lauren. They all had to head back to Bend, OR before Matt's Boy Scout Camp. We lingered around the lake for most of the day. Brian and I took a boat ride around the lake, looking at homes and soaking up the remaining views of the PNW before our trip came to an end.
That evening we drove up to Tacoma, WA to my Aunt and Uncle's home. They live on a cliff overlooking Puget Sound. They have a pool, little golf course, gardens, and built in outdoor fireplace. While the kids frolicked in the pool and on the golf course, we enjoyed the beautiful views of the Sound and the gourmet spread set out. Just before the s'more dessert...tragedy struck. The kids had been running around all evening and Brandon accidentally ran into a pipe and cut open his face. Poor little kid was so upset that he was going to miss the fireworks because he had to go to the ER. Jackson was devastated for him and kept saying: "Poor Brandon" on the ride back to the lake.
We topped off our trip with Brian's firework finale at the lake. Clear skies graced the night and we enjoyed the firework displays from neighboring families from across the lake. It was a gorgeous night. Jackson sat on the grass snuggling with Grandma and whispered: "This is the best 4th of July ever." I can't imagine more gratification or thanks than having a grandchild say that!
All good things must come to an end...and the next day we were off to SeaTac bright and early to head back to Peoria. Jackson and I flew separately from Charlie and Brian. I have to admit that after all my single travels flying with the boys, flying with just Jackson was a treat. Entirely exhausted after all our fun we both slept a majority of the flight. Luckily Brian and Charlie caught a direct flight to O'Hare and we were able to meet up on time for our three hour drive down to Peoria.
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