Thursday, July 16, 2009

our fourth

(warning: this post contains LOTS of pictures!)

 

for the fourth of july we drove up to durango, co to stay at the cabin and spend the holiday with the grandparents. it was a change from our oregon tradition of spending the fourth with our good friends the dimit’s, but  because they were too far away we started a new tradition!

 

mitch’s parent’s spend the fourth at the cabin most years so they had things planned out. they woke up early that morning and went into the town of bayfield to save us seats along the parade route. i had never been to a small town parade so i was pretty excited to see what bayfield had to offer.

 

we arrived a couple hours later and found them saving our seats. so, we sat down to wait…

family on the left side of the picture are mitch’s dad, mom, and grandma.

 

first, they started with the “pet parade”. it was very interesting to see what people do to their pets…

 

first, there was this pair of dogs pulling the radio flyer wagon with the little girl…

radioflyer

then, there were the dogs that were dressed up by their owners….

bulldog

 doggies if they only knew, i’m sure they wouldn’t stand for it!!

 

but kawena was sure fascinated by them..

bwballoon

i tell you, this girl needs a dog! whenever she sees a dog or a puppy she immediately wants to go play with them. someday, sweet girl, we will get you a dog!

 

and then there was this dude riding his cooler!

snap-onnow that is the way to travel! he was whizzing back and forth on that thing…it was awesome.

 

after the pet parade, the real parade came through town with horses and tractors and military cars and floats with bands and all the rescue vehicles…

 

it was a pretty cute, small town parade. i was sitting next to this old lady and when the fire truck came by spraying water out the back she covered her gray hair with her hands and said, “no! no! not this way, my hair!!” it was pretty funny!

 

the kids got lots of candy and beads handed and thrown to them. i would venture to say that they had a good time, too….

nani

kale'a

kawena

maheathey were all smiles and looked pretty happy at the end of the parade, don’t you think?!

 

after the parade we drove back to the cabin and i took a nap with the baby while mitch tried to get the other three to nap, to no avail. then, it was time for dinner. we had hot dogs and hamburgers. my favorite were these…

zuchini

that mitch brought from our garden at home and grilled on the barbie! he even let the girls help season them…

seasoning

and nani got to be the taste tester…

tasting

 

after dinner the girls entertained us with a “show” of sorts, which involved big sticks…

 

we were all convinced that someone would get hurt, but they surprised us and we all survived unscathed!

 

after dinner and the show we took the girls to get some ice cream at the country store. then it was off to wait for the fireworks over the lake.

 

unfortunately, we parked by a bunch of crazies with beer and fireworks…not a very good combination as they clearly demonstrated. they had a campfire and had lined up all of their “illegal” fireworks in front of it. they were shooting them off while their kids threw the small fireworks INTO the campfire. at one point i guess one of the “illegal” fireworks either tipped into the fire or one of the kids threw it into the fire and we were lucky not to get  impaled by it!  the girls were a bit concerned…

nanikale'awatching

 

kawenaears

so, after that close call we moved our chairs to the other side of our car to provide a safety barrier between us and the crazies and anymore exploding fireworks!

 

then, the REAL fireworks began…

and i actually remembered my tripod and got some cool shots! then it was off to the cabin for some much needed rest!

 

 

from the waking up early in the morning to the staying up late at night, we had a wonderful fourth of july! it was not like any other fourth of july i had ever had, but it was very good one!

girls

13 comments:

Amanda said...

So fun! We get flag shirts too . . . except our WHOLE extended family does it. Yep, 25 men, women and children in matching flag shirts! It's quite a sight!

Kristi David said...

Love the pictures (as always)! Your girls get more beautiful every day!

tutu lady said...

What a great photo essay. Everyone looks like they enjoyed it too. Mahalo! Love ya'll

Scott-n-Allison said...

Lia is so jealous of the pet parade. She wants to see it too! Tell Nani that Lia is reading Little House on the Prairie right now, too...we'll have to have a book club discussion!

Tonya said...

I LOVE the balloon picture. What a fun 4th of July. The drunkards sound a little scary though. Good thought to move away:0) I am impressed with your fireworks pictures. I have NEVER gotten a clear shot like that. It looks like you're having a great time in Mew Mexico. I hope it feels like home:0)

Sarah said...

Looks like so much fun! You're girls are so stinking cute! And your little baby is just....I just want to kiss her! : )

calibosmom said...

Looks like a good one! I love holidays!!! The fireworks pictures are terrific-you should teach classes!

jessica said...

A pet parade?! I'm glad you had pictures of it. The girls look so big! I only know them through your blog but they look so grown up in these pictures. I love the pictures of the girls watching the fireworks and Kawena covering her ears. I have a picture of Maya doing the exact same thing when she was that age.

Melissa-Mc said...

I love the dogs dressed up in costume. All your pictures are absolutely gorgeous. Looks like it was a blast.

Ilene said...

That last picture is fantastic.

Glad your 4th was police free!

Amanda D said...

Your 4th looks like a blast! I am in awe of your firework shots. Hooray for tri-pods. I love the 4th. :)

Malia said...

Looks like you had a blast!! Awesome firework photos!!! Love you!

Lauren in GA said...

I want a cooler like that one!!