Fourth of July Weekend (Light and get away)

We had a fun holiday weekend.  On Thursday, we got to see some old friends, the Titensors, who were passing through, and we had so much fun catching up with them.  They stayed overnight and we got to take them to a few of our favorite places in Birch Bay - the Point Whitehorn trail and then lunch and treats at the C-Shop.  

At the beach the tide was pretty low and we found about eight starfish on the rocks.  I didn't even know starfish could be purple - aren't they pretty?  Young naturalist Sam rescued each one and put them back in the ocean.  (Isn't there a cheesy story about that?  "I made a difference to THAT one..." or something?) 

Andrew, Allie, Chris, and Kastle - It was so fun to see you guys! 

On the fourth, we ended up staying home and going to the Blaine parade, which paled in comparison to the awesomeness of the Preston rodeo parades, which, let's face it, set the parade standard incredibly high.  

This one had far too many classic cars, but we did agree that Coast Guard ships and yachts would be a fun, unexpected addition to the tractor section of the Preston parades.  I'll make some calls on that one, I know some people.

It was a hot, sunny day by Washington coast standards, and we cooled down with some yummy Hawaiian shaved ices...

...which left our tongues delightful colors.

The evening of the fourth, we went down to the Semiahmoo Spit for a barbeque and to watch the fireworks.  The day was warm, the water was lovely, and the kids swam until about 8:30.

Then we got dressed...

...and snuggled up with friends to watch the fireworks.

It was beautiful to see the fireworks over the ocean.  

We also bought some of our own to set off, but they weren't allowed on that beach.  So instead of putting the kids to bed at 11:00 two nights in a row, we lit them off at home the next day at about five o'clock.  Not quite as fun to watch as when it's dark, but we are lame enough to value a good night's sleep over high entertainment.

The kids started off super-pumped about lighting our stash...

...until the first one went off.

These three watched the entire show from here:

But Liam sure enjoyed it!  There was one in particular that he helped me pick out at the fireworks stand called "The Unicorn."  The lady told us that it was a great one because it lasted about four minutes.  Liam was so excited all week for that one, and just before we lit it off, he exclaimed, "I can't believe it lasts FOUR MINUTES!  Sam, that's as long as your time-outs!"

Then it was sparkler time.  I was excited to try an idea I read in a magazine about sticking the sparklers into a tub of playdough so they don't get hot on the kids' hands.  (I always hated those little sparks that hit your arm when you swing your sparkler around writing your name.)

Well, the playdough might have helped a little, but it turns out my kids hate those little sparks, too.  We had to set up a burn unit.

We were lucky to have Ol' Sparkly Pants Ratchford wow and amaze us with his unparalleled grace and skills.

It was truly magical.

And here's a few random dress-up photos.  (We've been doing a lot of that, since it started raining Monday and hasn't let up yet.)

Liam in one of Gram's old wigs.  He put this on and said, "Look!  I'm Uncle Craig!"

Declan, the Yankee Doodle Spidey.

And here's a rare glimpse of what Sam would look like:

a) if he were a girl, and b) if I were a big-bow-loving-mama.