Fourth o' July: Family Staycation

The Fourth of July is our wedding anniversary. 7/4/2009. We were married at my parents' lake house, it was a sweltering 90 degrees with very little shade and only the slightest of breezes. I was literally steaming in my 15 lb dress (imagine the look on Adam's face as he went in for the garter toss! Priceless.).  The wine was flowing, pierogies (yes, we had pierogies!!!!) lasted about 5 minutes in the buffet line, and one of our groomsmen (accidentally?) lit the neighbor's tree on fire with some early firework revelry.

For our first anniversary we went to Vegas with our dear friends; hanging out poolside during the day, clubs and shows at night. We also took a day trip to Zion National Park for some hiking.

Last year, we took a roadtrip down to the Mendocino area and camped on the coast with our two doggies, visited the Francis Ford Coppola Winery, and "tipped the toad" at the tasting room for our wedding champagne.

This year, I guess our anniversary just sorta crept up on us. We would have happily done a road trip with baby, but nothing was really sparking our interest in where to go. So we decided to make it a "staycation" anniversary. We spent part of the long weekend at our home that we're selling (affectionately called the "TTD" - T-ton Teardown) and the rest of it back at the lake house at my parents' for a festive BBQ and fireworks display.  Between all the commuting Adam does and the very little actual sit-down-family-time we get, we decided to take it easy.

We did manage to get out and do a couple things that we love. One of which was hike a Columbia Gorge icon: Beacon Rock. Beacon Rock is one of our favorite hikes; it was the first hike we took while dating, it was a favorite late afternoon getaway during the week while renovating, and we even hiked it when I was about 16 weeks pregnant (it normally takes us about 20 minutes to get to the top, that time.. 45. ). I also happen to love it for its geological coolness.  This time around we had baby in tow and she loved it. Hung out in the Ergo with Daddy while I tried to use Squirt to pull me up the mountain. That lasted about 5 minutes, because Squirt is just as out of shape as I am.

For the 4th, Adam and I took a stroll down at the waterfront and made it back to the lake house for the party my parents hosted, as a joint event between the holiday and our anniversaries fall on the 4th and 5th.  Miss Penny was of course decked out in her patriotic regaila and everyone oohed and ahhed over our 'cabbage patch baby'.

Thankfully, the sun has FINALLY come out in the PNW and I really hope it's here to stay! I'm going to spend the rest of the afternoon lounging on the deck, sipping my new favorite drink- iced Early Grey with a splash of milk and vanilla creamer. YUM!  Be jealous.
PS: You can say it, I know that I've become obsessed with collages these days. But it's just so efficient and fun!