The Fourth of July

For the second time, the Oregon coast has proven to be a great time for the Fourth of July. It was even more fun this time around with Gavin on the scene. We were missing Dylan, so that certainly subtracts from the experience, but we made the best of it! The adventure kicked off on the third of July with fireworks over the lake. T & M had driven in from Portland, and after we put Gavin down, we hit the road for the festivities. It gets dark here around 10pm, so it was a late night for me, especially considering that I had snuck out the night before, too, to watch The Bachelorette with a couple of girls. On a side note...I forgot how entertaining and hilariously ridiculous that show is and may have to get into it again.

Riding the (broken) firetruck at the mall.

Beach selfie!

Getting comfortable at G&G's house

Picnic lunch at the beach.

Best swing ever!

He's a rascal, and he knows it.

An unconventional stroller ride.

Hangin' with Grandpa.

Morning run at the wayside.

He'll push anything with wheels.

Found love with a monkey.

Tilling and sowing.

On the actual Fourth of July, Gavin and I took our ritual morning walk around the neighborhood and caught a glimpse of one of the floats for the parade. A giant green tractor...what could be better? G was in prime condition for an early nap and woke up just in time to walk over to the Gleneden Beach Parade with the family. With firetrucks, race cars, bikes, tractors and candy, the boy was in his element. We followed it up with a walk down to the beach with the whole family. We had been down a day or two ago, and G was still a little suspicious of the sand, but Uncle Cody turned that all around in an instant, and he had a blast playing with the boys. It was burgers for dinner and shenanigans for the boys in the backyard, and G was treated to a late bedtime because he was having the time of his life with his cousins. When I reported back to Dylan that evening, I told him that it was probably one of Gavin's top three best days of his life so far. Then, just like we did a few years back, we snuck into the hot tub (with the temp turned down) on the top deck and watched two neighboring fireworks shows on the beach. These people take their fireworks seriously, and the whole beach and neighborhood was abuzz with activity. So. Much. Fun. That made three late nights in a row for me, and I'm now one tired American.

Parade!

Beach time with Uncle Cody, Z and Judah.

Directing parade traffic.

Parade selfie!

He adorned himself with this backwards helmet all by himself.

We paid the price today with an overtired and completely unmanageable toddler. He's been fighting a runny nose and cough since we got to the beach, so that didn't help things. By the afternoon, I knew it was time to take a drive or I might go nuts. We headed down to Depoe Bay to window shop with the tourists and pick up an apple fritter at the bakery before heading to the city park to play, watch the boats on the harbor, and take a nature walk. This helped us both a lot, and our evening went well, too.

Capt. Gavin

Nature walk

Checking out the boats and fishermen.

It was early to bed for G, and I'll follow suit here shortly. I'm so glad we are here. This week G and I are holding down the fort, so I've gathered a list of activities for our week. I'm sure we'll feel the sting of being away from Dylan without the family around, but I'm happy we have lots of things to do and see!