the 4th
at the beach... Hard to imagine a better way to spend the 4th than with friends at the coast. We wrapped up the window install and most of the other beach house projects before everyone showed up for the holiday. Just in time to ensure the 4th became all about the beach and celebration.
The night of the 3rd we spent a few hours painting and decorating with the kids so we could have a "float" in the local parade. The motto is "be anything do anything" so we didn't have to reach a very high bar but wanted to have something "of the ocean" and that the kids would have a good time with. Some cardboard, some cocktails and lots painted kids later and we had it. Lots of waves, some ocean dwelling creatures and a ton of fun. Strap it all onto a trailer and viola! a float is made.
Turns out a few other groups have spent years pulling their floats/themes together, so i guess we'll have to raise the bar next year- but we felt good about our initial entry. I decided last minute to drive the bus as well, with Karma riding shotgun. Everyone loved the float, loved the bus, but as should have been expected paid more attention to the cute dog in the front seat than anything else. Showoff.
The remainder of the 4th turned out to be the hottest day I can ever remember sitting on the oregon coast. Dee had the brilliant idea of trying a clam bake (minus the clams), so we ended up on the sand for about 13hours digging a pit, tending the fire, baking our seafood feast. 11 people shared a dozen ears of corn, a half bushel of oysters, and 15 crabs. We could want for nothing, and if we might say so... everything turned out absolutely delicious!! Instant family tradition.
The rest of our holiday was spent celebrating, enjoying and tending a bit of sunburn before ending the evening with a fireworks extravaganza and a campfire on the beach.
What a perfect holiday. Seriously. Much like almost every other dilemma we face in life, the only real way to make it better would be to surround ourselves by even more of the people we love... but the weekend itself was perfect. And will most certainly be repeated in future years.
