Every time this holiday came up I missed that routine. I knew they were getting older and easy things that they used to do became harder. We stopped going there because they just weren't up for all the things you had to do to prepare for company to come over. Last year I had a gathering and invited people over because Erika was in town. Everyone came and we had a great time. We just couldn't do fireworks because I live in a HOA community in town and I really didn't want the cops called on me. If we lived somewhere else I would have hosted a full 4th of July.
This year we were all worried about Grammie because she was still being monitored at Mojo's from her stroke she suffered in May. I went in just about once every three days to visit with her and I was still hopeful she was getting better. I was not ready for her to go and the true reality of that terrified me to my core.
I had the day off from work and should have taken the next day off as well but I didn't because I was brand new and it would make me look bad as a new employee. Ben also had the day off and we invited his mom and sister out to Clear Lake and they said they would come out this year to enjoy the festivities. Doug and Jenn didn't want to drive down and Erika was too busy and wanted to stay home.
We didn't buy any fireworks this year because I just wasn't feeling it. Fireworks were getting more and more expensive. Ben didn't have any extra money so we just used the ones we had from the previous years. I kept them in a bin in the garage. When Erika came up from Nevada last year she and Travis bought a bunch of them and left them here so we did have those ones to blow up.
It felt great to sleep in that day just because of all the changes I've endured over the past week or two. I didn't have to be anywhere and it was nice. I was really hoping the weather would be better so we can go swimming at the lake as well. The last time we got to do that was 2015 when the weather was in the 80's. Not this year...again. It was in the low 70's and overcast. I made sure to bring warm clothes with me.
I did a couple of chores before we headed into Rainier to pick up grandma. We were lame and didn't bring any food with us this year. We helped grandma put her stuff in the Escape and I made sure to bring everyone's camp chairs. The back of the Escape was getting full and I hoped mom didn't have a buttload of things. When we got to mom and dad's house, mom told us that dad was going to meet us there later, we packed up her stuff, which was a lot and made our way towards Clear Lake.
When we got there we noticed how lame people parked in the designated parking area. Everyone needs to learn that when you get there first, you park the furthest away and fill it in as you go. We had to drive through one of their flower beds because no one left any room to park and there was a huge area still open away from the driveway.
We took the stuff out of the back that we needed and got our mom's new cart out and packed everything into it to make the walk down a little easier. We got out our chairs, extra bags and coolers and headed down the driveway to the waterfront of the house. We said our hellos and set up our chairs and the little pop up table mom also got. We had gotten there a little earlier than last year so the food wasn't even done yet...which was a good thing.
After we got settled in, we helped bring out the food and set it on the table. We had a bunch of sides, lots of desserts, condiments, buns and Paul fired up the grill with burgers and hot dogs. We would be eating here shortly. I sat down and talked to Bob and Bev for a bit while the food was cooking. We talked about the TriCities Geocoin Challenge (since we didn't cache this together) and some of the other upcoming trips this summer. I visited with some of the people inside and found out one of my cousins was going to WSU this fall.
When the food was done I made sure I was one of the first people in line. I was hungry and I wanted to sit and eat. I grabbed a burger, some beans, chips and a couple other sides and sat down with my half a mountain and lake view. As I ate, I chatted with Trish, grandma, Amy, Ben and mom for a bit. After we were done eating we all ventured off and started chatting with other people and some of us took a boat ride around the lake. Ben and I shot hoops in the back for a bit.
As the evening wore on, I returned to the Escape to get some of my fireworks out and some long pants because it was getting chilly. Ben and I and the rest of the kids spend at least an hour or so blowing up ground blooms and fire crackers, shooting off bees and bottle rockets and whatever else people had in their possession.
A little while longer, people started shooting off the bigger fireworks and of course, the people next to us were putting on a huge show. PJ got the red flare and now it was just a matter of time before the barge floated to the middle of the lake. Everyone got settled down and found a chair next to the lake. We could see the silhouette of the barge making its way to the middle.
We saw the first firework go up and blow up with very pretty colors. I took a few pictures with mom's camera just to see which ones came out. I really loved this time of year. For some reason fireworks were very magical to me. It reminded me of when I was little and I was afraid of the sounds and to feel safe I would wear ear muffs and sit on Grammie's lap. Man I miss those times.
And just like that it was over and everyone was packing up their belongings, children and food. We got all of ours packed up back in the cart but next door had an arsenal of fireworks going and they were pretty close to us. It looked like we were in a war zone. I got a picture before we left the lake front to head back to the Escape.
Yes, we made sure we still had grandma.
We thanked Paul and Peggy for a really nice time and we would see them again sometime soon. We got all of our stuff packed up and followed the line of cars out to the main road. I dropped off mom first and then grandma. Ben and I got home just before midnight. I took a quick shower because I still had to go to work the next day.
Next Adventure: Rockies vs. Mariners
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