We kicked off our 4th of July celebration in Sunriver in a unique and fun way: by attending...
and participating in a bike parade! My sister registered all 4 older kids in the parade, which entitled them to unleash their inner patriotic creativity and decorate their bikes and helmets in as much red, white and blue we could muster up! The night before, it was all the buzz around their pillow talk, as they anxiously couldn't wait to be in the parade the next morning, causing them to have trouble falling asleep (they also all shared a room, so there's that).
Upon arrival to the parade starting point, we were greeted with a sea of cheerful, excited, balloon and streamer-wearing individuals, who were just as excited as our crew was.
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| The fearsome foursome! |
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| #76, Geoffrey |
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| #75, Ben |
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| #73, Ellie |
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| #74, Maddie |
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| This girl was in disbelief all morning, that she was "going to be in a parade!!" |
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| Sarah and Ellie |
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| Don't you love the flag sticking out from his helmet? |
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| Showing our patriotic colors! |
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| The boys are ready! Let's get rolling! |
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| 'Cause I love a good selfie, especially with this handsome mug. |
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| Grandma and Grandpa were particularly ready for the parade to begin! |
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| Nice touch, no? |
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| Monkey see, monkey do. Although, he was not amused. He began chasing the balloons and going in circles to try and get them off his collar! |
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| And to add to the fun, a fire engine was the parade leader and started blaring the sirens. Tucker didn't hesitate to start responding, in loud howls. He just was excited to be celebrating, too! |
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| And so begins the slow chaos, er, I mean bike parade! |
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| They are all in this picture...but also sort of blend together. |
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| Sort of captures how slow things were moving along, with Maddie's foot on the ground! |
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| Tucker got in on the parade action, too! |
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| Such a fun way to spend the morning! |
And even better, when there are otter-pops waiting for the riders back home!
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| Giant otter-pops! |
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| We highly encouraged naps from the kiddos (and the adults), knowing we would be out late for fireworks that night. The two who never nap, took us seriously! |
We had an early dinner before driving over to Bend, for fireworks and to explore the city just a bit. This was the beginning of our love-affair with our future hometown.
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| Sarah knew of a great shaved ice place, which was the perfect treat before the festivities! |
Afterwards, we found a fun park which also became our viewing location for the fireworks. The kids (and grandparents) burned off some energy and had lots of fun!
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| My mom is notorious for giving underdogs wherever swings exist. I grew up with that expectation, and now my kids have adopted it as well. Thankfully, she still obliges. |
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| Grandpa and Joy - no underdogs for them, although Joy is definitely wondering how she can get in on some of the action happening with her older cousins! |
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| Honestly, Grandma Kris is the best playmate at a park! I'm the one behind the camera taking pictures. From a park bench. Using the zoom feature. |
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| Grandpa Pat makes a pretty great playmate, too! |
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| Pirates and Princesses |
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| Proud grandparents! |
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| This is one huge reason we are moving back to Oregon! |
As we were finding a place to settle in for fireworks, we realized no one had thought about the "pre-game" show...sparklers! Brant, Dad and I went out on a mission to track down some sparklers and were
surprisingly successful!
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| Sparklers are not allowed in California -- our kids were mesmerized! |
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| Showing Maddie how to write words with a sparkler. |
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| Geoffrey was a quick learner! |
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| This was the final picture of the night, before it just became too dark. The big show was wonderful, the crowds were minimal and the whole day was memorable. Happy 4th of July!! |
