5th Annual July 4th Truckee - part 1

seems I'm gonna have to rely on my memory skills #saynotodrugs and take us back in time about 4 months to update our family blog.

JULY 4TH

On July 29th we packed-up our truck and excitedly began our rode trip to Truckee. First stop, the fireworks booth (this year Brian held onto his wallet), which was only 1 of 2 stops for the 3 hour drive - not bad!

 This year we rented a different cabin from the years prior, which despite the lack of lake views from our deck, the dock was a great alternative.

 Brian unpacks the groceries, and the girls cuddle on the couch with my ipad. I immediately began decorating the interior with July 4th decor, then walked around to photograph a few rooms.

 The girls move into the kitchen for a snack....

 The next morning we headed over to the beach for a little relaxation - super hot in the sun, wish the water wasn't freezing! These chairs were perfect, just close enough to get our toes wet and cool down, or our secret way of peeing into the lake (is that bad?), once the water would rush over and reach our bellies us girls would just release our bladders.

 The girls loved digging and building sand sculptures....

 Back at our cabin, Sierra (our daredevil) jumped off the dock to cool down.

                                                

 This year I decided to have the girls make their own July 4th tank tops - super fun craft!

 Using pipe cleaners with red, white and blue paint as the firework, the adding glitter to image transfered onto the fabric.

Fantastic Firework apparel.

 Homemade pizza and board games on the deck!

 Marissa had a super wiggly top front tooth and woke in the middle of the night (July 3rd) screaming she had lost her tooth - we wondered if she had maybe swallowed the tooth but after we all searched the bed found it beneath where Brian was sleeping (yes, we all slept together in the King size bed, even though there were 2 other bedrooms and 4 beds). Marissa was excited to see that the Tooth-fairy found her and snuck $2.00 inside her tooth pillow.

 The day before the 4th the girls and I made July 4th themed strawberries using white chocolate and blue sugar sprinkles - YUM!

 As we waited for our friends, the Roberts' to arrive, we enjoyed some time on the dock, feeding the ducks, watching the sun set, fishing,

Feeding the ducks actually set the tone to jumping off the dock - Sierra reached to far to feed the ducks and fell into the water, HA-HA!

which resulted in.....

 ......too much fun,

 .....too much sun,

 too much sugar.

The morning of July 4th Brian and Verne set-up our beach area, while Melanie and I gathered the kids, sunscreen and food.

 Marissa and her partner won 1st place - 2 legged race! Our families first ever win at the Donner lake July 4th festivities.

 Brian and I lined up for the 2 legged race - seems we will never win this race.

 Marissa and Maile did their best at the pie eating contest.

Sierra and Marissa spent an entire year practicing for the Hula-Hoop contest, but I think their nerves and excitement won over their skills. Marissa was pretty disappointed, but she did her best and there's always next year!

 Later that evening, we returned to the beach in warmer clothes to watch the fireworks - AWESOME!!!

The night wouldn't be right without a few bottles of Champagne and our favorite friends, The Roberts' - cheers to our annual trip!

 WHITERTS JULY 4TH, 2012

Brian couldn't resist lighting a few of our own fireworks, before the actual show - but a cop quickly turned the no-fun light on and asked that we stop due to safety reasons. So funny seeing Brian act like a kid giggling  while lighting the fireworks, unaware that the officer stood beside him shaking his head - super nice cop though.

END OF PART ONE