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Todd’s first 4th of July – 2015

Isn’t it cool how having a baby changes so many things for the better?  For example…

I usually detest the 4th of July.  Where we live, it sounds like a war zone on the 4th.  It’s beyond excessive.  Every year our yard turns into a mess of hundreds of little pieces of firework debris.  (I don’t know about you, but my mood is awesome when I have to clean up someone else’s litter.)

It really bothers me to think about all the scared animals, too.  And of course, fire is always a legitimate concern.  (A house just a couple blocks from us did burn down due to fireworks several years ago.)

For the above reasons, we usually try to leave town for the holiday.  But this year, we needed to stay.  I was dreading the day.  It was bad enough before we had Todd, but having Todd meant we really needed a game plan this year.

My goal was to get away for as much of the evening as possible.  A quick search led me to a great plan:

We’d spend the evening in La Conner, where there was a free music event at the La Conner Marina from 6-10 PM, and then a fireworks display over the Swinomish Channel at 10 PM.  (Here’s the link.)  We’d get back home with just a little more noise to endure.

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So here’s how the evening unfolded…

We arrived in La Conner around 6 PM, and it was easy to find parking.  If you’ve never been there, La Conner is a super cute town.  We took a walk south along the Channel Boardwalk first.

Todd & Eric next to the Swinomish Channel

Eric & Todd

Todd & Elisa

Along the Boardwalk

Swinomish Channel

Next, we ate our picnic dinner back at the car.  Eric and I had sandwiches made with thick pieces of homemade marinated tofu, guacamole, romaine lettuce leaves, and a smear of Just Mayo.  We let Todd stretch his legs a bit.  He wanted to taste some rocks.

Picnic at the car

Then, we retrieved our chairs and headed north along the Boardwalk.

La Conner Channel Lodge

Boat dock

When we located the music venue, Eric was excited to hear/see a Hammond B-3 organ.  Unfortunately, the opening act (Terry Nelson and Friends) was over literally just moments after we got there.  He was bummed that we missed out.  Eric chatted with the musician as they were packing up.

Meanwhile, I met his spouse (Kathleen), who turned out to be a former labor/delivery nurse and a friend of my friend and therapist colleague, Stany.  Small world!  (Although it’s not too surprising since I have longstanding ties to this area through my work as an Occupational Therapist).

Naturally, Todd was thrilled to get out of the stroller.

Todd

Happy 4th!

Todd & Eric

Todd

At about 8:30 PM, electric six-string violinist Geoffrey Castle took the stage.  Here’s a short video clip of his opening number as well as Todd getting a little excited about it.  The music was excellent.

It was a little quieter behind the stage, so Eric took Todd back there to explore.

Todd walking

Growing up so fast

Todd loved that dog, there.  He couldn’t get enough of trying to touch him.  The dog was really nice.

Todd with Eric and his doggy friend

Todd loves dogs

Then, Eric took Todd for a walk to help him focus on something else for a while.  Todd was fixated on the dog!

More exploring

After the music ended and it got dark, we moved our chairs to watch the fireworks.

Todd & Eric getting ready to watch the fireworks

Fireworks over the Swinomish

Fireworks show – July 4, 2015

At about 10:30 PM, Todd got sleepy after having a bottle in his seat.  After the fireworks were over, Todd didn’t wake up when Eric loaded him into his car seat.  He slept until we got home at midnight.

Sleepy Todd

At home, Todd cried for a while since he woke up grumpy once we got home.  Nothing I could do was helping to settle him but he finally was back asleep just before 1 AM.  I fell asleep shortly after 1 AM.  I slept until 8 AM the next morning, when Todd woke up.

A walk around the yard on July 5th showed all the evidence of what we missed.  But, all in all, we did have a fun first 4th of July as a family.