Fourth of July 2012

I've learned this: parenting and Fourth of July festivities are a difficult mix. The holiday was different this year; frustrating and yet, still fun at times.

Typical Fourth of July activities I did NOT do this year:

• Get drunk
• Boat all day
• Laugh until my face hurts
• Light fireworks*

*Well, to be truthful, I loathe fireworks so this one's never really on my hit list. 

Things I DID do Fourth of July 2012:

• Fell victim to the schedule of two baby naps
• Soothed a teething infant
• Felt frustrated by friends drinking and making noise outside my sleeping baby's bedroom
• Enjoyed a fun few hours on the beach (after nap time, of course)
• Ate a fabulous shrimp boil dinner prepared by my husband
• Had a Jell-O shot (or two, or five)
• Watched a fireworks show from our cabin's backyard that would rival any city's big show

Parts of our Fourth of July were fun and celebratory and other times I felt like a naggy bitch-face for constantly telling our best friends and their guests to please keep the noise to a minimum. I hated being "that girl" because I fully understand how fun and crazy Fourth of July can be. I was just so tired and frustrated after listening to a fussy baby who desperately needed her sleep that it was hard to find a balance between the two. In the end, it was all good and there were no hard feelings. This is just a stage of life we're in, transitioning from partying to parenting. 

Aside from all that, the boys put on a spectacular fireworks show in our backyard. It's morphing into quite the tradition, really. Word spread through all the neighbors and our backyard filled with cabin friends and strangers at dusk who watched the big show together. Amazingly, Tory slept through the entire evening which took place right outside her bedroom window. Thank goodness for a crappy $10 box fan we bought at the dollar store and her white noise machine.

No Fourth of July would be complete without a decorated baby! Andi bought Tory this adorable red, white and blue dress to wear. I can't believe how grown up she looks in this picture. Where is my little baby?!

We spent a few hours late afternoon at the neighbor's cabin for beers and beach time. It was the closest I came to my favorite part of Fourth of July which is basking in the sunshine all afternoon. Past Fourth's included dancing, floating in the water and drinking fun cocktails. This year, I responsibly had one beer and monitored Tory's shade and sunscreen levels. I don't necessarily need to drink to have fun but again, things were just different than past summers where Fourth of July festivities were the highlight event of the season. Sadly, neither Andi or I got a single picture with Tory all day, although we did get a few of her. She was at her happiest after nap time when we had her in the lake with us.

Tory and our friend Ellie

Phil and Ellie

Derrick getting ready to wakeboard

We're at the cabin for the rest of the week, and thankfully the big Fourth of July hoopla is over for another year. Yesterday, we fell back into regular cabin life - chill time with friends, playing outside on a blanket with Tory, cocktails and laughter around the table after an awesome steak dinner. This week's been a good mix of everything and we're fortunate to have such a great group of friends to make another year's worth of Fourth of July memories.