The Best Independence Day Ever - Seriously!!

It's the morning after the craziest 4th of July I have ever seen and I didn't even have a camera with me. Traditionally, all of the good parties our family has are at Pam and Mike Sirrine's house. This year, it turned out that a lot of the family regulars were out of town so there was a question about whether there would even be a family gathering. Jacki, who never misses an opportunity for fun, pushed the issue and Pam said that regardless of how many were able to attend, there would be a party at her house. Fireworks are legal in Bonney Lake, and the rumor was, that there were a lot of them. So what made this small gathering so much fun? My top 10 reasons:


10. The weather was beautiful. Rain the past couple of days made everything green and there was no real fire danger. Traditionally, summer starts in Seattle on the 5th of July.


9. Watching boys be boys. Guys love to set off fireworks. It's hard wired in their brains. If I'm not mistaking, Terence hasn't had a lot of experience doing this and he set off everything he could get his hands on. The guys even bought some little plastic soldiers and set up 2 armies to have a battle. It was hilarious!

8. Everyone in the neighborhood came out. Every house on the cul-de-sac had chairs set up on the sidewalks and everyone set off fireworks. People were cheering for eachother's displays. My guess is that some of these people don't talk much throughout the year, but somehow it brings people together. Michelle accidentally set a pretty good sized bottle rocket down the street and into a family. She went down to apologize and Mike followed her. Nobody was hurt and they understood, it could happen to anyone. I'm really surprised it didn't.

7. Fourteen of us made it. This probably goes down in VanderHoeven history as one of the smallest parties ever, but Mike, Pam, Christopher, Jacob, Michelle, Opa, Jacki, Terence, Connor, Corey, Brian, Bob , Ady and I were there. We even brought Imola and Minardi (our dogs) and kept them crated in the house. I thought it would be too noisy to leave them home and that they would be scared. I had no idea of the noise in Bonney Lake, but they actually did fine.


6. Opa's harmonica. Dad got a new harmonica and he played some of his favorite tunes, including Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam so Connor could sing along. Good exercise for his lungs and he is actually pretty good.


5. The food - strawberry shortcake with freshly picked Washington strawberries. Pam is known for her amazing food and this time she went to a local strawberry farm and YUM! She doesn't spare the whipped cream either. And while were on the subject,

Aunt Pam's fried chicken. Also a family favorite. It's finger lickin good and in our family, nobody even blinks an eye if you go back for seconds.

4. Talking about how much fun we have had on our vacations together and planning for Cancun in October. We have confirmed our airline tickets and are looking forward to going with as many family members as can make it.

3. Hanging with the grand kids. Connor is a 20 month old toddler these days who is so much fun to be with. He repeats anything you tell him. He knows he is part of a family and is comfortable with all of us. He tries to speak in sentences and although I know I am biased, he is pretty darn cute. Not to mention Corey, who is the easiest going baby around. I love those boys!

2. The drive home. Driving through Bonney Lake, every neighborhood had arial displays and the noise was incredible. Coming down the hill overlooking the valley, the sky was absolutely filled with more fireworks than I have ever seen. It was that way most of the way home. Granted, there were less as we entered King County, and even less as we got toward Bellevue and Redmond. What a bunch of fuddy-duddies!

1. The craziest display of fireworks I have ever seen. We started shooting off fireworks at about 5:30 and when we left at about 10:15, we drove through an obstacle course of fire to get out of the cul-de-sac. The street was absolutely littered with spent fireworks. I would say it was like the 4th of Julys I remember as a kid, but I honestly have never seen anything like it. For most of the years we have lived in Redmond, we have watched the fireworks at Marymoor park off of our back deck. They are great but nothing like the fun of setting them off yourself. Pencil me in for next year Pam, although this time, let someone else help with the food, and we will absolutely be picking up some fireworks ourselves.

P.S. - How could I have forgotten...I think another reason why it was so much fun is that I love the USA and it was awesome having an opportunity to really celebrate our freedom! Oh, and the Mariners even won! Now that's a great day!