Lake Samm 4th of July

I grew up celebrating the 4th of July on the shores of Lake Sammamish.  It was the perfect way to celebrate the 4th!  Hours of swimming in the water and playing in the sun, followed by a BBQ dinner on the beach, finished off by an evening of watching fireworks blown off on our beach and all over the lake.  As a result, the thought of spending the 4th of July on a neighborhood street just doesn't do it for me.  Call me spoiled.  But ever since we have been back in Washington, I have not done a good job of spending this holiday at home.  Since Ron's only time off in the summer is the month of July, we normally are long gone by the 4th.  In fact, since we have moved back here, we have only attended ONE 4th of July celebration at Lake Samm in 2011 when Lia was three years old and she loved it.  (2008:  Missoula, Montana, 2009:  Priest Lake, 2010:  Eastern Caribbean cruise, 2012:  Disneyland, and 2013:  Japan.)
So in planning out our summer this year, I decided that it was time to start my own family tradition of being home so that we could celebrate the 4th of July in Issaquah.  We made it work and were blessed with some lovely weather in the 70s.  We went up early to enjoy some time on the beach with just our little family before going to my parents' house for Logan's afternoon nap.  We then returned at dinnertime to join the masses for dinner and fireworks.  Lia and Logan LOVED the fireworks blown off on our beach and the amazing show that is put on each year by a very wealthy man who lives on the lake.  His fireworks seriously rival those of Disneyland!  The only downside is that the show didn't start until 10:18 p.m.!  Ahhh.  So, we stayed until 10:40 when Lia declared she was tired and we quickly packed up and headed home.  We pulled in at 11:40 which is insanely crazy for this family with a bedtime of 8 p.m.  Oh well, if we only do this once a year, I think our kids will survive!  ;-)

Lia, Ron, and Logan swimming in the water.  Please notice Logan mid jump!  That kid just cracks me up.  He's fearless.

Logan doing another "uppy jump" into papa's hands.

My little mermaid.

Ella relaxing in the shade on the beach while her siblings played in the water.  It's hard to believe that a year from now, she will be joining them.

When we came back to the beach for the evening festivities, Logan discovered a paddle and fell in love with it.  He didn't let go of it ALL night long and just dragged it all over the place.  It was hilarious!  

Lia enjoying one of many sparklers.

A close-up of my cutie.

The three of us (and the paddle) pausing for a pic in between Pop Its, Snakes, and Ground Bloom Flowers.  

Lia enjoying one of the many fountain fireworks we lit off that night!

Logan with papa and a sleeping baby Ella (please note the paddle in the corner of the picture).

Lia and Riley--a friend she made at the party that night!