This year we spent the fourth of July with my parents  drinking coffee, eating cookies, staring at the lake, and catching up.

On the fourth of July we walked around downtown Florence to see festivities but after a wet walk we went to Moe’s for chowder.

That night back at the house we had hot dogs, corn on the cob, chips and made a homemade berry cobbler for dessert.

We decided not to go to the fireworks show downtown. It was too late at night for Z who had had a full day. But we did watch some in the distance from docks on the lake.

Last year Z was too young for a boat ride, but my mom was prepared with a life jacket for this summer. We got him all set with sunscreen, swimsuit, hat, sunglasses, and even let him try on the life jacket before heading down to the lake. We decided for his first boat ride he would sit with Grandma in front of the tandem kayak while Grandpa steered and rowed.

Z was very calm on the ride around the banks of the lake. On the way back to the house, my mom held onto him tight as he enjoyed putting his hands in the water.

The day after, we went on a dune buggy tour. Rushing across the sand in hats and sunglasses, we learned about the wildlife, vegetation, lakes, and how the sand forms with the shifting winds. We also watched ATV’s doing doughnuts and revving engines across the hills and around corners.  Z enjoyed it all but the bumping and rolling near the end, led to a short nap on the drive back.

On Friday, we went to the shore of a neighboring lake.  L went swimming while the rest of us played in the sand. Z did get in the water with L in the shallow area, swimming happily but shivering at the same time.

That night, L and I were blessed with a date night to ourselves. We went to a new Hawaiian fusion place for sushi, then saw the newest Marvel movie, and finished our date with BJ’s ice cream downtown as sunset. It was the best date we have had in a long time.

On Saturday morning my Mom and I went to get a pedicure downtown along with coffee. When we came out of the salon we were greeted by very sunny skies. We decided to stay for a few more hours before heading home.

So my parents took us only a half hour or so away up a windy road. We parked at a little cove  carved out of the rocks. Z was excited to explore and took off walking for the ocean. We put his water shoes on and guided him towards the tide pools. There with his Dad, Grandpa and myself, he was introduced to sea anemones starfish, hermit crabs, barnacles, oysters, and other sea life hiding the small pools in the rocks. He loved sitting in these shallow pools and watching the tiny fish and shrimp scuttle by.

We left my parent’s place after dinner getting raspberry milkshakes on the way home. It was a great trip.