Red, White, and Tahoe Blue - The Weekend

Sam wishes everyone a Happy Fourth of July! (Or as he pronounces it, Appy Orth Ooly!)

Stopping for a quick snack on our hike in the meadows.


Ben loved the granite slabs cut into benches for weary hikers.

Sam trying out the hiking stick.

The boys crossing a bridge on the meadow trail.

Ben getting a little rest at the vista point on the trail.

A pitiful attempt at a family hiking photo.

The view of the meadow from the vista point.

For the third year we walked with a decorated stroller with TCF in the parade.

Many moms and kids getting ready for the parade.

My friend's little boy, Dominic, was quite relaxed during the parade!
(All the parade images were taken by fellow mom, Kelly Sparks)

The Fourth of July is a big deal in Tahoe. Many people consider it to be the real start to the summer. For the locals, we see it as a fun time but overly crowded with out-of-towners. We even go so far as to NOT go to the store for necessities like milk and bread because of the crowds.

There are obviously so many high points to the holiday that it is easy to overlook the crowds and enjoy the area for all it has to offer.....

Thursday, July 2nd - The boys and I began our day bright and early at the fire station for a pancake breakfast. The boys love pancakes and having them cooked by REAL firemen is just about as good as it gets! Wait, eating the pancakes cooked by REAL firemen in a REAL fire station, next to REAL fire trucks is about as good as it gets!

From there we made our way up the hill to the Episcopal church parking lot where we met up with a couple dozen other young families from TCF to decorate our strollers, wagons, and kids for the parade. We walked the 1.5 miles course with huge smiles on our faces knowing how unbelievably lucky we are to live here!

After the parade we snacked in the shade at the Village Green for the opening ceremonies to Red, White, and Tahoe Blue 2009.

After a brief nap at home we headed back to the green for an ice cream social where the boys got a very uncommon treat of ice cream before dinner.

Friday, July 3rd - Again, our day began bright and early (when doesn't it with toddlers who wake as early as 5:30 A.M.?) and we were up to the Tahoe Meadows Interpretive Trail for a family hike before 9:30. Brian lugged Sam in the back pack while Ben and I hiked alongside. Ben hiked the 1.2 miles all on his own and even Sam walked close to a quarter mile out of the pack.

A quick stop at home for snacks and a wardrobe change into swim trunks for the boys and we headed to Incline Beach to play for a while then watch the rubber duck race. I had never been to the beaches during the fourth of July weekend and was blown away at how many people could crowd onto the sand! Amazingly, we bumped into a handful of families that we knew so we weren't lost in the sea of human flesh. We only watched three heats of the duck race before the boys were ready for a rest so we said our farewells and happily came home.

That evening we met up with my college friend, Tabitha, for dinner in Kings Beach where she was with a group to watch the fireworks that night. Both boys love Tabby and were great in the crowded restaurant where we ate a delicious Mexican meal. They were also happy to hear that though Tabitha couldn't come home with us that night, she will be coming to visit for several days in early August!

Saturday, July 4th - We stayed home!!!! Actually Brian went into the office to get some work done and the boys and I spent the day outside playing wiffle ball and riding bikes. Then we broke the rule about going to the grocery store during the holiday weekend because we ran out of Ben's allergy medicine. If it weren't for the layer of pine pollen covering everything I would have let the kid go without a couple of doses. But the itchy, puffy, red eyes kind of got to me....

The kids went to bed at their normal time and when the fireworks started booming at 9:30 P.M., Brian and I simply looked at each other and said, "Maybe next year."