Fourth of July, 2010

In a way I cheated.  The three previous posts, despite their dates, were just posted.  I back-dated them, though the dates of the events are accurate; I went back to my calendar and confirmed them... kind of.  Anyway, that's not important anymore because it's the past and it is already done.
So I am finally getting around to updating the blog and I decided to become distracted with applying a new template.  I figure the new layout captures the Pacific Northwest's soggy climate.  And I pretend that that is Mount Rainier in the background.
Well the rain dampened template is illustrative of our Independence Day.  The day started okay, though cloudy.  At around 2pm, we headed for our usual spot at Downtown Bellevue Park's Family 4th Celebration.  We set up where we usually do on the fourth of July, overlooking the large fountain and pond at the center of the park.  At first Renae was a little irritated that I brought the tent, she was concerned that it would block views of people around us.  But as the rain began to fall she was grateful I did.  We witnessed family after family, pack up and leave.  As you see in the picture to the left, our tent was very lonely.  The area around our tent is usually pretty packed.  Many, many years ago, years before Felix was born, Renae and I brought a small barbecue and grilled up some steak.  It was delicious and the heavenly aroma caught the attention of many a park goer.  The next Fourth of July, we noticed that many people brought their small barbecues.  My point?  I expect we'll see many more tents next year.
We did kill some time at the Lego store across the street.  Felix is really into Legos now.  We bought him a small Space Police set that he and I put together once we got back to the tent.  Honestly, the rain was really a drag.  Not near as many people showed up and everything was wet and gloomy.  We spent most of our time huddled in the tent while debating whether we should go home.  Natalie came down to join us, but she was pretty tired for whatever reason, and slept most of the time.  As a matter of fact, much of the evening Renae and Natalie spent huddled up together, trying to keep warm, in the tent.  At about 9pm, an hour before the fireworks began, the rain let up.  I took off the rain fly to broaden our view from inside the tent, and we all lied back to watch the show.  Felix rested his head on my chest, which made it all worth it for me.  He was so excited and so enjoyed the fireworks, I'm very happy we decided to stay.