God Bless America

a few days before July 4th, I still didn't know what I was going to do for the holiday, since I had the day off. we usually go up north for the parades, and sometimes we have been in them. I ended up going up to Egg Harbor with my mom for lunch at Casey's BBQ, and then we watched the parade in Egg Harbor. after the parade, we drove up to Ephraim for ice cream at Wilson's!

I found some old pictures, so this is going to turn into a long post! (:

lunch at Casey's {the last two years, we've been the only people eating inside when we were there}

yum yum yum!

we each got a pulled pork sandwich, and we split the fries

me & my mom (:

Stanley Cup! {not sure if it was the actual one, or a replica though}

part of the UW marching band, and the reason I have no other pictures from the parade

WILSON'S!!!!!

regular flavors {oh how I wish this wasn't out of focus}

seasonal flavors. I changed my mind at least three times. haha.

love their shirts! also, all of the college kids who work here are amazing. totally on top of all of the craziness. they rock!

always a jelly bean on top! (:

Firecracker: strawberry ice cream with pop rocks

throwback starting now! (:

{2008} before the Baileys Harbor parade

I think this was the last year that we were in the parade, but I honestly can't remember. we probably did both parades, actually. my dad and I were on the Harley, while my mom followed on her moped. if we did another year or two of parades after this, it wasn't on the Harley. it was a pretty warm day {I mean, it was July}, and the parade was so slow, so the motorcycle kept overheating. if I remember correctly, we spent quite a lot of time just coasting. it was really annoying.

{also 2008}

later that evening, my parents and I met up with my grandpa & grandma, uncle, aunt, and two of our dear friends, and we rented a pontoon boat. we went for a ride and watched the fireworks on the water. right after we rented the boat, we ran into this bridge and broke something on the boat...oops.

{2009}

in 2009, we spent the night before the Fourth on Washington Island. my dad played {as in music - guitar to be precise} with some of his friends at Nelsen's Hall Bitter's Pub on the evening of the third. there is a bike parade that anyone and everyone is welcome to be a part of on Washington Island on Independence Day. we watched that and then crossed back over on the ferry {pictured above} to the "main island" to see the parade down in Egg Harbor.

{2012} parade view in Egg Harbor

ugh. we had the worst parade view last year. and it got only got worse towards the end of the parade when they had more family members join them.

{2012} Delaney helping my grandpa put the fish on.

later that evening, we had a fish boil out at my grandparents' house. my grandparents hosted my parents and me, uncle, aunt, baby cousin, and our friends Delaney & Liv.

{2012} if only I had waited another half second before pressing the shutter...

Liv got to throw the oil on for the boil over!

{2012} now this is my favorite kind of concert (:

after we all ate, Liv and Delaney "sang for their supper." they even did "Hotel California," per my grandpa's request. my baby cousin was so enthralled by Delaney; it was adorable.

{2012} once it got dark, I finally shot off the firework that I received for my 17th birthday {nearly two years later...}

pat mAcdonald & melaniejane gave me a "Bat Out of Hell" firework for my birthday in 2010, and I finally got around to using it nearly two years later.

{2012} Delaney and Liv both each did a set at Beach that night

Delaney and Liv were both playing at Beach that night, so while my mom went to the fireworks in town {which got rained out}, my dad and I went down to see them. it was the first time {aside from earlier at my grandparents' house} that I had seen Liv perform, and she was incredible! I have seen Delaney many, many times, but it was the first time that I had seen him perform in a venue with dancing space. well, for his last song, he did a waltz. if you have never seen him perform, one thing that you should know is that he is an incredible looper. Delaney set up his looping, and then he went around and started pairing people up for the waltz. it was a mini family reunion of my musician friends at the show that night, so Miss Meaghan got paired with our friend Jamey, Anna was paired with some guy I don't know, and my dad was paired with Ruby. after pairing off a few couples, Delaney came and got me. I had no idea what I was doing, but his advice was "one foot, and then the other." he was going to pair me with some random dude, but the guy didn't want to dance, so Delaney found pat for me and we waltzed. I love my crazily wonderful life.

xoxo.