4th of July at Yuba Lake

(Written...or, began anyway...July 23rd.)

For the last several years on the 4th of July we've gone down to Payson Lakes to have a picnic with my family, but every year we've gone...seriously...it rains on us!!! So this year we decided to switch it up and do something different. My Aunt Teresa (my Mom' s sis) and Uncle Randy invited my parents to come spend the day at Yuba Lake (about an hour and a half South of us) where they were camping for the weekend, and we decided to tag along too. It was fun to be with a big group to celebrate the day, and my brother Zane and his family were there for the weekend too, which was great because they live in Montana and we hardly ever see them.

I had never even heard of Yuba Lake before, even though its less than 2 hours South of us. We loved it! The place was obviously popular because it was totally packed. The day was hot hot hot! Randy and Teresa have a camper and waverunners, and their good friends who were also there had a boat that they let us take rides in. We had a BBQ lunch and some of us lounged around in the shade of the camper while others swam or tanned or took turns on the waverunners. The beach and the water was perfect and Tommy loved it! He had a blast with Daddy taking (gentle) rides on the waverunner (and of course, Thomas had a lifejacket on the whole time).



I was a little too overwhelmed at the idea of getting into a swimsuit for the day, so I didn't, but later I regretted it. Who cares, right? I just had a baby! Jacob was definitely kept in the shade as much as possible and thankfully I had lots of hands to help me out with him so I could play a little bit too.


Yuba Lake had almost no sources of shade whatsoever, so it was so great of Teresa and Randy to let us crash their camper (with A/C) when it got too hot...I could nurse Jacob inside and they let me put him to sleep on their bed (even though he'd never stay asleep for more than a few minutes!). A few times Thomas was tired of being in the water or on the beach and just wanted to go inside and watch cartoons on their little TV. It was so nice. I totally want a camp trailer someday!


Even though I was fully dressed I still played in the water a bit anyway, in my capris...I took a couple rides on the waverunners with Ryan and then Randy took Ryan, Thomas and I for a spin on his friends' boat while baby Jacob hung out on shore with grandma. During our boat ride Thomas fell asleep on Ryan's lap, even with how fast and bumpy it was and with the wind in our faces! Its so crazy -- both times Thomas has ever been on a boat, he has fallen asleep...he did it last year on a boat-ride at our family reunion too. Huh.



Ryan also rode the innertube behind the boat a few times. He had Randy tie it up high so he'd be able to catch more air, and Randy gave him a few pretty challenging rides! Ryan did a seriously good job hanging on...it looked difficult too, because he was kneeling, not sitting. It was absolutely hilarious watching him...I could not stop laughing at the look on his face as he clung on as hard as he could, it was so funny! Tommy was worried when he saw Daddy biff it and get thrown into the water the first time, but I assured him Daddy was fine and was having fun. But man, even if I had had a swimsuit on, there would be no way I would've ridden that tube...biffing it looked a little scary to me too!

Later in the afternoon we and my parents packed up and headed back to their house, where we ate dinner and just hung out in the backyard talking, letting the kids play and just enjoying the evening. We ended up being too tired and lazy to set off any of our own fireworks (I'd forgotten to bring mine anyway), but the neighbors had some pretty good ones! It was a beautiful evening and I really enjoyed just sitting around talking with my family.

It was a great day and a great way to celebrate the freedom and prosperity we have been blessed with in this country. Even during a time that is considered a recession here, when jobs may be shaky or scarce, money may be tight, and luxuries may have to fall by the wayside, I believe we are all still incredibly blessed. I am so grateful to live in this great nation. God bless America, land that I love!