4th of July weekend

Our reunion festivities started the morning of the 4th of July.  Our class was in the Sedro-Woolley parade and we had a really good turn-out.  We were near the end of the parade which gave us some time to catch up with old classmates.  Grandma Peggy, Uncle Dustin and Easton were with the kids, but they thought the parade was boring, lots of trucks and horses.  Ainsley said the best part was seeing us (so you know it wasn't that exciting!).  Ryan handed out candy to all the kids and got in a water fight with Justin Melton that turned into a wrestling match.  It was pretty comical and I'm glad no one got hurt.  Of course, everyone cheered for them :o).
Tired out after the parade:

 We headed up to the lake to spend the afternoon with friends and family and the weather was beautiful.  Ryan went up with the kids and blew off some tanks and spinners, but then the clouds rolled in and it got a little chilly and then rained around 6.  That was enough to send almost everyone home.  Ryan's friend, Russ was just arriving and our high school friends, Jeff and Katie, came with their 2 week old!  How brave are they??!!  Ainsley stopped everything and just looked at the baby.  When she was done eating, she and Cadia held little Olivia and they were in heaven :o).  The kids were really tired and wanted to go to bed, so up they went and we watched fireworks from the deck for a bit.  I have to say, I was really tired too.  We didn't venture out on the party boat, but Aunt Sue said the show was fabulous.  Maybe next year.

Video of the canon:

The next day we had our class of '94 dinner at a winery in Lyman (I think).  We went over to Tisha and Alden's cabin beforehand to visit and that was great.  Both Ryan and I wanted to try to talk with everyone, so having a little more time really allowed us to make the rounds.  There were a few grandparents in our class!!!
We rode with Seth in a 1970 something convertible Cadillac and that was quite the experience.  I guess we were late because when we got there, the parking lot was full, so he just went right up front.  Tim came up to Ryan and was like, "REALLY, a Cadi....I wouldn't expect anything less!"  I guess it was a little funny.  We had a really great time visiting and there were only a couple people (I found out later) that I didn't get to chat with.  We went to the Train Wreck (bar in Burlington) afterward and visited a bit more.  Anthony and Emily graciously were our designated drivers, but I was fine.  I had 4 Mike's over the course of 8 hours, so no hangover for me :o).
I think there were a little over 50 of us there:

Natalie and Carly

Mike and Seth

The next day was the family BBQ and we knew that evening that there was a large group of people that were not going to make it!  They did a tour of the high school that we really wanted do, so we made the trip down with the kids and they got to see where we went to high school.  They had restored the theater and added on quite a bit...Reggie said he could never go there because he would get lost :o).  It was neat to hear about some of the programs they have.  They are top in the state for getting kids Microsoft certified in Excel, Word and Powerpoint and they still have auto shop, homec and welding.  Such great skills to have!  They also redid the track and turfed the field and it is amazing how nice and new it looks.  The principal who gave us the tour was really great and it sounds like a really good place to be.
Wrestling state champions wall:

I had to take a picture of this because Ryan's record might not be there for that long, since he's at the bottom.  Not to shabby for a full back who never got the ball!

Wood carving was going on downtown on our way to the BBQ, so we stopped to look at the amazing creations (there's a face inside the bear)!

We were exhausted when the weekend was over, but feel very blessed to still be happily married to each other :o).  It is good to remember those fun times in our lives.....We have done o.k. for ourselves!