The 4th on Whidbey Island

Oh, the 4th of July. One of my favorite days of the year. It was so fun being able to spend it on Whidbey Island with my family this year. It's been our family tradition for ages and ages, so to take Daniel back to it was just a blessing.

My grandparents were the grand marshals of the Maxwelton Beach 4th of July Parade (read the news article about them here), so this year—instead of just attending the parade—the entire family joined my behind my grandparents and walked in it! After the parade, they had the annual raising of the flag ceremony, and my cousins (who are both in the Army) were chosen to perform it. It was amazing.

Immediately after the flag raising, the games began! Each year, Maxwelton holds races and games in their small baseball field that the entire community gets to participate in. They have a foot race, a 3-legged race, a sack race and an egg toss. Me—being the ultra-competitive girl I am—had to do each one. The races are broken out by gender and age category, starting with the 3 and under babies and going up in 2-year increments all the way to the 16 and older crowd. When they called for the 16 and older women for the foot race, you can bet I was out there. I ran in my tank top, shorts and bare feet. We made the 50-or-so-yard dash across the field and I won (though, to be fair, I was only competing against 10 or so other women)! Right after that, my sister and I lined up for the 3-legged race, and we won that as well. In the next race—the sack race—I convinced my sister to do it with me, and I took first place and she took second. One year—in the sack race—I wore a dress and ended up flashing everyone because I fell over the finish line... I never have made the mistake of wearing a dress to the games since! Anyway, we swept those darn games, if I do say so myself! Afterward, there was the egg toss and Daniel and I weren't so lucky to make it too far in that one—our egg cracked on my hand in the 3rd round and we were out. Bummer.

After the games & celebration, we went back to my uncle's cabin for a day of barbecue, stories, and relaxation. We finished the evening surrounding a campfire on the beach, roasting marshmallows, and watching the fireworks light up the sky above our heads. It was a perfect day.

I left my camera at home on the 4th—not wanting to tote it around with me—so we can thank my mom for taking all these fun (and possibly embarrassing) photos. Captions can be found below photos. Enjoy!

The article in the South Whidbey Record about my grandparents. Aren't Nanny and Papa adorable? I just love them.

My cousin's husband Tony (on the left) and my cousin Patrick with their two little girls. 

Nanny and Papa—decked out in red, white and blue—for their grand marshal entrance.

My cousins performing the raising of the flag. Source.

Sack race victory! I won the foot race & sack race, and Marn and I took home the blue ribbon in the 3-legged race! Also, after seeing this photo, we both decided that maybe sack racing just isn't for us. 

Stoked about the win! We were 3-legged race champs!

S'mores by the bonfire before the fireworks.

Enjoying the bonfire on Nanny and Papa's beach. The one-story home directly behind us was theirs for years and years. Now, my uncle owns it! 

I don't get to visit Whidbey as often as I'd like, but now do you see why I love it so much? I feel so at ease on Whidbey, surrounded by my loved ones, and just take every minute to soak it all in. I think it's safe to say that after this visit, Daniel will want to go back a lot more often. Not only did he love Whidbey, but Whidbey and my family sure loved him.

Washington Trip 2013 Posts:
Whidbey Island │ Maxwelton Beach │ The 4th │ Pike Place Market │ Seattle