The 4th.

Sitting in our favorite coffee shop on the morning of the 4th, I was starting to regret not making plans to go to my hometown of Wellington to see the annual parade and celebration. It's been years since I've been there for it, and it was such a constant in my childhood. But, the heat advisory was making me think that passing up the opportunity was the right decision. We had even opted to drive for coffee instead of walking that morning.

Instead, taking advantage of a day that we both had off from work, we spent several hours working on repairing the walls and ceiling of our office. The air conditioning was later abandoned to go spend the evening with friends, food, and fireworks. Our friend Amy just moved into a house on the lakefront. Literally, the lake is in her backyard. From there we could see a handful of fireworks shows up and down the coast. No crowds, no deafening booms, just relaxing on the grass with the sound of waves. It was ideal.

And did I mention that I also met a wiener dog named Taco?

Yep. 

(More photos here.)