Happy 4th of July!

First of all, if you didn't already know just how adorable my niece is, you will after you read this!

There is almost nothing better than a sunny, warm, and long summer weekend!  Thank goodness we declared independence in July, can you imagine the utter lack of national pride if we tried to pull off fireworks in January?

To celebrate, we did what we do best - kicked off Saturday morning with a fantastic brunch with friends.  We also shopped, visited other friends, and ended up across the street at NOG's place for dinner (Neighbors of Greatness).  For months we've been anticipating exploiting their white garage and flat driveway for a movie night, and Saturday evening was perfect.  Tons of blankets, a roll of duct tape, and a white sheet later and we were set!

 The feature presentation to kick off a summer of evening movie viewing?  Could it be anything other than The Princess Bride?  Of course not. 

 Our other neighbors were so jealous; many slowed to a halt as they drove by to check out how cool we were.

 Jumping ahead to Monday, the day looked like this:

 so a few of us took advantage, packed a picnic and headed to Pittock Mansion.

 It was the perfect down day - Brooke hiked all over the place and the rest of us took multiple naps and read

 A few climbed a few trees.

 Then Monday night Brooke and I met up with NOG, their kids, and some friends (in town from the East Coast) for dinner downtown.

 We never, ever stop laughing with these people!

 As soon as we met Erin and Trenton we understood why they fit in so great with NOG - these two are hilarious and so much fun to be with.

 And not the least bit serious.

After a dinner of burgers, sweet potato fries, and Deschuttes beer samplers, we hiked down to the Waterfront to enjoy the fireworks

I'm not sure what city I was in, cause it wasn't Portland!  Instead of the families, groups of friends, the occasional hippy, and a few homeless people, the entire area was swamped with stoned teenagers, parents screaming at their children, fireworks being set off in trees, and people almost losing their hair to sparklers.  AND, we picked the one spot with a giant tree blocking the fireworks.

Luckily we were with NOG and still had a great time (mostly making fun of the crazies around us, but still - GREAT time).  Needless to say, next year we're heading back to the burbs!

Happy 4th!