Happy 4th of July! Do you have annual 4th of July traditions? Growing up we always knew we were going to our family friends’ house for pool, BBQ and fireworks. We knew exactly what dish every family brought and even what music was going to be played during the fireworks show. As we got older and more competitive in sports, we were often traveling for tournaments during 4th of July and that tradition went away.
Over the years, Aaron and I have created our own 4th of July traditions. Let’s look back at 4th of Julys from the past since the blog was born. One of my favorite things about having a blog is being able to easily look back at what you were doing in a particular moment in time.
2009
We still lived in San Diego and Aaron had to work during the day. I whipped up some Sangria and hung out with friends before Aaron met up so we could go watch fireworks at the bay together.
2010
In 2010 we were living in Sacramento. I started off the day with the free 4th of July 5 miler race that takes place in our neighborhood.
And to reward me for a good race, Aaron made mimosas and breakfast before went to BBQ with friends and family and watch fireworks from the park near out house.
2011
Last year, Aaron and I started a new tradition of camping for the 4th. We decided just a few days before the holiday to go camping for the weekend – just the 2 of us (3 with Cash). We didn’t have a large selection of campsites that late in the game, but we rolled the dice and really lucked out. We had a great few days camping before coming back the afternoon of the 4th for our other tradition – walking to the park by our house for fireworks.
2012
This year were are kind of combining all our past traditions into one. Since the 4th is on a Wednesday, we are celebrating the actual holiday in town and then taking Thursday and Friday off to go camping. And we started the celebration last night with a BBQ and probably the best fireworks show I have ever seen.
And this morning I was excited to be able to once again participate in the 4th of July 5 miler.
Aaron whipped up some amazing gluten free pancakes and eggs and we sipped on mimosas while prepping for camping. Most people just bring hot dogs, chips, beer and marshmallows camping. But not us. Aaron hand-ground meat for blue cheese stuffed burgers and he is about to smoke turkey breasts for sandwiches. He even made two different flavored mayos for sandwiches. That is how we roll – we know how to camp!
This afternoon we are heading to a block party down the street and will then, of course, watch fireworks at the park.
In other news – check out these veggies from our garden!! I am so excited. Tomatoes, basil and zucchini. We will be bringing all this camping!
MODERNATION 
I like the timeline of how your 4th of July celebrations have changed over the course of the years.