Every year since I have known Ralph, we have travelled to his grandparent's home in Mamaroneck New York to watch the fireworks from their backyard. The trip has gotten shorter over the years, from Alexandria VA (a five hour drive or a one-hour flight), then from Newark DE (2.5 hour drive), and now a 15 min drive through local roads.
For starters, the view from Ralph's grandparents backyard is absolutely unbelievable. The long backyard ends at the water, and just across the small inlet is Harbor Island Park, where they set off the fireworks. Ralph's grandparents have both passed away in the last few years, his grandfather in 2005 and his grandmother just this past Thanksgiving, but the tradition has lived on. I'm not sure how many more years we'll get to watch fireworks from this extraordinary vantage point, so I figured now was the time to bring along my camera to record the memories.
Alex may not remember what it was like to celebrate the 4th of July at Mema Peggy and Papa Paul's house, but hopefully Jake inherited his father's extraordinary memory and will be able to keep this with him as he grows up.
Aunt Barb with her favorite (and only) great-niece:
Patriotic cupcakes (yum!)
The view from the upstairs porch
I really love the long shadows and the warm tones in this one. I could photograph this time of day all day long. Except that's impossible. ;)
My two favorite boys :)
Keegan is the cutest thing on earth.
Ellie, Jen and Peter head toward the dock
A passing sailboat
View of the house from the dock
Patriotic from head to toe :)
The kids, many of them second and third cousins, all had so much fun playing together
Kai, Keegan's big brother by exactly a year to the day, is also the cutest thing on earth.
Alexis, in full-on model mode :)
Matthew was so cute too - copying the pose that Alexis was making :)
Sweaty faux hawk
With Geedah
Geedah and Peepa got her this incredibly cute, incredibly patriotic outfit :)
With Peepa
With Papa Ralph
Another 20 years and eight months, baby girl.
Mamaroneck at dusk, shot from the dock
Firecracker...
...firecracker...
...BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Jake watches the fireworks from Ralph's lap. He wasn't a big fan:
My dad took this great shot of our little family of four:
A sign of the times - not sure why, but I really like this image. I love shooting at night with no flash, the available light looks so cool.
Ralph and Aunt Joanne after the party has wound down.
I hope we'll always get to watch the fireworks from this backyard, but I know that may not always be the case. What I do know is that any other location never be able to compete with the great memories of 4th of July at Mema and Papa's house.
4 comments:
Hopefully this won't be the last 4th of July at the house, and we'll have a few more. But if it is, we now have a great set of photos forever. I, and my family, will always have great memories of 4th of July at Mema Peggy & Papa Paul's, and now we have the photos to show our kids and beyond. To put in perspective what a tradition this holiday is, my mother told me that since her family moved into the house in 1963 (when she was 10 yrs old), she has only missed 2 4th of Julys in those 48 years (1 b/c of a baseball tournament I had in West Virginia in 1996, and the other b/c she was home in bed b/c of Jake's stomach flu that he got his first week of daycare, which TORE! through ALL! of our family in July, 2006 -- thanks again Jake!). Kel, thanks again for taking and posting such great pics! Love you.
If there's any type of award for family/personal/ special event online photojournalism, the only question is who will receive the consolation prize. This blog entry- like the party and the fireworks- is spectacular!
I love love this blog post! This is how the 4th should be celebrated! I'm glad you took so many pics and I'm soo glad you blogged them! Your kids will love reading these posts when they're older!
Thanks Ralph, Dad and Sarah! :)
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