07.07.10 - 4th of July weekend recap

Happy (belated) 4th of July, friends! My holiday weekend was spent in the wonderful city of San Antonio, TX with friends and family :)

Joel's family is from SA, so he and I stayed with them while my parents and sister got a hotel in New Braunfels. Saturday night, we joined them (and my dad's cousin, his wife, and their three little girls) at the Gristmill for dinner, and then moseyed on over to Gruene Dance Hall, where Joel's sister and her husband met us for a little bit of dancin'. Sunday was float the river day! The same group from the night before headed back to New Braunfels to float the Comal River. Let me tell you, not a whole lot of things are better on a hot day than floating in an inner tube with 10 other people! It only lasted about an hour, but we had a great time. After that, we went to Oma's Haus, a delicious German restaurant. It seriously was delicious! Only Sarah's Oma could make better German food than that.. :) And of course, we headed to Landa Park to watch fireworks after dinner. It was a spectacular show, but not quite the same as it always was at 240 Rosemont, El Paso, TX..

My family has always celebrated the 4th at my grandparents' house in El Paso. We ate, swam, ate, laid by the pool, ate, took walks to the ditch, ate, and watched fireworks in lawn chairs in their driveway. Did I mention we ate a lot too? ;) My grandpa passed away in 2002, but we continued to have 4th of July celebrations there. In 1998 and again in 2009, we had Vaughan Family Reunions. My mom is one of five children, and two of her brothers and one sister all have two kids a piece. Of the grandkids, three are married with little ones of their own. When we all get together (around 30 of us) it's crazy! And the best time you'll ever have. Seriously, I love these times with my family, especially because we are so spread out geographically. I have family in San Diego, Las Vegas, Idaho, Colorado Springs, El Paso, and New Mexico, so it really is a treat when we all are able to get together!

The 4th of July has another sentiment for my family. In 2000, my cousin, Mandy, was diagnosed with a brain tumor. She was 21 at the time. Three weeks later, on July 4, 2000, she passed away. We remember her every year on this day, and this year was especially hard. It was the ten year anniversary of her death, and it was also the first time I can remember that we've spent the 4th NOT in El Paso. Time moves on, but we will always hold a special place in our hearts for Mandy and my grandparents on this holiday.

Though very different than what I'm used to, it was a fun weekend. Here are a few pics: