05 Jul Funs & Fireworks

Happy 4th of July to you! Yesterday, we celebrated the birthday of America in 2 locations; Marin country mart and Marin County Fair. We started our day late and left our house around 1pm for Marin country mart because it would be too long of a day for us considering fireworks start at 9:30pm. Family outings are definitely tricky with our lovely 2-year-old 🙂

First stop, we went to Hog Island Oyster Co. I kept eyes on this place for some time, because they have my favorite food, OYSTER!  We cannot celebrate summer without oysters, duh! We were seated at the outside table, and the weather was just so perfect! Of course, we ordered a dozen oysters for starter which came with 6 different pairs of oysters to sample 🙂 They were so fresh and yummy, I was already having the best day!

Erik ordered 2 fish tacos for himself, fries for Katya and I ordered pesto & clam linguine. My pasta was so creamy and bomb.com. They had some unique drinks and I got “Farmers’ market shrub + soda” which had pineapple and siracha in it. It was surprisingly refreshing, and I will definitely get this non-alcoholic drink again! Erik got a cocktail called “Watermelon wake” and it looked so posh 😉

After we filled our bodies with the most delicious food ever, we walked around the Marin country mart. They have so many nice shops which are elevated in style. Even a little kids’ clothing store has a very fancy interior so that I fall into the illusion of being a rich mom haha.  I have to say all these shops are quite pricey for my wallet, but I got some coffee table books from a very charming book store.

In the middle of the stores, there was a nice open grass area with some huge tree trunks for kids to play with. She was running around, climbing up, crawling under, and making friends. It was obvious that she had the best time 🙂 Between chasing her around, we went into Johnny Doughnuts to get coffee and doughnuts. The doughnut was sprinkled with patriotic colors and I couldn’t resist hehe. I got a much-needed coffee break by sipping away a HEAVENLY “Brown butter latte”! You guys must try this coffee!

When Katya explored enough in the country mart, we moved to the next destination at around 5pm. There was so much traffic heading to the Marin County Fair, and we thought it would take hours to park at the fair ground, so we parked our car at church nearby and walked to the fair. The church was so smart to open up their parking lot to fair goers by charging a small amount in cash that went toward a good cause. Talk about Win-Win! There was a long line at the entrance to get tickets, and after we went in, it was filled with many families enjoying a variety of foods and rides.

We really wanted Katya to experience some rides, but she didn’t meet the height requirement even for a little train ride. Safety first, so better luck next year. Soon after we got there, we found out that the front row to watch fireworks was by the lagoon. People were starting to reserve their spots, so we laid our picnic blanket to save our perfect viewing point around 6pm. Days are long during summer in California and the sunlight was still like noon! We walked around to find something Katya could experience, and we found a petting zoo. There were also pig races where crowds were going wild and sheep shearing demonstrations. Katya got into the focus zone observing animals and it was so fun to see her that way! After she made rounds saying hi to the animals, we went to the art exhibits. It seems that locals were participating in this competitive exhibit in a variety of categories, and there were some cool arts. It was very cute to also see art that was made by kids 😉

When we got back to our spot to relax, there was another family next to us with curious kids wanting to play with Katya. They were older than her and super friendly. One of the kids pulled a cute pig toy from a bag and gift it to Katya. Kids constantly amaze me by how innocent, open-minded, caring, and sweet they are. They act like boundaries don’t exist in the world. I always wonder how the world would be a better place if we had a mind of children. Their gesture definitely made Katya smile and made my heart warm 🙂

We still had over an hour to kill, so we laid down on the blanket, got snacks like a Korean beef bowl, fries and cheese quesadilla, and listened to the concert going at the fairground. Katya got a little bored, so we played her current favorite show, Peppa Pig. Finally, it was the time for fireworks. I had no idea how Katya would react to fireworks since it was her first time. In the beginning, she got a little scared, but she calmly watched the fireworks, sucking her thumb 😉 It got very chilly, so we cuddled up during 15 min of the great show.

When the main event, fireworks, was over, everyone was quick to head to the exit which was causing traffic. Katya got so tired that she was out while we were walking back to the car. When we finally got home, it was past 11pm and we were all exhausted. Regardless, it was such a successful outing, and I cherish family like this so much! I hope you guys also had an amazing day! See you in the next post!

Mommy & Me outfit detail: Blue gingham midi dress by Anthropologie (exact here), Brown Oran sandal by Hermès (exact here), Kids Blue gingham onesie by Carter’s (similar here), Toddler navy blue pants by Carter’s (exact here), White strappy sandals for baby by Sugar (similar here).

To America, 

Fatima