4th of July 2011

Independence Day is one of my favorite holidays. In fact, I'll say that it is #2 after only Christmas. There are just so many reasons I love the 4th of July... first of all, it's summertime!! :) Isn't it fun to celebrate outside?! The parades and picnics and festivals and bbqs - all under the sun! Just love it. Another thing I love is the fireworks. They are so mesmerizing and beautiful. And so festive and exciting!! But most of all I love what the 4th of July is all about - the whole reason we celebrate that day. Our Independence Day, the day this beautiful place we call home became a nation. I love this country. I am so proud to be a citizen of the United States of America and I feel so blessed to be here.

I could go on but I think I better get to the fun stuff... our fun family holiday! In past years we have always gone out and seen all the patriotic goings-on that the community offers. And it is really fun! But this year we decided to host a barbecue at home and celebrate with friends. I have to say, it was a wonderful break in tradition for us! We have such great friends here. It makes being away from family a little easier. I just loved sitting around chatting and eating delicious food while the kids played... we even had two brand-new, sweet little newborns to cuddle - it was great! :)
The preparation was extra fun for me too! I was doing the meat and since I couldn't decide on just one, I ended up doing 3 chicken recipes plus some polish dogs (at Eric's insistence). He was certain we were going to get "strung up" (his words) for not serving hamburgers but no one seemed to mind! Whew! :) Everyone brought delicious sides - what a feast! Then for dessert I made a flag cake! It was so patriotic and bright - I loved it! I think it even tasted pretty good too! :)
I also decided to decorate a little - made some tissue poof balls in red, white and blue to hang from the patio ceiling. I got some festively colored table cloths and bought a bunch of tiny flags as centerpieces. Gabe was particularly excited about the flags and couldn't wait to finish eating so he could take one! (I told him after people ate, the kids could each have one. He was by far the most excited!! What a cutie!) I even did Nyah's hair in a "fancy" little updo with red ribbons! She looked so cute! :) The kids were a wild bunch and kept themselves entertained while the adults chatted. Oh wait a minute, is that Erik P at the bottom of the pile?! :) He spent most of his time playing with the kids - what a guy!
There is Nyah behind the wheel!! Uh, should Eric and I be worried?? heehee! No actually Gabe parked the Jeep there to be "out of his way" playing baseball and later I looked over to see that Nyah had climbed in. It looked so funny though I had to snap a picture. It was sloping down so much she couldn't even stay on the seat - her little bum kept sliding down onto the floor!Here we are at our own little fireworks show! We started around 9 but Gabe only last until 10pm. He climbed into Daddy's lap and said he wanted to go to bed!! (check out the picture from "Top Pop" post of him falling asleep in Eric's lap) He is NOT our night owl! We tried to get him excited to stay up and see it all but there was no turning back at this point. He wanted bed and he wanted it now! Oh well, he got to do some Pop-its and even held a sparkler briefly at one point. (Daddy had to hold it too though! See below... you can tell from that pic he was definitely winding down at that point.) What a fun and exciting day!

I LOVE THE 4th of JULY!!!!