you make me melt like a popcicle on the 4th of July

I really like the 4th of July..it is one of my favs as far as holidays go. I love everything about it & what it represents...the hot summer days, the BBQing, family, friends, watching fireworks on the curb & being grateful for the freedom to do just that and enjoy life.

I am not going to bust out in song but I am proud to be an American.  We are loving our time in Australia, but we still get a goose bumpy feeling when we see an American flag.

I just thought this house was all quaint and darling.  I like it.

oh and I thought this cake looked super yum!  What is the 4th without a flag cake.

Our 4th weekend was fun.  I think the summeryish (probably not a word or how you spell it...oh well) thing in the pic are Liv's flip flops which when the sun went down I was certain she would need a few toes amputated..it got chilly.  I did what I always do and painted the kids faces, but this time I splurged and spent the $2 and bought paint that actually said face paint instead of the craft or whatever I have around kind of paint I usually use.  Umm, yeah, it stayed on their faces for about as long as it took them to ride their bikes to the park...a total of about 2 minutes.  Rex was left with a random red U on his forehead.  Although it didn't last I am sure I will do it again next year because that is what I do. :)

We had a great group at the part.  6 families.  3 American, one half Aussie/American, one fully Aussie and one Canadian.  We had a BBQ with lots of delish food.

Chelsea, an Aussie who is married to an American, made all these adorable games for the kids.  She put so much time and effort into it and the kids had such a ball.  The kids minus a few in this picture.

Rex and his random red U playing a fun game.

The sun went down and it got chilly, but we didn't leave until we lit some good ole sparklers.  I love sparklers.  I think they have gotten better over the years...remember when they would take an hour to lite..not so bad these days.

After the park we headed back to our house for dessert and some more fun.  I like this picture..Jack is just chillin like a villain on Jared's arm as he plays the guitar.  He is such a good little boy.

The kids had fun playing Just Dance ( I believe is the name) on the Wii.  There were some pretty hard core dancers in the group.

It was a fun, memorable 4th for us.  Holidays are especially hard for me...living far away from family, but it is so great that we have good friends here to share them with.

I love America...always will...I will always be grateful for the freedoms we enjoy there and for the many people who have made and are making that possible.

P.S. Rex was pretty little when we moved here so he hasn't had much experience with the Star Spangled Banner.  I was trying to teach it to the kids and Rex was singing away...he would start with the American anthem and half way through start singing the Australian anthem...poor kids...sure cute though.