The 4th of July has always been a special time for my family to get together, appreciate the country we live in and the freedoms we have, eat lots and lots of food, and celebrate with plenty of fireworks. This year's company, food, and fireworks seemed to top our past celebrations by far! Here is my most favorite homage to America... let the music fill your heart as I share our family's 4th of July celebration with you! (Ray Charles's version of the song has been my favorite since I heard it in one of the best childhood movies ever--The Sandlot... so much soul, and so much respect for the song!)
We started our holiday weekend on the 3rd by swimming at Carlton's parents' house. Plenty of leisurely sunning in the warm backyard pool. Dinner with Hub and Mom-in-Law over some great saxophone music in Acworth. Late to sleep, thanks to some good comedy on tv.
On the morning of the 4th, I headed to my parents' house. I met up with my mom and sister, and we started cooking our menu, desserts first. Kristen made her favorite--tea cookies, my mom chopped lots of fruit and prepared most of the dinner menu, and I tip-toed shyly into making my first cobbler... yay for Georgia peaches!!!
Our day went by quickly, with cleaning and pup-sitting for five rambunctious fuzzy pups, and we were all happy when friends and family started arriving around 5:00-5:30.
(From left to right, we have: Vespa (my pup, a Yorkie-Poo mix), Bella (my parents' pup, a dachshund/shih-tzu mix), Charlie (my parents' pup, a Maltese/Poodle mix), Shi(loh) (my sister's pup, and Vespa's sister, a Yorkie-Poo mix), and Luke (my sister's boyfriend Scott's new pup, a Springer Spaniel baby boy... look at that smile!).)
Sister pups Vespa and Shi enjoyed lots and lots of romping around the living room. Vespa wins again!!!
Our menu was delicious, and I think it touched on everyone's favorites. Of course, there were grilled burgers and hotdogs, baked beans, grilled veggies, and grilled shrimp. And, because we have all been so inspired by our recent Greek cruise, this year's menu also included pork suvlaki, tzatziki sauce, fresh pita bread, a Greek salad, a tomato/mozzarella/basil dish, and an assortment of cheeses to taste. This year we also celebrated with ice cones, margaritas, sangria, and other mixed drinks. Everything was delish!
As many of you already know, Cartersville's beautiful Dellinger Park serves up some amazing fireworks just after dark every 4th of July. My parents' house is perched on a hill just across the street from the park, so every year they have a big party with lots of good food and entertainment while we wait to watch the park's fireworks in our own front lawn... I know, how nice! Well, it's become a sort of tradition for my dad to entertain the guests of the party with his own display of (il)legal fireworks. We all gather on the back deck while he ignites everything from below in the back yard. A few of the surrounding neighbors have made desperate attempts at competing with our display of Michael-Bay-esque explosions, but so far, all attempts have been futile. So. After about... oh, I don't remember, 30 minutes or an hour of setting these off...
...the park fireworks began. It was a colorful explosion of colors in the black sky, and everyone at the house enjoyed them while we ate our fair share of my mom's homemade apple pie and my surprisingly tasty peach cobbler over a beer or margarita.
Then came the great finale. We all migrated back out to the deck of the house and cheered my dad on as he lit one after another after another of GREAT fireworks! The show was intense and exciting, enough for me to end up with a painful bruise on my forhead (dangerous shrapnel!) and my sister to wet her pants (surprising screaming bottle rockets!)!!!
You don't believe me about these fireworks? Watch this for yourself! (Yes, that's my dad lighting the fuses with his handheld torch, and yes that is the yard sprinkler you hear in the background, just in case.)My old high school principal, Jay Floyd, was one of the strong contenders trying to knock my dad from first place in the illegal fireworks display this year. He rolled in on his huge golf cart with his family, old-school boom box strapped to the top thumping "Sweet Home Alabama", toting a huge wagon filled with food, beer, and fireworks. Eventually, he realized he came to the show unable to bring the noise required to beat the Neighborhood Explosives Master (aka Dad). As he and his family rolled out, he promised us when we asked where he was going, "I gotta go somewheres I can win. I'll be back next year. I'm gonna bring the NOOOOOOISE! I'm gonna bring my A GAAAAAAAAAAAME!!!" We'll see, Jaybez, we'll see about that.
After a night of tossing and turning for me (I could NOT sleep well for some reason, no matter how exhausted I was from the entire day's preparations and festivities!), Carlton and I woke up and headed back over to his parents' house. Because it rained, we couldn't swim... but we did enjoy lots of yummy food and an afternoon of Rock Band!
Carlton, SJ Jr (dad), and SJ3 (Carlton's brother) were the main band. But there was always something missing with just the three of them. SJ3's toddler Katie Anne surprised us and agreed to teach her daddy a few lessons. The band sounded great after KA's expertise and her mom's singing talents rocked through the mic!!!
What a special holiday weekend! We are so glad we were back home in Georgia to share it with our families!
It looks like your fourth of July was fun :) And yes, it was to Alabama and it was fun. I'd never been there before, so it was fun to see everything new.
ReplyDeleteAnd even though I didn't see it before I left, the Altoids commercial is hilarious. If I don't get this job and have more interviews, I'll definitely think of that from now on!
And just for you, I added another post today ;)