Hey Baby, It's the 4th of July

The title of this post comes from the main chorus of a song we always play on this day, Fourth of July by X, which is a fabulous rocking tune, but melancholy as well. I can't say we are feeling melancholy though.

We all celebrated Independence Day at a grand BBQ held through Craig's workplace. A ton of people were there (they said 500 Americans and their guests) and the weather was pretty much exactly as it would have been if we were home - hot and humid. I truly think it hit 90 degrees, no lie. I picked the kids up early from school as a treat and so did every other family and they listed the kids' reason for early dismissal as "American holiday party".

We had the typical American fare - hot dogs and hamburgers. I ate my first hot dog in over a year and I can't say that I actually missed them. The kids wandered around and we hardly saw Finn as he was playing skittles (see a previous post for explanation if you want) almost the entire day. He did stop to eat and play games outside of which I was one of the coordinators. Luckily, Catonsville has such a great 4th of July morning of games at the high school and I snagged a few ideas. We did a cheese curl on a spoon race which I was told was a huge improvement over the egg on a spoon race since it was definitely less messy and the kids could run multiple races. There was just enough breeze to make it a challenge too. The kids also loved the three-legged races and they were really fun to watch. My games partner found water balloons and orchestrated a water balloon toss at the end which even the adults enjoyed.
Today, Craig, Finn, Vicki, Wendy and Melina took the train into Bath to do some sightseeing and Owen, Evan and I are hanging out. We went shopping because I had promised Owen a shopping spree at the craft store for his birthday and he has waited very patiently for the weekend.
Happy Independence Day!