July Fourth Barbecue

Happy Fourth of July (again)!!!

This is a much fitting post for the big 7/4 because it actually showcases what we cooked and ate today. I am posting this a few days late, so use your very creative imagination and take yourself back in time for a little bit.

So, today, we were in really good company (minus one mister who I thought travelled a long ways to join us, but BAILED). We started the day off slow but eventually ended up in the pool by the middle of the afternoon. The greatest part of the swim was little Landon,  who has never been in a pool before and found it quite odd that we were all "showering" together. As I was stepping into the pool, he looked at me, looked at his mommy, and said, "Auntie shower too?" It was just too much for me.

We finally got out of the pool and started our barbecue grill. As mandated by this national holiday, we had a backyard barbecue, and as it always seems to happen when we grill anything, our meats came out a bit more charred and a bit more done than we wanted.

Fourth of July Barbecue Menu
Rice
Pork/beef sausage
Chicken wings

Chicken drumsticks
Steak
Corn on the cob
Pepper sauce with lots of cilantro
Wine cocktails

rice, because we have a lady who just cannot eat without rice (even during her low carb diet)

Protein: chicken, beef, and pork
next year: fish

Vegetables: corn, pepper sauce, wine cocktail
(grape is more of a fruit, but it's just as healthy as a vegetable, especially in its liquid, fermented form)

After stuffing ourselves, we walked outside and watched the firework show. It's always a good thing that we live so close to where the fireworks are fired off, we were able to sit across the street from the apartment and enjoy a light show. Some of the better pictures that I was able to capture when I was not moving from the all the excitement.

The shooting stars, which was very fitting tonight because of the giant moon.

The light show that made the night AWESOME!

The GRAND FINALE
We like to end with a big BANG and that happens most successfully when you shoot multiple fireworks at once.

This year may not have been the greatest year from some of us, but tonight definitely made me forget some of the $4!+ that the wonderful year of the dragon has brought. So, may the rest of the year be like tonight's firework show, starting with the malfunctioning test runs that don't make it to the sky and fall back to the ground, followed by beautiful explosions of colorful lights that remind us to celebrate the blessings around us and ending with so such grandeur, it's more than was anticipated at the beginning.

Happy Independence Day!