Fourth of July

Okay children, today we're going to describe what we did on the Fourth of July for no reason other than I say so. This won't be graded, because I don't really care, but go down memory lane anyway...and don't forget to wear sunscreen.

I love the Fourth of July. To me it's one of the more fun holidays.

When I was a kid we would go to the Third of July party at the big hotel. Food, music, Fireworks. It was fun. Then on the real Fourth we would go see the Paniolo (that's cowboy for you non-Hawaiian types) Parade in our neighborhood. A few years I was in that one, but mostly we just watched. It was great walking through the old shops in Makawao and watching all the horses pass by and oh-ing and ah-ing over the dresses of the Hawaiian Court. The beautiful leis, the gorgeous haku's. It was a lot of fun.

Then of course there was the rodeo all weekend with the big stuff on the Fourth. I loved going to that. I was even there the day the Bull escaped from the Bull pen and slammed into the fence right where my Dad and I were sitting. You'll still see videos of that pop up here and there on t.v. It was scary, but no one was hurt and now it's an exciting story.

And of course after the parades and the rodeo and all the parties and saying hello to friends around the country there was the bar-b-que. My Dad made the best. He had a secret recipe for the Baked Beans and the sauce. His ribs were always perfect. There was plenty of slaw and cornbread. We'd make homemade ice cream in the old-style hand churn sometimes. My Mom and I would sneak sweetcorn before it got cooked. There were blueberries and watermelon. We always ate "real good" on the Fourth of July.

This year was a lot of fun even if it was Grown-up style. My husband and I were in a Parade on Capitol Hill with our Mini Cooper S. A long line of us, all decorated with flags and pinwheels. Everyone waved at everyone else and the best part was driving by the Fire Station. All the little Mini's beeped there horns "Meep meep meep meep" Until the Fire Truck answered with a "HONK HONK". It was great, everyone loved it.

This was my husbands debut in a parade. He was pretty excited about it too. The whole night before he'd perk up and say "We're gonna be in a parade. That's exciting." This was particularly cute since his previous expression of anticipation was "Are you excited we're going to see Formula 1 in person honey?" "Yeah I guess." So it was fun watching him get all his car stickers together and babble on about being in a parade. It was a short one, he didn't have to walk (which is a very, very good thing but a whole different story) and it was fun. I think we had more fun looking at all the dogs out on the town than we did driving the Mini...but it was a perfect induction to the world of Parade-ing. And my husband is soooooo cute.

It took us awhile to drive back out of DC. We drove by the Lawn so technically we did go to the Capitol on the Fourth of July...even though we drove by it fast and couldn't wait to get as far from it as we could.

We had barbecue at Famous Dave's, which is in my opinion the second best chain BBQ restaurant in the United States. The first being a small chain in Florida which I forget the name of, but I know it when I see it. Of course there's nothing better than real BBQ...but it's a good second. And Famous Dave's has really good corn bread.

Then came my favorite part of the day, we went home and took a nap. We didn't mean too, but the bed was comfy, the room was cold, the sheets were soft, our cat was purring and as soon and I snuggled up close to my guy and nestled onto his shoulder I was out. By the sounds of his snoring so was he. It was nice, it was perfect. There is nothing better on a hot afternoon than to be held close by your favorite person in the world and be able to close your eyes and really sleep without a single care in the world because you're safe - and cozy - and have everything you need in the world right there in your arms.

It was a good nap. When I was a kid I'd most surely be running around pretending to rope cattle or chase bulls, but yesterday we were two grown-ups who were just too worn out. And that was okay.

Later that evening we went to the local fair. Had a hot dog, looked at all the booths, then walked away from the crowd and saw a movie together. We got out just in time to start heading back to the fair while the fireworks started. We weren't on the lake to see all the really fancy stuff, but we snuggled under a tree and watched what went off over the trees. It was very nice. By the time we started walking again and had gotten to our car the finale was going and we were ready to go home.

I watched the Capitol version on television once we got there. Got to hear my yearly fix of Overture to the War of 1812. They set off the real cannons, which was exciting even if it was just on t.v. I hummed along and was glad to find that the song and the fireworks and the feeling of the night is the exact same as when I was little. My heart was warm, I felt proud and joyful and oh so very incredibly lucky.

And I still feel that way, incredibly lucky.