SS Blog Challenge #23: INDEPENDENCE DAY

This weeks blog challenge is from Sherry, and it's a good one...

Independence Day is this Friday. For this weeks Blog Challenge, I would love to see how you spend the 4th of July. Is this a time for you and your family to get together and celebrate? Do you bar-b-que, watch fireworks at the same place every year, participate in a parade or block party? Is it a day that makes you feel more patriotic? I realize that some of you may treat it like a any other day...but write something! Most have it off from work, but if you don't, you could write about what you usually do for the Fourth.

This could even be a two part thing. Blog about past Independence Days and then after Friday, get one more in there to tell us what you actually did this year.

I hope to hear about traditions, favorite recipes, stories from the past. Maybe you could share pictures from past celebrations and/or add some more after Friday.

July 4th is a much-anticipated holiday in our house...and our neighborhood for that matter. Our annual tradition is to have a neighborhood get together. Eight families congregate to the backyards of two neighbors across the street from us, and the day is filled with food, fun and fireworks.

We start off every year with hotdogs and baked beans for lunch. Normally, the kids swim and jump on the trampoline after lunch while the adults take turns supervising and preparing foods for dinner. Each family is given a specific dish to bring, as well as drinks, tableware, etc. Every year we have beer-soaked brats, grilled chicken, hamburgers and hotdogs. This year, we are also having pork chops - marinated in Pomegranate Chipotle sauce from Tastefully Simple. YUM!!! There is always an assortment of food...and it's always in abundance!!

This year, I've been asked to bring appetizers for afternoon munching and cheesy potatoes for dinner. I'm taking an assortment of appetizers - dips and crackers, beer bread, veggie pizza squares and fruit salad. We'll also be having macaroni salad, potato salad, veggie trays, deviled eggs, baked beans, salad and a plethora of desserts. On July 4th, there is NO dieting in our neighborhood.

We normally serve hot food off the grill around 5pm, though we all hang out snacking on the dishes all day long. After dinner, the adults typically play Euchre and poker, and the kids swim more, play tag, etc. This year, we're bringing three Nerf gun sets, so the kids will have a massive tournament in teams.

This year will include a HUGE tribute to our nation's finest, as we celebrate with two soldiers that are here to celebrate with us. They've not been here in FOUR years due to deployments in Iraq and training sequences here in the states. We are so excited to have them home with us this year to celebrate not only in the fun but in the spirit of the holiday.

When it starts to get dark, we have a bonfire in the backyard and make s'mores while we chat and keep the bugs away. Around 10pm, the fireworks show starts. Three men in our neighborhood take a day off work every year in June to go to OH to buy "the good fireworks" READ: the ones illegal in Michigan. We block our street off with cars so that people can't get through, we rope off an area so that kids have to stay back and seated, and the men start the AMAZING display. Our local police dept. came four years ago because of the abundance of fireworks, saw how safe we were and thanked us for taking necessary steps to offer the neighborhood a safe display. They typically drive by each year, giving us a thumbs up on the fireworks and go on their way to find those who AREN'T being safe. All the while, our kids are ooohing and awwwing at the colors above.

Truly, July 4th ranks just behind Christmas for us. It's one of the funnest days of the summer, and we have such a wonderful community experience. I enjoy my freedom very much, and I have the utmost respect for military families. It amazes me that brave men and women sign up to protect this nation and the freedoms we cherish, despite leaving families behind. And those families are in our hearts every year, and often in our conversation, as we remember them and how difficult life is without their loved ones near.

Happy Independence Day, everyone!!!!!!