Throwback Thursday: 'Murrrrrrrica!!

This week is a Throwback 4th of July - Independence Day!

This year (today) we are spending Independence Day watching our friends marry each other! Not a traditional 4th of July celebration, but pretty amazing none the less. I told them I'd wear stars and stripes our of protest, but then decided that might look a little random in photos, so am opting for a white and blue dress, with coral accessories (which is in a way a form of red-ish...), so it will be a subtle Independence Day reference. But we'll all know, and that's what's important.

As obviously my little Brit doesn't have much experience with the holiday, and they don't really celebrate British Independence Day (as they were never owned), or British 'Do You Remember When We Owned Half The World, Wasn't That Awesome? Let's Celebrate That!' Day, I'm taking over this post with my American memories. And apparently an over-use of memes. So there!

Growing up with foreign parents, I feel a bit like we learned as we went with American holidays. For instance, we never had mac n' cheese or candied yams at Thanksgiving (something I only realised was missing when I trolled through the internet looking for the unhealthiest American foods possible for Thanksmas), and I really only remember celebrating the Fourth when we moved to Boise, at age 8 or so. We eventually learned that even though bigger fireworks are illegal in Idaho, if you drive an hour west of Boise to Oregon, you can get big-ass awesome fireworks from shady shacks on the border and take them back home.

My favourite Independence Day we spent in McCall, Idaho, about 3 hours from home in the mountains. We had a cabin there growing up, and the always do such a great fireworks display - over the big lake in the middle of the town, set off from a raft. I remember sitting on a dock watching them with my family, and playing 'Miss May Mack' with my little brother. Poor child.

Source

Years later as a teenager, I spent another Fourth there, with my choir friends in someone's cabin, and one of the boys very nearly set a forest fire with big fireworks in the back yard. No harm done, but still.

My Dad also used to buy fireworks for us to set off in our street - we loved spending hours lighting them and running away before they went off, watching Dad do the same with the big ones, and spelling things in the air with sparklers.

On crazy hair day, super patriotic

After our wedding next year, we are spending our honeymoon in McCall, and will be there for the Fourth July. I hope then to recreate all the simple pleasures of the holiday I got as a child for Sarah - Dad on the BBQ, renting jet skis to zip around the lake, setting off Oregon-grade fireworks in the street, and watching the show over the lake in the evening. I just can't wait!

It's days like Independence Day that make me happy to be American - for all its faults, I really do love my country. (cue: 'Born in the USA' by Bruce Springsteen)