July 4th, 2014

Some of our favorite July 4th activities are pretty run of the mill…. but we like them.  Dressing in red-white-blue… looking for kitschy crafts, BBQing burgers, making fancy desserts… and of course our little street side fireworks.  In the AZ heat… the last thing I want to do is drag the family to a parade.  There are fireworks here at Tempe Town Lake (funny though… I didn’t hear them last night??) but to stand in a crowd, only being allowed to bring certain amount of bottled water per person etc. just to bake – not something I can convince hubby to want to do.  I really miss the big fireworks competitions in Vancouver sitting on the beaches on blankets. (Oh yes… that was Canada Day obviously…. I’m Canadian and grew up there… still counts!! ;D)  I miss even more the fireworks display on the beach near Ka’anapali, Maui where we used to live.  Also miss the Liberty Bay fireworks near Poulsbo and Bainbridge, WA. Hmm, all fireworks glistening off the water….. yes, missing the water right now sitting here in AZ in mid 100 degree F days.

Tried to find some ‘educational’ links for the kids about the Founding Fathers, the signing of the Declaration of Independence that went beyond worksheets, cross-word puzzles etc. they just were not in the mood for any of it.

We made some frozen pudding swirly star pops using Vanilla Pudding and food coloring in a silicone star shaped ice cube tray. Stuck some saved star sticks from another year’s cupcakes…. voila.

We did however have a conversation about freedom… and what that means. What the cost is to keep it. How people want to take it away from others in history and today – here and abroad.  How valuable – and fragile it is.  Thankfulness for the freedom that we enjoy today. They nodded a lot. Went back to their burgers.

Chocolate Lava Cake from Fresh & Easy – baked in the oven