usa! usa!

when planning your fourth of july holiday, there are four necessary ingredients:

1. camping – getting away from “it all” because “it all” reminds us why other countries don’t love americans

2. hanging out at a park – i think our founding fathers used to do this. they’d take their picnic blankets and frisbees to their local park when their hands were cramping up from writing the declaration of independence. we’re only following in their footsteps

3. bbq – all american!! except for the fact that both hamburgers and bratwursts originated in germany…and i’m sure most bbq grills are actually made in china.

4. fireworks – i know they say fireworks represent “bombs bursting in air” but i’m pretty sure they’ve come to define americans – colorful, loud and free to worship however they want (although i’ve never actually seen a firework at church)

i’m very proud (to be an america) to say that my fourth of july incorporated all four ingredients. i started off with a little camping trip. highlights included: strawberry flavored marshmallows (i know – exciting), learning to throw a frisbee with my thumb (way to go mr. thumbman!) and sleeping for almost 3 hours! (this is a significant increase from pretty much all of my other camping trips)

as soon as i got home, it was time for ingredient #2. so meghan and i ventured out to wash park, where the entire cast of the oc has been cloned and multiplied by at least a bajillion and then perfectly clad and positioned in one of a bamillion volleyball courts around the park. you’re only allowed into wash park if you look good in a bikini (boys and girls). meghan and i snuck in wearing our t-shirts and jeans when the bouncers weren’t looking. then we rented a paddle boat, because that’s just what we do.

in case you were wondering, paddle boating in a lake that’s about a half-mile in circumference can keep an average human being entertained for approximately 22 minutes. after that, you start chasing ducks to run them over and play games like “okay, you peddle with only your right leg and i’ll use only my left and we’ll see how fast we can go.” (p.s. you can’t go fast…ever…even if you’re both using all your legs. this is just the gospel of paddle boating apparently. who knew?)

next, we went to a bbq. plenty of brats and sauerkraut (also german – even though the name sounds american). amongst the people there, the only one wearing any sort of american-pride garb was the woman from britain…we played the game “battle of the sexes” over bbq. it reminded me of the revolutionary battle – except for the part where we answered questions and moved plastic pieces around a board instead of actually sacrificing our lives to defend our freedom.

and finally, we crawled up on the roof and watched a firework show that was being shot up well over 5 feet away from us. we were so close to the fireworks, we were literally covered in debris and ash once the show was over. and since nobody caught on fire, it was actually a very cool experience.

Happy Independence Day!!