Beach BBQ

Happy 4th of July!!!! The day started out great! The power actually stayed on, which meant I got to watch Venus and Serena Williams play this morning for the Wimbledon finals! Serena won, which was really exciting! I do like her best, but I think basically because she’s younger and hasn’t won as many. Plus, I got to see her in December (the same day we found out we were moving here!!!)

Then I chopped up a bunch of lettuce, crushed up ramen noodles, and made the homemade dressing for a ramen noodle salad for this afternoon. The Spouses Organization (SO) had a Beach BBQ for the 4th of July!!! I was so excited that Phillip was able to take time out from studying to go with me! We decided that was the first 4th of July we have spent on the beach! It was a ton of fun and there was sooooo much good food! The Spouses Org provided sodas, water, hot dogs, and hamburgers. Everyone else brought side dishes. Yum!!! We all spread out towels in the sand, ate a ton of food, and enjoyed each other’s company! The kids had an absolute blast! It was so fun to watch them! The SO even had a piñata and little goodie bags for the kids! Everyone got sparklers! The birds there were pretty funny to watch too! They kept swooping down toward the food! At one point, a couple of them came down toward my head! Yikes!!

“And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
And I gladly stand up,
next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land,
God bless the USA.”

Melissa and I sang that, walking home from the beach because one of her kids asked about the words to it. It sure has new meaning to me now. I always did like that song, but now it actually makes me a little teary eyed. There is so much that I took for granted before and I hope I never do again. I have realized how lucky we are and how truly blessed we are! I am proud to be an American!