4th of July!

The planners!

Little America?

The 4th of July is perhaps one of my favorite holidays, which is why I absolutely had to celebrate it from afar. I have so many memories of hanging on Megan's boat while we watch fireworks. I love having the grill going with lots of friends hanging around outside. Sami, Deirdre, and I decided to throw a party for our friends since we have a big courtyard and open air kitchen at our disposal. We really tried to go all out. I was especially a fan of the flag plates, streamers, banners, lanterns, beach ball, and table cloth. We quickly turned our little courtyard into little America, complete with a bucket of Bud. (Which, coincidentally, came in a pack of 15...which was just weird....)

Bucket o' Budweiser! It was an absolute must.

It ended up being a blast! We each invited our friends from our respective programs, so it was a pretty big and eclectic crowd. Everyone arrived around 5:30, so it was a really nice, long evening filled with fun and drinking. I really enjoyed the extreme patriotism - especially the temporary tattoos and the moment when we sang happy birthday to America over a funfetti cake.....it had to be done.

My best imitation of Miss America.

THUG LYFE

The night was filled with plenty of memories. We enjoyed the plethora of Springsteen and Mellencamp that was pumping, standing in awe while Whitney Houston belted out the National Anthem. We jammed to plenty of Motown, Knocking Three Times with Tony Orlando and celebrated The Gambler with Kenny Rogers (and yes, there was line dancing). 

Doing our best to recreate a 4th BBQ.

USA! USA! USA!

Those poppers you throw at the ground were an absolute must, as were many, many sparklers... it just wouldn't be the 4th without some form of fireworks.All in all, I'd say we did America proud. Considering we were celebrating in Scotland, we did a pretty stand up job sharing our (only slightly obnoxious) patriotism with our European friends.

Playing with fire....a must for any 4th BBQ.

Sami, Deirdre, and me! Fully enjoying the sparklers.