July 4th, the Fourth of July, Independence Day. It’s the summer holiday, a day reserved for celebrating America’s independence from British rule by eating lots of grilled meats and lighting off fireworks into the night sky. A perfect holiday, am I right?
This Fourth was a little weird. My parents skipped town to celebrate their anniversary in Iowa, my Papa is still recovering from heart surgery, and our aunt and uncle had decided to celebrate with family on their other side. Meg and I were lost as to what to do. We’re not very good at changing tradition. This was the first time in years that we didn’t all load up the cars with lawn chairs and candy bags for the parade. It was looking like a bleak and boring holiday for the two of us.
In the end, my aunt and uncle surprised us by driving up for the day with a van full of cousins and food. They saved the day and reinvigorated the charm by serving the best meal I’ve had all summer.
I tried my best to capture my favorite parts of this holiday in my locket. A good Fourth of July BBQ isn’t complete without watermelon and corn on the cob, now if only Origami Owl had a charm for potato salad and baked beans…
You’ll also notice I included the swimsuit charm in my locket. After lunch and some hangout time in the hammocks, we headed to the beach for a quick swim. Unfortunately, I don’t have any good beach pictures because we were all busy playing in the water or out on the paddle boards.
After our swim, Meg, Mattie, and I headed over to my cousin Chad’s cabin for the first ever Triwizard Trivia Tournament. We spent three hours playing Harry Potter Trivial Pursuit. The competition was intense as three Ravenclaws and one Hufflepuff battled head to head for the title of Trivia Champion. In the end, Meg came out on top, followed closely by Chad, and leaving me as the ultimate loser.
Though I lost on the board, I had a big win in the kitchen. I had spent the morning preparing some deliciously themed Harry Potter food that ended up being a huge hit. Our dinner consisted of Cornish Pasties (a meal traditionally served during the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts) and Godrick Griffyndor’s Bacon Cheese Ale Bread (and gravy made by grandma). Additionally, the ultimate battle of knowledge was accompanied by various candies and treats from Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes.
We wrapped up our night back at Grandma’s house with a homemade fireworks display presented by my cousin and uncle. As I mentioned last year, fireworks are one of my all time favorite charms of life. There is very little in life that is more magical than literal fire in the sky. While Minnesota law compliant fireworks are not nearly as exciting as the real thing, we still got some real hunnies.
Food and fireworks: the two greatest charms of life. Combine them with a day filled with family and absolutely perfect weather and you have yourself one heck of an Independence celebration.
Flood my inbox with all of your fireworks pictures. Send them to lifeslittlecharmsblog@gmail.com. Thanks!
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