4th Of July

Bruce and I hosted our Second Annual Richards' 4th of July bash on Friday. We had a fun time meeting with friends and neighbors to celebrate our Nation's independence day. We went to the 4th of July parade earlier in the day, and I must admit that it was kind of depressing. You would think a 4th of July parade would honor, represent, and take pride in the citizens of our country. Instead, the Champaign Urbana parade is one of the most political and unpatriotic parade I have ever been too. Not only do they not throw candy, but the biggest floats contain anti-war campaigns where war Veterans are speaking out against the war in Iraq. They also have floats bashing the president of our country, and large floats promoting Gay marriage. Almost every local candidate uses this time to campaign rather than really getting at the heart of Independence Day, and recognizing those who made the ideals of our country. On a positive note, the parade did represent every branch of the military in that we stood up multiple times as the flag went by.

Back to the 4th of July Bash. Bruce and I moved to Champaign in the late afternoon on July 2, 2006. We were exhausted when we arrived and only unloaded our truck but didn't unpack anything. In the early hours of the 4th of July that same year, I suffered from severe stomach pains and nausea. Later that same afternoon I found myself in the hospital recovering from surgery in which I had my appendix removed. It was a memorable fourth, one in which I will never forget. The following year, I wanted to make up for the lost holiday. We invited a large number of neighbors and friends over for a BBQ on the 4th. It was so successful and so much fun, we decided to make it a tradition. It is now something we look forward to all year. As a new twist this year, I made patriotic cinnamon rolls for breakfast.
Bruce suggested I make cinnamon rolls fit for every holiday and celebration. He even went as far as saying we should make black and white cinnamon rolls for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I think that might be taking the cinnamon roll thing a little too far, but I appreciate how much he likes my cinnamon rolls. I must admit that they are pretty tasty!
We invited some new people to our BBQ this year, and had a blast with those who came. We played some Mexican Horseshoes and visited. As you can see from this picture, I did make some improvements on my "flag" desserts.

Last year, I used only Jello and pudding. This year I did a layer of white cake, some Jello with fruit in it, then a cream cheese and whipped cream frosting. I then used fruit to make it look like a flag. I kind of liked the Jello Cheese cake dessert better!

We ended the night by getting front and center seats at the fireworks show. The grand finale was neat in that they played the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's rendition of The Battle Hymn of the Republic as a myriad of colors filled the sky. It was a great finale. We spent hours in the parking lot afterwards waiting to get home, but the firework show was certainly memorable. Happy 4th of July to everyone!