God Keep Our Land Glorious and Free...and Bless America

The first week of July tends to be a fun one for us, what with celebrating Canada Day on the 1st and Independence Day on the 4th. I don't give the 1st as much attention as it deserves, mostly because it isn't a holiday where I live. But I went out of my way this year when it came to dinner. I made (what should have been) red banana pancakes - not traditional Canadian fare, but it was red. We made a red smoothie, ate raspberries and syrup. It would have been more authentic with real maple syrup, but Mrs. Butterworth's subbed in a pinch. We'll say she's 1/4 Canadian. We did listen to the likes of Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Michael Buble and The Barenaked Ladies while we dined. That counts, eh?

Brandon worked on the 4th, in order to get holidays off later in the year. So the Giffords were sweet enough to pick me up for the annual Independence Day Bike Parade at the church. I am embarrassed to admit that I decorated the same "bike" she rode last year, since I remembered the decorations and where I put them, making the whole process mere minutes. She rode it less than she did even last year, so I'm glad I didn't put in hours of effort.

This is about as much action as the bike saw. But she thoroughly enjoyed the poppers the Giffords provided and the shaved ice. It always comes down to food.

Teagan and I tagged along with the Giffords to swim at a friend's pool and had a blast. They're so sweet to take us everywhere. After Brandon got home and it got a little darker, we met up with them on "a mountain" as Teagan will tell you. They were brilliant enough to scope out a large hill down the street from our houses that overlooked the entire valley. You could see everything at once and it was awesome. The Strip's firework display left a lot to be desired, so it was nice to be able to see everyone else's as well. There was a particularly impressive show extremely close to where we were - they were rumoured to have spent $9000 on fireworks. What I could do with $9000. Buddy and I were joking that it's literally watching your money go up in smoke and the fastest way to see your money go. But it was free for us! I think our company (Giffords, Carsons & Wilsons - fellow Canucks) and snacks more than made up for the Strip's lack of awesomeness and made for an awesome night.

 

Buddy had stopped on his way home for some sparklers and poppers which Teagan really seemed to enjoy. It was fun to have her be old enough to appreciate the fireworks this year. We set off a few when we got home (at a fairly reasonable hour) and then listened to the rest through the night and into the next week. Americans. :)