Watermelon Smiles and Weed

I love the 4th of July.  It makes me think of God, Freedom and Family.

I'm grateful that dad raised us to be proud of our country.  To be respectful and thankful for it.  I'm grateful for men like Grandpa who left all that they knew to fight and defend liberty.  I am grateful for those who do that still today.  A lot of sacrafices have been made and are still being made.  I read through the Declaration of Independence again.  It is miraculous what these men were able to accomplish.  Amazing what can happen when you allow Heaven to be involved.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

The Netherlands doesn't have anything to celebrate on Independence Day but we definitely pursued happiness.  The Koot Family gave me yet another reason (from a very long list) to love them.  They organized a BBQ/party for me.  We had the best night.  One of my favorite 4th of July memories (Ironic that I wasn't even in America).  They wanted to do it right so we did it America Style (as much as possible when living in a foreign country). 

We headed up to the roof terrace and Sander took over the BBQ.  The weather was perfect!

I didn't get them in this shot but sweet Karina worked in the kitchen off and on all day long making potato salad and other great dishes.  She's the best!

 

Before eating we were treated with some pre-dinner entertainment.  These kids can dance!  It was even better than a parade (we didn't have to wake up early to enjoy it).

Elliot (Baby Blue Eyes) watched it all, totally content in his play pen. 

Is he not the cutest kid ever?  I love kissing his cheeks and making him laugh.  He looks so sneaky in this picture.  I think he was planning something.  Karina is going to cut his hair soon.  I can't imagine him without his curls.

Oh, and did I mention that he loves corn?  There wasn't a single kernel left on that poor cob when he was done with it.

This picture of Max makes me smile.  The kid has more energy than all of us put together.  He likes cars and trains and anything that he can crash or throw.  I think one of the reasons why we get along so well is because he loves candy as much as I do.  He doesn't get it very often but he always wants it.  And if he doesn't want candy he is hungry.  Always hungry.

Sparkler Time!  Why are sparklers so much fun?  It is a little stick that sparkles with the potential of frying your hand off.  They totally kept us all entertained.

 

 

After the boys were in bed we pulled out the watermelon.  Nothing says 4th of July like a good watermelon.  The girls held up the rinds in front of their mouths and pretended that they had huge green smiles.  Sander took it a step further and shoved a rind in his mouth.  For the next 20 minutes Karina had a camera right in his face taking a ton of pictures.  We were all laughing so hard.  My stomach was killing me.  I love those moments when your laugh reaches a whole new level of loudness.  Totally from the gut.  Not a pretty laugh but it feels SO good.  We were all dying!  He'd start laughing and the rind would pop out and then the whole process repeated itself.

I snapped this picture of Sander when he first saw what he had looked like with his watermelon face on Karinas camera.  Yes.  He is that funny.

After a game of telephone (also funny) the girls went off to bed.  We sat outside and enjoyed the weather and the view and the smell...Weed, coming from somewhere down below.  I'd take the smell of weed over the smell of sulfer after a big firework show anyday.

Before I finish this post I feel like I need to give a shout out to Mr. President Thomas Whitmore by including one of my favorite quotes of his.

"Good morning. In less than an hour, aircraft from here will join others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind. 'Mankind.' That word should have new meaning for all of us today. We can't be consumed by our petty differences anymore. We will be united in our common interests. Perhaps it's fate that today is the Fourth of July, and you will once again be fighting for our freedom... Not from tyranny, oppression, or persecution... but from annihilation. We are fighting for our right to live. To exist. And should we win the day, the Fourth of July will no longer be known as an American holiday, but as the day the world declared in one voice: "We will not go quietly into the night!" We will not vanish without a fight! We're going to live on! We're going to survive! Today we celebrate our Independence Day!"