4th

pretty much every blog i've looked at over the past 24 hours has included an overload of jubilant, patriotic, red white & blue sun-soaked photos of all the amazing fun they had on the 4th of july. this is not one of those posts.

the 4th of july is my most favorite day of the year. i LOVE the fireworks, the bbq's, the celebration of america, the corny neighborhood parades. i love it. but this year...was a little off.

j woke up at 5:45 a.m. to squeeze an extra two hours out of the holiday [not really, it's because he's been staying up too late lately, i know this because dr. weissbluth is my sleep training guru] so i was already wiped. i also had a slight homesick hangover coming off the weekend...then spent a good five hours of the 4th of july trying to organize THIS:

... and i knew i was in for a rough day. then our festive 4th plans fell through and, not knowing anyone [or any good places to go] in town, we had no back-up. i was on the verge of tears, thinking this was the worst 4th of july ever, when all of the sudden everything perked up.

our 4th was rescued with by good friends [in town for an internship], a block party bbq, patriotic-sprinkled ice cream sandwiches, mini fireworks in the street and a baby double-fisting his first taste of watermelon. isn't that what the 4th is all about?

we went home while the sun was still shining so jackal could hit the sack. b and i turned on a movie [independence day of course] and i fell asleep at 930 p.m. without one real firework spied. what a night.

i might be a little depressed that my first 4th as a mom was just that: more mom-like than i prefer. but really, it wasn't so bad. i was with my family, i'm in a beautiful new city, i still got a home-grilled burger for dinner and i still love america. plus, we've already cemented plans to spend NEXT 4th of july in my very favorite independence day location [lake powell], so at least i have that to look forward to. hooray for the red white & blue!