Happy Independence Day!

I love the 4th of July. I have such amazing childhood memories of watching fireworks over the lake, hanging with my sisters and friends eating popcorn out of paper bags, playing with sparklers in the summer heat, and of course, fire flies! Our neighborhood used to have a 4th of July "parade" every year where all the kids would march around our little cul de sac in wagons and dressed to the nines in red, white, and blue. So very, very 'Murican! Of course, now that I'm a parent myself, I recognize that those memories were not nearly as sweet for the adults shepherding us around, lol.

Now that I work as a diplomat, 4th of July is more about sharing the joy of American Independence with our host country. It is, in fact, the biggest event the Embassy sponsors every year. This year I volunteered to deck myself out in real style and dressed up as Lady Liberty.

I was a hit, if I do say so myself. Uncle Sam and I were in high demand. The Philippines is no exception to the photography rule in Asia. If there's an opportunity for a photo, you better believe they're going to take it! :) I can't even imagine how many photos there are of me floating around Facebook now, haha. We must have had over 1,000 people attend this year's party, and I swear I took my photo with 998 of them! My cheeks hurt from smiling so much! But, it was also really fun. And I got to wear sandals since no one could see my feet under the robes. No standing in high heels for 6 hours for me! And we got to see fireworks this year! I love me some fireworks. Last year they got canceled because of the rain, and I was sooo disappointed. So I was really excited to see this year's show, and it was awesome. I only wish my kids could have seen it.

Today the CLO is putting on a family 4th of July party. We didn't have one of these last year, so I'm super grateful that they're doing it this year so the kids can celebrate too. There won't be any fireworks there, but there will be hot dogs, cotton candy, face painting, and bouncy houses! All worthy ways of celebrating the 4th.