Lucky for us there are enough people in and around our neighborhood who are happy to bend the law and get the wildest and craziest fireworks that would rival with any official 4th of July fireworks show and they tend to do this till at least midnight. And we are happy to share this beautiful and shimmering night sky with our friends with a cookout (and also because we are lazy to lug two kids through the crowd for a 15-minute show somewhere else).
Good thing about having a party is that it makes us put away and reorganize all the kid stuff (and adult stuff) that eventually starts collecting on all surfaces. Saturday, Devang and I spent the better part of the morning getting the house ready for company. It helps to have a guest room which is where we put anything that might get in the way such as high chairs, extra appliances, shoe stands, etc etc.
4th of July menu included:
– grilled skirt steak with Devang’s ” secret ” rub (…from Costco)
– Dutch oven chicken and vegetables
– Various cheeses and charcuterie
– tacos
– Sachin’s famous bacon wrapped stuffed jalapeños (!!!!)
– flourless chocolate cake
– watermelon
It is amazing to see a house full of people. The comfortable chaos of children running about, all the laughing and talking, all the awesome friends making us feel as if we were the guests. Honestly there was a solid hour when I hardly saw my kids because they were having too much of a good time being held and spoiled by others.
The party ended as it always does on the back balcony where we had a fire going to enjoy the fireworks which were insane. We might or might not have tried some of our own fireworks (note to self for next time…don’t buy made me China if possible to avoid close calls).
The sparkling night sky, the kind friends and family, my happy kids and husband…this is my American Dream! I am so lucky.
