Open Thread: Belated Fourth of July!

Hosted by fireworks

Did everyone (at least those in the US) have a nice 4th of July?

Ours was a little interesting - as you may or may not know, July 4 is my daughter's birthday, so I got to combine the traditional cookout/hangout party with a first birthday party!  The two actually went well together - replaced red, white, and blue, for instance, with pink, cream, and teal :)  Made a red velvet cake with white and blue cream cheese frosting, and of course the young 'un enjoyed running around in the yard while a million and a half adults made a big fuss over her.

We had small fireworks in the backyard, but sadly, didn't get to go see any big ones - though we could hear them going off all night!

(Wish I could say I felt especially patriotic, but I didn't - although I DID sing the Star Spangled Banner, just because I like the song and it feels corny to sing it any other day!)

Open thread!  Did you get to celebrate the Fourth?  Anyone do anything interesting or fun?  Anyone see any cool fireworks?  Do you get into the patriotism of the holiday, or are you mostly in it for the ribs and beer?  Do you have any nifty holiday traditions, or are you starting any new ones?

Bonus open thread prompt!  For those who don't celebrate the 4th of July (either because you're not estadounidense or for any other reason): make up a holiday you would rather celebrate on July 4!  Tell us all about it!  What's the reason for it?  What sort of activities should people do on your holiday?  Does it have its own songs, colors, foods, traditions, etc.?  Get creative!  If it's awesome enough, maybe convince some folks to celebrate it with you next year!

Monday Reminder!  While I have fun coming up with pretty pictures and/or interesting “prompt” questions for open threads, you aren’t limited to those!  These threads are open - go wild, talk about whatever moves you!  (Just remember that this is still a safe space, please!) 

And, like on all threads: please remember to use the "post new comment" feature rather than the "reply" feature, even when directly replying to someone else!