4th of July in Yokosuka

Happy Birthday to my sister, Sara and Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

On July 4, 1776 the American Continental Congress voted to approve the Declaration of Independence, in which the American colonies proclaimed their separation from Britain. And fifty years to the day after the approval of the Declaration of Independence, which they both had a hand in drafting, former presidents Thomas Jefferson and John Adams died in 1826.

We spent the morning at home making brownies and a yummy cream cheese and red pepper dip. Nothing too fancy, and certainly easy. In the afternoon we headed to Brenda's house (the same woman we went to the beach with a couple of weeks ago), and since she lives on the main base, I left my car there and we walked over to the little carnival/fair MWR put on for the families here. It was open to the public as well, so there were a lot of Japanese families there. Little girls were wearing their yukatas, and I even saw a woman wearing one. All of the locals were dressed in red, white and blue, had patriotic hats on, and most even had the temporary tattoos on. It's a great way to improve the relationship with our host country...especially since some of them aren't happy about the USS George Washington coming here...it's a nuclear powered aircraft carrier, so there is a known protest because of it.

Anyway, getting back to it, before we left Brenda's we indulged in some goodies at her house. Her daughter, Brianna, joined us for the walk and met up with some friends. Oh, and you'll see me pushing a new stroller...this thing is awesome, but kicked my butt putting it together. Well worth it though, and this was the first time we used it outside...until last night it was only pushed around the kitchen and living roomI bought extra tickets, so once we used some up I gave the rest to Bri to play games with...on the condition that if she wins a prize it goes to the girls. She did great and won four times! I took some pictures and uploaded them into my Shutterfly album if you want to see them.

The girls went in bouncy thing shaped like a big car, and then we had temporary tattoos put on our faces. I even joined the fun and got one. We walked around for a little while, then grabbed a snack [at the all-American fast food joint], McDonalds, and headed over to watch the fireworks. After all, how can a red-blooded American celebrate Independence Day without seeing fireworks?! They started right on time, of course since it was put on by the military, and since we weren't at the field yet, we found a grassy spot by the post office and watched from there. Sydney was afraid and had me covering her ears, then she got brave enough to sit by herself and cover her own ears. Just as Bri was getting ready to snap this picture Keanna grabbed Brenda and me and pulled us into her...she said afterward she wanted to put her arms around us to make sure we were all in the picture.

Afterward we headed back to Brenda's, finished up most of the brownies, had some more of that dip, and she opened up the fruit salad she made. We ate, chatted and the girls played the Wii. As you can see, they all had a fun time, and Sydney, my little firecracker, fell fast asleep on the couch!

Thanks so much for opening your home to us Brenda! Keanna's already asking to come back to play with Calvin (their dog), and Sydney wants to sit next to Bri on the couch. It was so nice spending the evening with another military family, especially one with a deployed spouse too! Patriotic holidays have an entirely different meaning to those with an immediate family member serving their country; especially a parent.

Oh...almost forgot! Good thing the strongest thing I had to drink last night was "Cora," because they were giving breathalyzer tests to everyone entering and leaving the base. The guy told me to exhale in there so I did, but apparently I did it wrong, because he told me I needed to pretend I was blowing out a candle. I laughed, excused myself and told him this was my first breathalyzer, he chuckled and sent me on my way. Phew! But anytime there's an event on base like this, and even on random days throughout the week they do breathalyzers, so this wasn't a shock at all. We got home around midnight and had a great night!