Party in the USA

Last year we celebrated the nation's independence in Moscow on the green grass of the Embassy lawn. We organized our own celebratory breakfast, flag salute, parade, pie baking contest, water balloon launch, and general patriotism. It was my most favorite July 4th ever. It was spent with some of my favorite people and I had the winning pie, so that made it good. It is rumored that in the football game, my husband threw and his friend caught the winning touchdown against the Marines, but that's just heresay, no one can confirm.

This year, we played tourists in our new town, so we went to the parade. Many years ago, my little brother marched with his high school band on these very streets. We watched for an hour (eight bands later) and the kids were pretty bored. After seeing real-live tanks roll down the road at the Victory Day parades, it was a little lackluster. Plus, there was no candy? When did that happen? How long have I been away?

Number 2 with his esteemed Marines.


We went back home for the afternoon where we grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. There was homemade apple pie, but it wasn't the same. No Marines, no water balloons. How can a holiday feel more patriotic in a different country?

That evening, we headed out again to secure a spot near the Iwo Jima memorial. Clearly, it was a good pick because most of the newspapers photos were taken from the same spot. Here's one my husband took. It was beautiful over the monuments. Some of our favorite fireworks were smiley faces, stars, and the ones that looked like they were spinning.

We made it back home, washed our feet, and called it a day. But it felt like any day.