Guess What?

I am now 25 years old. 25 years and 13 days, to be exact. Does that sound old to anyone else? Not old, relatively speaking. I know I'm still young, relatively speaking. But, old for me. Does anyone else hear that I'm 25 and say, "Whoa! When did that happen?!" Just checking.

I celebrated with my family in Gilbert a couple days early...

...and then I celebrated with some friends in Tucson on the actual day.

Note the live jazz band in the background - it was very cool.

Guess what else?

America is 232 years old. 232 years and 9 days to be exact. I threw an Independence Day BBQ - the first party in my new backyard. Unfortunately, the monsoons decided to show up and bring their nice friends the mosquitoes. So, we ended up inside, but there was good food and good company, so even the attack of the killer mosquitoes couldn't ruin it.

The dessert table. You can't really see it in the picture, but there ARE red and blue sprinkles on the rice krispie treats, and those ARE strawberries and blueberries in the Eton Mess (the cups on the back of the table). And don't ask me why I made a British dessert for America's birthday.

John Armstrong was a great grill-master.

Enjoying the food and outdoors before things started to get ugly.

And, what's a 4th of July party without 4th of July tattoos?Before you laugh at how I'm standing, YOU come up with a way to display your left bicep, right forearm and right temple all in one picture. Not as easy as you think, huh?

Can I just take one moment to say how glad I am to be an American? I know there are a lot of things about America that are messed up. But, having been to my share of other countries, I just want to say that it is a HUGE blessing to be a citizen of this one. We have a lot of things going for us, and a lot of freedoms afforded us, and so I celebrate America's birthday with pride.

Happy birthday, America!

(I just thought this was a darling picture to end on.)