It was a Happy 4th

My fourth of July festivities started with a picnic on the pier and ended with the largest firework show in the nation.  Thank you Macy's for putting on quite the show.  We had the perfect spot to watch and enjoying dining over our snacks and watching the sun set while we waited

Mike and Maggie got engaged the night before!  Congrats Friends!!!

The sky was beautiful as the sun set over the Hudson

New York City did not let us down.  It was quite the show. I am so thankful to have the privilege to seeing something so amazing right before my eyes.  This was my third July 4th celebration in NYC and definitely my favorite. A low key night with friends and a firework show that surpassed any fire work show I have ever seen.  

As if I had not been outside enough this weekend, I decided to host a little "end of the long weekend" Barbecue on Monday evening.  Thanks to a generous family at Redeemer who gave me the keys to their apt/backyard I was able to have some friends over.  What I thought would be about 5-10 people ended up being about 25-30 people.  

Mike and Dave manned the grill and fun was had by all. 

Can you see the sweat glistening from our bodies?  It was such a hot day!  I grew up in Alabama where heat is part of life, but there really is something different about city heat.  The pavement, the tall buildings, the exhaust from all the cars, no central air, and the millions of people make HOT have a while new meaning.  As hot as it is, I would much rather it be hot than cold.  I can deal with the hot...I still can't figure out how to deal with the cold.  

It was a fun barbecue and a great way to end the long weekend. 

I really am so thankful to be an American.  We are so blessed....more than we realize we are blessed.  

I am thankful to be able to celebrate such an important day(and weekend around the day) with friends!