Celebrating the 4th in Canada

As 4th of July rolled around, I suddenly felt a little sad that I wouldn't be seeing all the Coke and Frito Lay sponsored displays at the grocery stores, the firework stands in the suburbs, the American flags lined up on the roads, and all the other festive images of Independence Day. So, my sweet husband comes to the rescue Wednesday night and invites some friends over for a "4th of July Party." His Facebook Invitation read:

Only YOU can stave off homesickness.
Your attendance here is a vote against it.
We're in Canada. Let's get Tania weened SLOOOOOW.
FRIDAY July 4th @ 8pm. Please RSVP ASAP. Sorry for the L.A.T.E.

So we had our first gathering at our new little house. We'd gotten a free used bbq grill from one of Shawn's neighbors the day before. (It's been sitting on their driveway for about 2 weeks with a sign reading "FREE," so we finally took it) With a little cleaning it worked great, and we were able to grill some burgers for our 4th of July party.

From left to right: Neighbor Aaron, Shawn's Dad Craig, Shawn's mom Marily, One of my flower girl's Karli, Karli's mom Tayna, Tayna's husband and Shawn's Best Man Tim, Shawn's friend Roni, and Shawn...I'm taking the picture.

On a sort-of random note, I love the Canadian custom of taking of your shoes at the door. It keeps the carpet so clean, especially when you have company over. We should adopt that in the U.S. I know my mom would love. She's always steaming her carpet clean.

Being silly...fake fun...cool.