Happy Independence Day!

For someone who loves the 4th of July, celebrating it while residing in a foreign country is an odd experience. I went into the weekend with some trepidation, uncertain how I would feel about observing the day far from home.

I kicked off the holiday weekend by taking Megan and Elizabeth to see Ice Age 3 Friday afternoon. Never mind that we didn't see the first two! I think it was the first movie theater experience for Elizabeth. She enjoyed it, although after the first scary dinosaur appeared, she was in my lap for the rest of the show :)

Saturday was a beautiful day here so we spent the morning at the pool. After naps, we took the train out to Sembawang, an area on the northern side of the island, for the Independence Day celebration sponsored by the American Association of Singapore. We wondered if we should feel uncomfortable about taking our family to an American event at a place called "the Terror Club."

There's a US Naval Base in Singapore and I believe the event took place at their recreational fields. I was amazed by the large turnout! They did a great job with the celebration, providing live music, activities for the kids and a nice fireworks show. It was Emily's first time to witness fireworks and her reaction was comical. At first, she just gazed up in the sky with her mouth wide open. After several loud fireworks, the novelty wore off and she began saying, "All done!" In the end, she was fine as long as Daddy held her. Following the fireworks, the girls ate ice cream and danced to the band, so it was a perfect evening by their standards!

After keeping the girls out until 11pm, Sunday was a mellow day in our house. Brian took the girls to the botanic gardens for awhile in the morning and after long afternoon naps, we prepared a holiday dinner of grilled burgers, baked beans, coleslaw and star-spangled cupcakes. We even had flag plates and napkins to use, thanks to Brian's mom :)

Our first 4th of July in Singapore is history and while it was certainly different than our traditional holiday, Brian and I were surprised that it actually felt like a proper celebration. Thank goodness there are plenty of other proud Americans here who recognize the importance of honoring the day and keeping those traditions alive. God Bless America!