America with George * Greenville, South Carolina * Fourth of July

For the next few weeks I am going to be using this space to communicate with my kids, 
please excuse the change of tone and content. George is Jude's stuffed dragon.

We didn't make it to Greenville, South Carolina for the Forth of July... because mom really, really, really, wanted to be back in New Zealand celebrating the birth of her girl on the 5th. But if we had been in America - Greenville, South Carolina is where we'd want to be. For the past thirty odd years Aunt Ellen and a few other folks have been throwing one heck of a 4th of July party. Aunt Ellen is another person in our family that knows a lot about hospitality... the southern version of hospitality is the most delicious kind.

These are pictures from a few years ago when mom lost her mind and drove 12 hours, six months pregnant with three kids to surprise Grammy and Papa... she says it was worth it. Surprises are the best.

At Aunt Ellen's fourth of July party there is a fantastic firework show that our cousin Drew and his friends put on. They are not "professionals" but it is better than most of the firework shows I have seen. There are snow cones, balloons, and an gigantic pot luck meal that is set up on tables that spread across the whole yard. People come from all over to join the festivities. Sorry we missed the fun this year... we will see you in a few!