What Our 4th of July Looked Like

Our Independence Day has gotten to be pretty cookie cutter around here, but we have fun nevertheless.  Our day started out with the Dale City Independence Day Parade, which runs from Beville Middle School to Center Plaza and starts at 10am, every year.  This year, my daughter had been up late with a fever, so she didn't come with me and it was just me and my boys.  As some of you have figured out, I work for Delegate Rich Anderson (R-51) who represents much of Lake Ridge, part of Manassas, and Nokesville.  We march with him each year because 1) it's kinda my job, and 2) because my oldest and Delegate Anderson are BFFs.

After the parade, the Anderson's have a BBQ at their house, which we always pop by for a few seconds.  The catering from Blue Dog BBQ is always really good, but I never eat much because back at my parent's house my mom is cooking, too! This year, we made Alton Brown's oven ribs which were AMAZING.  They're also really different than your standard BBQ ribs, so if you're looking for a change, I highly recommend them! We also made our favorite potato salad, which is mayo-less and just has roasted potatoes, corn, and lots of veggies.  For dessert we had strawberries and blueberries.  We kept it really simple this year, which made me happy :)  After both my dinners, we always hit the Potomac Nationals game.  

This is my crew :) I'm actually not a baseball fan, at all, but I enjoy the fun, community feel at the P-Nats games each year, and I definitely love the fireworks.  We always shoot for the Reserved Section around 4, 5, or 6, which puts you right behind the catcher.  Last night was especially fun for me because one of my friends was a few rows up and willing to be in a selfie war with me, so we had a lot of fun messing with each other, even if we weren't really watching the game.  At the end of the night the fireworks are always great, but of course you do have to sit in the parking lot with a couple hundred of your closest friends waiting to get out of the stadium complex, but we have a good time...

Especially when we're still having that selfie battle.

What did you do for the 4th? Any fun new recipes or events? Join the conversation on our Facebook page!