July 4th, 2012: A Retrospective

We had a nice, mellow 4th of July this year, and like the good Americans we are, we spent it with our Canadian friends. It's like a cultural exchange, right?

Ray and I spent most of the day at the beach. And yes, this time I really do mean at the beach. Our usual shady grass was overrun by a tent city of families celebrating. No shade to be found so we hit the sand.

Tents, tents everywhere!

This is Waikiki, folks. I have no idea why we keep spending time here, but the ocean sure is pretty.

Proof that I have again spent time in the sand...sort of. Thanks, USF stadium blanket.

This is us attempting to get a little shade later in the day...look how shady Ray's arm is!

Later in the day Nicole joined us for some sunning, while Joe, wisely, avoided the crowds and did some reading and video gaming at home.

In the evening we headed to Border Patrol (read: Nicole and Ray's apartment) to put together the epic dinner that was planned for us. While Nicole shredded a block and a half of cheese, Ray cooked up some chicken, beef and veggies for Macho Nachos. Joe and I contributed by providing company to the cooks with our stunning wit and charming personalities.

Ray put together a lethal pan of nachos. The amount of cheese in there should have qualified the thing to have a surgeon general's warning stamped on the side. Sometimes Ray has the best ideas! Sometimes. My portion (which I couldn't finish, by the way) looked like this:

This was seriously delicious. Amazing, even.

Seriously.

Follow up a dinner like that with a cheese coma and some fireworks and you've got yourself a Fourth of July!