We had plans for another first: to host our first holiday party here at 3517 on Monday afternoon. There was a lot of debate about whether or not there would be fireworks or if we were even allowed to grill. Our entire county (and all of the surrounding area) is under a burn ban due to out-of-control wild fires. When we got home from Oklahoma city, Eric diligently began researching how we could host a law-abiding cookout. He discovered that we could in fact grill so long as the grill was perched on a concrete pad. The fact that we have a concrete pad was a huge relief because I could not fathom a Fourth of July without a cookout and fireworks. We still weren't certain whether any fireworks were going to occur, but at least we could have our burgers!
With much excitement, we set out on a mission to bring home Eric's new baby. We visited all three places where purchasing grills is possible in Altus: Sears, Wal Mart, and Atwoods. Sears won. After much hemming and hawing over whether we needed a smoker, charcoal, and gas grill combo spaceship OR a regular grill, Eric decided a regular grill would suffice. He selected this beauty. Getting her home was a struggle as both Eric and I drive compact cars. This experience only added fuel to Eric's "we live in Oklahoma so we need a big truck" fire. Thankfully, our friend let us borrow his jeep, and we got her home in one piece. Later that afternoon, after we confirmed that we could provide the grill, some friends joined us for a 4th of July cookout. Eric made his (and his dad's) famous hamburgers and our guests each brought side dishes.
We enjoyed barbecued shrimp kabobs, homemade pasta salad, potato salad, and fruit. Delicious! For dessert, we had big plans to roast marshmallows and make s'mores. Our belief that the "bigger is better rule" would apply to marshmallows was misguided. We each had one s'more and ended up covered in marshmallow goo (with the exception of one very skilled s'mores eater who came away spotless). Definitely an idea better in theory than in actuality. But here is proof that these actually were the biggest marshmallows that ever existed. You may have museums, restaurant variety, rooftop decks, walking paths, live music, crowds, and excitement, but we have the biggest marshmallows. So there. The number one reason why living here is better than living there. 
At the end of the day, we shared a nice feast and lots of laughs. It was a successful first holiday away from home. After our guests left, Eric and I put on a movie and settled in to enjoy some quiet time together. We don't get nearly enough of that these days. Just as the movie was about to end, we heard a strange noise...a boom. Could it be? Were the fireworks actually going to happen? They did! And we could see and hear them from our front yard (another benefit of small town living). This was actually very cool. There Eric and I stood on our own front lawn, just the two of us, watching the fireworks. We felt both fulfilled and sad. A strange combination of emotions that I believe will become more familiar as time goes on.
