I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends. ~Nancie J. Carmody

Back door friends are the best...

and also get to park free...

so they entered through the garage.

The evening was enjoyed in solidarity as the Scots in their kilts...

and Americans dressed in blue and white...

celebrated together... 

with a few Redcoats mixed in offering their splashes of red...

at the 1st Annual Independence BBQ.

If I knew how to insert a speech bubble... 

that Redcoat would have one...

what would you write in the bubble?

It was all great fun!

The menu was mostly American, or TexMex...

with a Scottish flair...

as guests assembled their own tacos at the taco bar...

with choices like haggis tacos...

 where I cooked the haggis...

with some minced beef... 

and then added the magic ingredient...

 and Pioneer Woman's Dr. Pepper Shredded pork except I used beef because there were no pork butts to be found and also you will notice I left out the word spicy because chipotle peppers are not very popular here...

along with her Cilantro Jalepeno Slaw.

Every Scottish menu includes potatoes...

so there was Julia Childs American Potato Salad...

red, white and blue fruit kabobs...

caprese salad kabobs...

and of course...

BBQ chicken.

Everyone seemed to enjoy the build your own ice cream sundaes...

with American Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies!

The beverage bar...

offered pink lemonade, iced tea or for those adventurous souls...

Arnold Palmers.

For the adults...

Red, White and Blue Sangria from Recipe Girl... 

was served up...

with a straw and a name tag...

while the Scottish beer...

received its own kilt!

The weather was absolutely beautiful and the guests...

well...

the best ever! 

How did you spend your 4th of July???