A Dubai 4th of July

My American Pie... Vanilla pudding in a graham cracker crust w/Cool Whip on top. Just like Grandma W. used to make for Sunday dinner...

And so we celebrate yet another of our favorite American holidays in Dubai. The 4th really is one of our favorites because it epitomizes everything that we love: BBQing with friends, going to the beach, the Duxbury 4th of July Parade, summer... However, summer in Dubai = 120 degrees of humid unadulterated heat. Completely disgusting and not so conducive to our 'traditional' 4th celebrations. We weren't going to let that spoil our fun though. We decided that in order to maintain as much of our home traditions as possible, we would host a little [3rd] of July BBQ in honor of America's 234th Birthday. The 4th was a Sunday and therefore, a work day for us. Criminal. Almost as bad as working on Easter Sunday (which we both did)...

So, we invited 6 of our closest friends (and fellow World Cup fans) over for some traditional American 4th of July libations. We grilled burgers and dogs (or should I say, we all sat in the air conditioned apartment while Jared ran in and out to the garden grilling burgers and dogs), had Caesar Salad with homemade croutons (one of my new fav recipes), Pesto Pasta Salad, Brownies, Pineapple and Watermelon, and of course, Buffalo Chicken Dip (Mrs. K's delicious recipe that we love). All delicious and we relaxed and drank for a couple hours before deviating a bit from our traditions for the rest of the day...

At about 3:15pm we cleaned up and dressed in our Germany Gear to go watch the Quarter-Final World Cup Game: Germany vs. Argentina. Our friend Dominik is from Germany and our friend Ruch is a die hard Germany fan (from Sri Lanka...) so since the US is long out, we're supporting Germany as well. We headed back again to our favorite venue at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and waited it out in the heat to get a good seat for the game (when the doors opened two hours before... the World Cup is hardcore here). It is fun watching with Germany fans because they are much more civil than England fans. And what a great game it was for Germany...

Pre-game atmosphere. I'm pretty sure the guy in the front of this photo was an Argentina fan though who did not appreciate having his picture taken by someone wearing a Germany shirt..

Ruch and Dom celebrating the 4-0 victory. We were all thrilled! I do really enjoy being in Dubai for the World Cup because it is so much more exciting than it would ever be back home. And much more fun! Go Deutschland! Happy Birthday USA!