Happy 4th of July, Ya'll! (Proud to be an American.)

Yesterday was the first 4th of July that the Ludwig family enjoyed as a full family of Americans! And we celebrated the day in the same way that probably 90 something percent of Americans celebrated: cookout and fireworks! A great day celebrating our wonderful country.

Max really didn't want to cooperate for my photo-session with the flag. What's great about it, though, is the fact that now, every time we leave the house, he wants to stand underneath the flag!

Sir Maximilian John requests his grub!

Pop Pop found some old trains in a closet --- just as popular today as they were decades ago!

This year was Max's first exposure to fireworks. Last year, he was in bed before they started and I spent the whole evening worrying about how long they were going to go on and whether he would sleep through them. (Chris was out of town last year!)

Max's first experience was with this little tank .... he liked it, even though it malfunctioned and flipped over upside down.

After the tank, Max very excitedly requested more "lights, lights!" and couldn't wait to see more. However, the next ones were much louder and flew up in the air (which Max clearly did not expect.) Note the slightly wary expression:

Max and Chris enjoyed the remainder of the fireworks display from the relative safety of the house. Max periodically permitted the window to be raised, but most frequently preferred to have glass between himself and the danger. I think Bailey also appreciated having some company in the house. The 4th is not her favorite holiday: she usually spends it cowering in the bathroom at home.

On our way home, Max was able to see fireworks going off from the car and he continuously chanted "lights, lights" so we decided to pull over in a church parking lot and watch the nice fireworks display at Neely Farm. Max enjoyed it, and insisted on watching some more (from inside) when we got home. He went to bed a very sleepy little boy at about 10 PM (the latest he's ever stayed up) and slept until almost 8 this morning!

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The reason that we were able to celebrate the holiday as a family of Americans is that after 10 years of living continuously in the US, and months upon months of applications, paperwork, and interviews, Chris was scheduled to take his oath to become a naturalized United States citizen. On Friday, June 22nd, Mimi, Chris, Max and I headed to Greer for the ceremony.

We arrived at the nice new office of US Citizenship and Immigration Services and joined a mass of folks in line to go through security. I was anticipating a small group of people taking the oath, but was surprised and impressed to see so many people entering the building.

I was nervous about Max and how his behavior would be, particularly at what would be a presumably solemn ceremony, but he did pretty well with the waiting. The soon-to-be citizens sat in the middle of the room with family members sitting to either side. Here is Max sitting with Daddy before the ceremony started.

When the ceremony began, the countries of the new citizens were called out and the people from each country stood as their countries were listed. There were folks from Germany, France, Israel, Columbia, Vietnam, Spain, Mexico, Egypt, Peru, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and I can't even remember where else. It was kind of amazing to see this literal melting-pot in this one room. Very American.

A video was played showing scenes of immigrants from the very beginning of America until the present, and concluding with "Proud to be an American". Chris said he teared up a little during that part; I can't believe I didn't, but I think I was too busy trying to keep Max under control!

Of course, we were also treated to this rousing video sing-a-long to "The Star-Spangled Banner" My favorite moment is when Max yells out "Doo Doo" in the middle of the National Anthem.

Next, the lady leading the ceremony gave a little speech about all the hard work and time that had gone into each person's eventual arrival at this day. And then they took their oath.(I didn't manage to capture the entire oath, because my phone died, but this is one of the most intense parts of it anyway).

And this is what a brand-spanking new American citizen looks like!

What followed was an absolute butchering of a bunch of foreign names as the Supervisor of the place called everyone up to receive their certificates. It's kind of like graduation!

After that, everyone was invited to take pictures with the flag. I thought this was kind of pathetic. This flag is placed so that there's no way you can take a picture without getting the TV in the shot...but we still couldn't resist taking some family shots.Thanks to the nice Peruvian family who took these.

And here we are, reveling in Chris's new-American status by standing outside in the 100+ degree South Carolina summer heat!

We concluded our day in an All-American manner, by having sushi for dinner! Oh, and here is Chris's "You're a US Citizen, Baby" basket...including such all-American necessities as: sparklers, Redneck Wineglass, a sauce and condiment "gun", and a flag that was flown over the US capital in his honor on the day he took his citizenship test.