NEWSStars' Fourth of July Plans
July 3 2008, Published 10:00 a.m. ET
What a difference a year makes!
Last Fourth of July, Charlie Sheen spirited his girlfriend Brooke Mueller off for a week-long Costa Rican getaway that culminated with their engagement.
Now the two are and are putting the finishing touches no their Beverly HIlls estate in time for their Fourth of July bash.
"We're going to have an old-fashioned Bar-B-Q with our family and friends," Charlie tells OK!.
The two aren't the only ones celebrating the nation's birthday with their clans. After working straight for half the year already, Carrie Underwood is definitely looking for some down time at home.
"Actually I think that is my vacation time," she tells OK!. "I'm going to be hanging out with my family."
Soap star Cameron Mathison will get his first break in nine weeks too come July 4th. The Dancing with the Stars alum plans on heading up to Upstate New York for a mountainside retreat with his family, wife Vanessa and kids Luke, 5, and Leila, 1.
"We're going to have a five-day getaway," he tells OK!. "This place is just unbelievable. It's just this old, huge, estate getaway on a lake. You can canoe, you can hike, there's a spa, there's golf, there's great food, for the kids, they have this whole kids camp facility. The kids go crazy there. There are areas where you can just go sit and look out over the lake. It's just a beautiful getaway from Manhattan. Just a great spot."
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Fellow TV hunk James Denton plans on going away with his wife and kids as well. The Desperate Housewives stud, his wife Erin and their kids, Sheppard, 5, and Malin, 3, will head out to Livingston, Mt., where they will continue their tradition of going to the rodeo.
"They have one of the oldest rodeos in the country, so we always go to the rodeo on the fourth of July," he says. "It's really become the best memory, even though it's become tradition. But the kids love it."
And what's Fourth of July without fireworks?
"We have fireworks on the last night," James says. "It's like L.A. up there, fireworks are sort of dangerous. The fireworks are very closely contained. It's a really great four-day even that the kids just love, so that's our favorite thing."
As much fun as fireworks are, they're also, well, pretty dangerous -- and no one knows that better firsthand than Ashanti. One of the R&B star's most memorable July 4th celebration was on fire, in more ways than one.
"One of the bushes caught on fire on the side of the house and there were so many people there," she says. "There were kids, there were people in the pool, barbequing, dancing, there was drinks all over. So somebody dumped the cooler on the bush, and the fire got bigger. The fire got huge. All the guys were pouring ice and buckets of water. I forgot how they finally got it out, but they finally got it out. It was hilarious. They had to get the fire trucks to come up to the house. It was very funny."
