The Fourth

The 4th of July fell during Matt's week of "vacation." We actually had several offers of things to do, but we'd decided at the beginning of that week that this was time dedicated to just our little family.

 

We had a great time on the 4th! We made our first try at smoothies -- strawberry ones and they were yummy. 

We also made a Firecracker Cake and the kids had fun helping.

We went to the pool and I came back a little early and did some fun setting up for dinner that night. The lantern was one of my IKEA finds.

I set up a little drink station that evening for us. 

We had such a yummy dinner! I tried a new recipe from Martha Stewart for our BBQ chicken which was so good and I did bone-in chicken which the kids loved. :) There is always a fight over who gets to have the chicken legs so I made sure we had plenty this time.

The kids played outside while Matt grilled. We hung out on the porch and just enjoyed the view while the chicken cooked.

Everyone had a big appetite after swimming and playing outside. We had an "American" dinner -- grilled chicken, potato salad, baked beans, slaw corn on the cob and cantaloupe. Yum! And, plenty leftover for the next night -- even better!

The Firecracker Cake that we made. It's become our traditional 4th of July dessert.

I also did some ice cream balls which were the biggest hit! The kids went on and on about them, and I have a feeling they will be making an appearance again often. Ha!

As soon as it was dark we headed outside for sparklers. They are always the favorite for us.

We had a few other little firecrackers to do as well. But, before we could do them, our neighbor teens across the street shot a firecracker into our driveway right at us and the kids and they were done after that. I have to admit, it got my heart racing to see it coming at us and be grabbing the kids and running for cover. Harrison kept yelling "thanks a lot" at them in his most sarcastic tone and I think they were sorry, but the  kids were so scared after that. So, we headed inside until they were done -- then we sat on the back porch and watched 4 different great firework shows going on that night. That was fun! Every firework that went up into the air, Charlotte would yell "Whoosh, KABOOM!" and throw her arms up in the air. That right there was enough to make my night! They loved the shows and we decided to go to the big show in Farmington on the 6th.

They were all so tired that night. It's crazy that the night before, on the 3rd, we heard firecrackers all around us until well after midnight. And, we were prepared for the 4th to be a rough night. But, crazy enough, by 10pm they were all done. It was bliss!

And, when we went to check on the kids that night as we headed to bed, Charlotte's bed was empty. After a moment of panic, we found her snuggled up with her bubba. How sweet is this?! I guess she just crawled in there and fell asleep.

The big fireworks show on the 6th didn't disappoint. It was great! And, the kids loved it too!