The three B's of the fourth of July

I know that I said that Thanksgiving is my "new" favorite holiday, and it still is, but I think the fourth of July comes in at a close second. Especially this year. After a long, cold winter, a crappy cold spring, and a very SLOW start to summer - the fourth up here in these parts was pretty darn near perfect. The temperature almost got to eighty, the sky was blue, blue, blue, and there was the most perfect cool breeze.

Last year because of some crappy weather, we had Patriotic Meatloaf....no grilling, no fun. Our theme for this year was: Burgers, Beans and Bocce Ball. The burgers and beans were awesome - we also had pasta salad. We played girls against guys in Bocce Ball - and the guys won: 7-3.

Just like last year, we hung outside with our neighbors to watch some pretty spectacular fireworks going on around our neighborhood. The people that live around here spare no expense and go all out. Very cool. The kids did some sparklers, and had a blast just running around being crazy. The temperature dipped into the low 60's - so no mosquitoes - perfect. We put Emily to bed around midnight, and she slept in until almost 10am - a record for her.

Some pictures from the day:














Just also wanted to share a cute little Emily story:

Last week I was informed by my Mom that Emily was expecting an invitation for her sister's first birthday party to be coming any day. She saw that my Mom had one, and wondered where hers was......Luckily, I had a couple extra. I left one on her nightstand after she went to bed that night. She let me know the next day that she would be able to attend.

Oh sweet, adorable daughter of mine. You entertain me so. Love you munchkin.