Food always plays a major roll in our day and it started with brunch. A late breakfast ensures we can skip lunch and eat an early dinner. I was inspired by Biscuit Head and HenDough (our favorite brunch spots) to make this smothered biscuit topped with a poached egg. It was my first time poaching an egg. I turned to Alton Brown for a quick lesson! Check it out, here. They turned out fairly well, but next time, I'm going to take them off the heat sooner. I didn't listen to Alton completely like I should have! 5 minutes IS all that is needed. We prefer them to be a little more runny. Overall, though, they turned out great! Usually, I would try to make homemade biscuits and gravy, but with a newborn I opted for Pillsbury and a gravy mix. Shhh....
This year, we had one family over -- the Bagamarys. They have two sons, Joshua, who is Keira's age and Jackson, who just turned a year old. I didn't get too many pictures, because Evangeline was in the middle of her 5-8pm freak out session! It started with us trying to get her to nap in her crib. In retrospect, 4th of July probably wasn't the best time to try and transition her. She lasted maybe 15 minutes!
Unfortunately, I spent a lot of time in the bedroom feeding and/or consoling her and when I wasn't with her, I was prepping food. I did manage to get a few good pictures though!
The dads grilled, while the children played. It looked like it was going to rain so we set the pool up in inside the porch, rather than outside. It's crazy how a little pool can bring so much joy! They could play all day if we let them.
Jackson & Evangeline hung out with the moms in the kitchen. Thankfully, Evangeline calmed down just enough for us to finish prepping all the food. Sweet Jackson kept trying to give her his Batman water bottle.
And now for the food! We had gone to a couple get-togethers the week before the 4th of July and at each one, I gained a new recipe or two from friends. I'm passing on the favor and sharing them with you today!
Keira's friend had a birthday party and his mom made this mac & cheese. It's the best mac & cheese I have ever had. Ever. Ever. Ever. You'll be hooked! Get the super easy, cheesy recipe here!
A couple days later we gathered with work friends. I learned that devilled eggs are not devilish enough without bacon, sour cream & chives. Purely addictive. Courtesy of Trisha Yearwood (and a friend from work), get the recipe here.
At the same party, watermelon never looked so beautiful. Ditch the salt, for more adult ingredients! I don't have a link for this recipe but it's pretty simple. Cut watermelon slices, sprinkle chilli powder, fresh mint & feta generously so they look like watermelon pizzas. Delish!
After dinner, I put Evangeline to sleep (let's all sigh with a bit of relief) and we waited until night fall to walk down the street to watch the fireworks with our neighbors. Ryan stayed behind with the baby. Don't worry, we didn't leave her alone!
Keira was terrified as we walked down the street! I had to beg her to open her eyes. Neighbors where doing their fair share of very loud fireworks before the main show. She snuggled her head in my neck almost the entire time! She & I were a sweaty mess by the end! I was the same way when I was her age, though, so I completely understand her fright. New Year's Eve in Hawaii would bring out the same reaction in me that I was seeing in Keira. She's so much like me! Once the real fireworks started, the ones in the neighborhood went quiet and luckily she was able to relax and enjoy it.
Once we got back to the house, our friends left and it was time for bed. Surprisingly, both girls slept through the night!
The next day, I realized, we didn't get a picture of Keira on the back porch like we had the two years before. Why break tradition? We got one the next day in her USA themed gear. She's growing up so fast! Until next year...
