4th of July Celebration 2016

Spending 4th of July at home has become somewhat of a tradition for us. We can easily see the Lake Julian Fireworks from our neighborhood so there's no need for us to travel very far.  A walk down the street for a better view is all it takes for us to celebrate. With a newborn and a husband who needed to be at work at 4am the next day, I'm so thankful!

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...

  

Halloween - more than just a day!

Halloween before kids is a blast!  Ryan and I have taken part in our fair share of the debauchery that is adult Halloween fun.  Memories of over-flowing red solo cups, karaoke and endless dancing make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  Sigh... one day we'll get back to that, but I know it'll be a while and you know what?  I'm ok with that.

Halloween with Keira is all of a sudden filled with innocent excitement & a little bit of magic!  We certainly milked it for all it was worth.  The holiday wasn't just one day, we celebrated all week long!

We kicked the week off with a couple craft projects.  They were 50% off at Michael's over the weekend.  I think I spent less than $5! I love a good bargain, especially when it fosters some creativity in Keira. 

She spent some time coloring her friendly witch's mask...

And then we put this pumpkin together...

I was surprised that she wanted to bring it to bed with her.

"Awww... I love pumpkin." she said as she cradled him in her arms.

On Wednesday, the costume wearing began!  At school she's a rarity.  She goes 5 days a week, so technically she's a part of two classes - the MWF class & the T/TH class.  With that said, she gets to celebrate everything twice!  

School festivities included a parade of costumes & a special treat.  I put her in the pirate costume my grandma sent from Hawaii.  She loves pirates so it not only turned out to be the perfect fit in size, but in personality as well.  

Unfortunately, she woke up very upset so her attitude Wednesday morning was less than ideal and it shows in the picture. Grumpy pirate!  Luckily, by the time I dropped her off, she snapped out of it and had a great day.

The next day we sent her in her Elsa pajamas.  Hey, it looks like a costume!  I added some pearls, so as not to appear like a lazy parent who didn't change her daughter out of her jammies!  I even tried to give her a side braid just like in the movies..

Finally, Friday arrived and the actual day was here!  It's Halloween! This time around her attitude was one of excitement. She even posed for the camera.  She certainly rivals Keira Knightley's beauty in Pirates of the Caribbean, don't you think? Guess she's living up to her name!

I was really impressed by the detail on this costume!  The laced neck line & bell sleeves, the loop to hold her sword, the bustled skirt and triangle hat... I wanted one for myself!  

Keira loved her sword!

Argh!

We invited a few friends over to go trick-or-treating with us.  We had an adorable Lion...

a handsome little Tin Man...

a beautiful Bee & her Bee Keeper!

Together they made the cutest little group of trick-o-treaters in the neighborhood!

Some year's Halloween feels more like summer, but this year, it felt like winter!  It was cold and sleety, and unfortunately the sun set a lot sooner than usual.  Still, we were determined to head out with the kiddos.  

Earlier in the day we reversed trick-or-treated with Keira at the TV-station.  She gave a piece of candy to everyone she saw.  All of sudden she was on the receiving end, so we had to coach her and the other kids a little on how it's done, but it didn't take much. 

Memories of last year came back to her & the others caught on quickly.  This year, she was actually able to say "trick-or-treat" in the cutest little voice.   

Nothing brings you more joy on Halloween than to watch your children's faces light up when they're given a handful of candy to add to their bucket. They were cray-cray adorbs!

After just a couple of houses, the darkness came making the sleet and wind a little less bearable.  Don't feel sorry for them though, they got more than enough candy!  We headed back to the house.

Last year, Keira could have cared less about the candy she collected.  It was more about the collecting than the eating.  This year, however, she cared and remembered!  

Immediately after she finished her dinner, she picked a lollipop out of her pumpkin bucket to eat.  My parents enforced the one-piece-of-candy rule when I was a kid.  I tried it and failed... she may have gotten two or three!  

We paid for it later.  Keira didn't fall asleep until after 10:30PM.  It was a long Halloween week indeed, but boy was it fun!!! We can't wait until next year!

Sky Top Orchard

October's been flying by so quickly that I began to think we'd miss out on getting to Sky Top Orchard this year.  Well, we made it... too late to pick our own apples, though.  All of the trees have been picked clean, but there was still a lot for us to enjoy at this beautiful orchard in Flat Rock.

Look at how much Keira's grown in just a year!  She's shot up 6 or 7 inches.  She still loves pink!

 

I was looking forward to letting Keira play in Sky Top's large playground of slides, swings & club houses.  Last year, Keira was too little to play along side the big kids but this year I was sure she'd enjoy it more.

And she did for a little while, but her nose had been running and being outside didn't help!  Baby girl just wanted to be held, so we switched gears and headed to the tractor ride.  

It's 2 dollars per person, including the little ones.  It takes you through most of the farm.  The property is large so if you don't have the time to walk it or have a kid a little under the weather, this is the way to go!

 

Part of the reason I love Sky Top Orchard is the panoramic mountain view!  It's called Sky Top for a reason after all.  You can see for miles and the color this time of year is just beautiful.

Wouldn't you love to live in this house with that porch?  All you need to do is open a popular orchard.  Eh, simple enough.

 

Chickens, sheep, goats & peacocks call this barnyard home. We had no idea about this part of the orchard.  Maybe next year we can explore this area little more.  Keira did love seeing the animals from a distance.

  

 

After our tour, we headed to the main building to get what we really came for - apples & donuts!

 

 

The line for the apple donuts was not as long as I had anticipated.  Last year we waited for almost an hour.  This time we only waited for fifteen  minutes!  So here's the deal... if you want to pick your own apples come earlier in the season - late September, early October.  If you're in it for the donuts and don't mind buying a bag of pre-picked apples come towards the end of October!  They actually remain open until December 1st, so if you haven't made it you have some time to make the trip.

It was about this time that Keira really started getting sleepy.  Her poor nose was so red! 

 

She couldn't help but take a little catnap on daddy's shoulder as we waited.  I quietly snapped a family photo.

 We got up to the front and there they were - hot and fresh, the best donuts ever, a once a year treat!

 

Not only are these donuts delicious hot and fresh, they are also good the next day, so we got two dozen!  One dozen was not nearly enough last year.  Each dozen is $9.  It's a little steep, but hey, I totally get it.

 

We also got a small bag of Fuji apples for $6. I'll be making a pie soon!

 

Oh, by the way, they only take cash or check.  We didn't come prepared so we had to pay an extra fee to get some cash out of their ATM. Note to self.

 

Under the circumstances we decided to head home, but as soon as we were on our way we opened the first box of donuts. 

 

 I don't think we even made it out of the parking lot!

Even Keira perked up enough to get a bite! 

Yum!