Family & Friends Filled 4th of July Weekend...

This was the first time in awhile that we stayed at home for the 4th of July - having just traveled 2,000+ miles it seemed like a reasonable decision to stay put. We managed to pack in a whole lot of family and friends time into the long weekend and after hosting parties all three nights we felt like we'd traveled 2,000+ miles again - ha! 

First up was an evening with my family - Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Mark, Aunt Kathleen & Olivia. We did a taco bar, took lots of pictures and enjoyed the nicest weather of the weekend by sitting around a fire and shooting off fireworks in the backyard. The kiddos loved doing sparklers - and let's face it - so did the adults. A great kick-off to the 4th of July weekend. 

Next up was a dinner with Ommy & Poppy. We did steamed artichokes with hollandaise sauce for dipping as an appetizer then we had a "Salmon Off" between Poppy and myself. He grilled his with lemon, dill, garlic and olive oil while I roasted mine with a dijon mustard and honey topping. We both agreed the others was best - making it a tie I suppose! :) Even though the weather was drizzly we caught a break in the rain and got to do some sparklers and fireworks with them as well. Adam even got to shoot off a sparkler sword which brought sparklers to a whole new level. 

Finally for the actual 4th of July we had our good friends Paul & Ashley over. We enjoyed some awesome appetizers of shrimp cocktail and lobster stuffed pretzel then it was a traditional BBQ with sliders and hot dogs. Festive red, white and blue rice krispie treats rounded out the menu. We also had to compete with some cool and rainy weather - but again we had a break in the precipitation and got to finish off our stash of fireworks and sparklers with the neighbors joining in on the fun. 

A festive and first 4th of July for Harper and lots of memories made for all of us.