it was a perfect morning, weather wise. it wasn’t too hot like it usually is on the fourth of july. it was a bit humid but cool.

olive had slept over at her grandparent’s house the night before on a fluke. we had a wedding the night prior and my sisters took olive to eyes in the sky festival with her cousins. we were coming home late and olive didn’t have a nap during the afternoon and had such a fun time that she was completely worn out. i think that was an understatement. she was pooooooooped. she fell asleep at my parent’s house when she got home after the festival and continued to sleep into the morning, waking up at 11:30 am. yup! she was exhausted. so, needless to say…she missed the parade. i was a bit bummed because i really wanted her to be there. she’s at an age where i know she would enjoy it!

well, hc and i made it to the parade without our daughter…whaaaa?! yes, we enjoyed going but it wasn’t the same without olive. afterwards, we picked olive up at my parent’s and headed home to prep a bit because my family was coming over to celebrate the fourth with some grilling. it was a very low key day. kim, terry, and the boys picked up the food and we hosted and grilled. it was fun, relaxing, and very laid back.

it was just my parent’s, kim, thuy, terry, the boys, olive, and my brother dan made an appearance. everyone stayed until about 5-6 o’clock and trickled out after that so we had the rest of the evening to relax. we didn’t see any fireworks…it really wasn’t in our plans {plus, i don’t know if olive would really enjoy it…i find most kids her age are just plain scared at the loud noises!}. we really just enjoyed winding down for the rest of the evening!

overall, it was a fantastic fourth weekend! we had such a great time and loved our low key afternoon with the family! we love celebrating america’s birthday!!

[the start of the parade]

[veterans]

[revolution reenactment]

[kind of being shy]

[omg, these kids. love them]

[checking out the chipmunk dad caught]

[oh bennett]

[yummmmmm]

[38 weeks pregnant]

xoxo

after the parade, hc and i scurried home to prep our place for our fourth party! we didn’t have a ton to do. we just didn’t have a ton of time with our guests coming over between one and two. we arrived home from the parade after twelve, so it left us little time to prep. i needed to make a small trip out to the store still and prep a few decor items. crunch times like these really stress me out! i always like to be ahead of the game versus behind or else i have mini meltdowns! ugh! poor hc.

anyhoo, as usual, we were just fine. we got everything set up and it looked purty. thuy and kim brought over the remaining items that we had purchased together the other day {at the grocery store} and some fun decorative items. we purchased old fashioned pop bottles and beer asap  our libations, we had fun fireworks, cakes, treats, games, pinanta, and a brand new play set for the kids to play on!

we prepped some apps for our guests. kim made a guac dip and we put together a charcuterie plate that was quite delish! after we served that, we got to work on some prep items for our entrees. we were having steaks and burgers, so we sliced onions, tomatoes, and cooked corn. my mom had also prepped the steaks prior to coming over and made her signature salad for everyone.

[thuy bought festive balloons for the party]

[happy fourth!]

[cake, cracker jack, rice krispy treats, and fireworks!]

[the yummiest cake]

[watermelon cake]

[it’s not red white and blue but it is sure tasty!]

[jane, hc, lynne, barbara, and dick]

[pete, lan, and thuy]

[playing with the truck uncle hc made bennett for his birthday last year]

[mad games of badminton]

everyone hung out outside while we were working away in the kitchen. it was so nice out…a bit warm but nothing over the top that was uncomfortable. kim had brought over a badminton set and it got pretty vicious out there. they were sweating up a storm playing each other! it was comical and great!

i spent most of my time in the kitchen, which is not what i wanted but had to do while my husband visited with our guests. i’m too controlling to let things go amuck. i just don’t want our guests {which is pretty much family} to think i don’t want to mingle but things have got to get done and i’m going to do it myself! haha! it’s just me {it’s how i roll}, so i guess no apologies!

all afternoon, we prepped food, we took stupid pictures, played badminton, the kids ran around, and we finally grilled, ate {burgers, steaks, grilled asparagus, corn, and salad}, and relaxed some more. it was a perfect afternoon with our families. we then served the delicious cakes and ice cream, along with lynne’s cookies and lan’s krispie treats!

olive finally awoke from her afternoon nap and the kids were excited to hit the piñata! olive was in no mood to do that, so that was a no go. she can be a grumper pants when she wakes up, sometimes {ummmm, just like her momma!}. anyhoo, everyone had their turn {twice} and reagan finally smashed the piñata open and down. out flung the candy and the kids jumped all over that!

[festive treat pops by the krispie baker]

[small hats are in]

[avery taking her turn at the piñata]

[bennett giving it a go]

[reagan knocking it down!]

[candy!]

slowly, everyone trickled out and home. it was a fabulous long, afternoon with everyone. i’m so glad we were able to get together like this and often. we love, love having family over…the most important group in our lives!

after everyone left, it was getting dark, and r + b were getting antsy and really wanted to light the sparklers and throw the pop its! it was time, so out to the mosquito filled back yard they went {even with hc spraying…there were still so many of those bloodsuckers!} and they had so much fun! they drilled through everything so fast, which was a good thing because they couldn’t be outside for very long {we sprayed and sprayed repellent but it didn’t keep ’em off for long!}.

[ready to pop some pop its]

[sparklers]

after the ‘fireworks’, we all headed back in and chilled just a wee bit longer before kim, terry, thuy, and the boys left. all in all, it was a successful fun filled fourth of july! we had such a great time hosting everyone over {as usual!}. we say it often and can’t say it enough, but we always love having friends and family over. we love it! it was a great fourth indeed! happy birthday america!

xoxo

the morning of the fourth, we attended the hinsdale independence day parade. i’ve gone in the past and it’s such a nice little parade. well, it’s not very little but it’s very nice!

we packed up and headed on over to the town in the jeep! it was too gorgeous out not to ride in this car! olive was ready to celebrate america’s birthday! she had her festive outfit on accessorized with fun red accents.

it was a bit of a debacle looking for parking. there were sooooo many people! we heeded kim’s advice and looked for parking at madison school. it was jammed packed but we created our own spot. cyops – create your own parking spot. haha!

[ready for the fourth!]

[on our way to the parade]

as we were walking towards the parade, we bumped right into thuy! perfect. she led us to our group. there, helen, michael, terry, kim, and the boys were all set up. we had coffee, thuy brought the donuts and we were set. olive loves her aunties so she was in their arms right away. we chitchatted, imbibed our beverages, and waited for the parade to start!

hinsdale is such a cute, quaint town. it’s so serene and adorable. it really is. the houses are ah-mazing and gorgeous and it’s like freakin’ cheers where everybody knows your name. haha. my brother in law terry grew up there and his mom still lives there, so it’s definitely a home base for my sister and terry. it has fun shops, yummy restaurants, and the education programs are spectacular, so it’s definitely a place to be.

[with her auntie kim]

[thuy, me, helen, and lan]

[starbucks, doughnuts, and parading]

we heard the sirens, so that signified that the parade was coming. i loved all the fire engines, police cars, and vintage vehicles that were in the line up. it’s fun because they do reenactments of the revolution, there are pom squads, flag girls, and other fun things to look at. we greatly enjoyed all the music and entertainment. olive stayed, mostly, in my arms and throughly enjoyed the parade. she waved and waved at all the passerby’s. they throw out candy and goodies for all the kids as well! so, when olive is older…this part willl be fun for her.

[the start of the parade!]

[watching the parade with auntie kim // romper little ladies boutique // moccs my little beautiful shop]

[the boys]

[red white and blue]

[my baby]

[i tried getting a pic of sam…this is what i got]

helen and michael’s son was in the parade! his baseball team won the world series, so they had the privilege to ride in the parade. how cool! i tried snapping a pic of him with no luck. all i got was a tiny little profile. wah.

[olive with her super auntie thuy]

[parade’s over!]

[i had to snap a pic of this pretty awesome house]

after the parade ended, we headed on out and home. we needed to get ready for our guests coming over for our fourth celebration! as i said earlier, we ran into thuy on our way to the parade and, funny thing is, we ran into her again on our way out from the parade! we just can’t escape one another!

it was definitely a great start to our independence day!

xoxo