Getting Festive for the 4th of July

Nothing says summer like the 4th of July. This holiday is a big deal around here. Every year, my mother and father-in-law have a party complete with the best firework show in town (I may be biased but its true). My two cuties are all ready to celebrate. We begin our celebration the day before in case you were wondering why I have them dressed a day in advance. Don't you just love Will's expression? I have to act like a complete fool to get both of my kids to look at the camera and smile. Well, it works for Audrey and Will gives me a look like "Who are you and what did you do with my mom?"Can we talk about their shirts, please? Cute, huh? I wish I could take credit for them but I can not. A good friend snatched this idea from Pinterest and let my kids join in the fun the last time we were at their house. It's so simple! Just use fabric paint to do your child's handprint and paint some stripes (don't count my stripes b/c I wasn't keeping track). So festive!

 

And, it wouldn't be a 4th of July party with out some amazing summer dishes. I decided this year that I wanted to try some new things so I scoured my recipe pin board and this is what I came up with. I linked the recipe for each one if you want to give it a try.

 

Lemonade Cake

 

This looks and smells amazing. I haven't actually tried it, yet, other than to sample the batter so I can't speak to the tastiness. I'll have to let you know...

 

Recipe can be found at http://www.bhg.com/recipe/lemonade-cake/



Tortellini Pasta Salad

I usually always make a pasta salad but I thought this would be a nice change of pace for me. I used fresh mozzarella for the the cheese. I did test this one and it is very good. My usual dressing calls for sugar so I'm missing the sweetness but it's nice to have something different (plus, it's probably healthier).



Recipe can be found at http://www.peasandcrayons.com/2013/03/tortellini-pasta-salad.html

 

Strawberry Kabobs

 

This is by far my favorite and it was the simplest. I opted to use popsicle sticks rather than skewers to make these a little more kid-friendly and to make smaller portions. Audrey lended a hand with these bad boys. We drizzled them with melted white chocolate and used blue sprinkles to make them patriotic. They are amazing!

 

 

Recipe can be found at http://onederlandorbust.net/2013/05/13/strawberry-shortcake-kabobs/



I hope that you all have a safe and wonderful holiday! Pin It