Cause Baby You're A Firework

I love the Fourth of July. Growing up it always meant long days at the lake with the cousins. My mom surprised my dad with a sea-doo for Christmas one year. While I still rag on them for selling it before I was old enough to really appreciate it, I made plenty of great memories and was dubbed the “Speed Demon”.

In high school I started nannying during the summers in East Hampton.  The Fourth of July always held my favorite memories.  Toddlers in seersucker shorts, bonfires on the sand, lobster bakes on the shoreline. Love. 

This year? Another favorite year.

Fireworks

My hometown is a small little town that apparently hosts big galas. I think the entire town crammed into the main strip on Saturday night to celebrate with fireworks. We spread out our quilt in front of Kroger and all enjoyed the show. Of course, I had a child in my lap so I called out the color of every firework and said lots of dramatic “Ooooos” and “Aaaaaas”.  Am I the only one who sang Katy Perry's "Firework" all weekend long?

My Favorite Food

For dinner my mom spoiled me with my favorite thing ever: Grilled Salmon with her special Salmon Sauce. Okay, the term Salmon Sauce sounds gross, so I should probably rename it something like Heavenly Goodness.  I don’t remember exactly what is in it, but it is something like teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, honey, sesame seeds, olive oil, and about 20 other things that I never remember. It is made for the salmon, but I pour it on my entire plate – mashed potatoes, corn, rolls, etc. It is that good.

Blackberry Picking

On Sunday morning before church I woke up early (aka 8 am) to pick blackberries from the fence rows before the sun was too hot. It was still hot, but not much can keep me from those berries. I put just as many in my mouth as I do in the bucket. Every year I go picking about 4 or 5 times, and every year I drop my bucket at least once and spend 30 minutes picking up stray blackberries from the field. Epic failure. This time, I held on tight and every berry made it back to the house. My fingers and tongue have been a light shade of purple for days.

A Flat Tire

This was a minor wrinkle in the weekend. I am all about girl power. I do things the hard way just to prove that I can do it by myself. Have a heavy box in the car? Open the box and carry the contents piece by piece. Have a paint job that needs a touch up? There are sharpies for that. But cars? No way. I am not a car person. In fact, the car conversation went something like this:

Dad: (Points to my car) Emily, you’ve got a problem.

Me: (Looks intently at car.) What?

Dad: Honey, your tire is flat.

Me: Which one?

Dad: The one so flat that the rim is nearly sitting on the ground.

Me: Oh. Daaaaaaaaddyyyyy. Can you fix it? Pleeeeaaaaasssseeeee?

Thank goodness for Daddy! He can fix anything.

Mom's Birthday Brunch

 

My Sister’s Striped Cake

This is Mom’s traditional birthday cake.  It is usually red, white and blue in the middle, but this year my nephew chose a zebra pattern. He is in to wild animals right now. All weekend long my entire family was assigned to a wild animal. I was a Tarantula.

 Sister is a talented baker. And the boys loved eating it.

The gift wrapping is always way more fun than the gifts.

Sister made mom (and me) checkbook covers made out of our Pa’s old ties. I wish I were crafty! They are too cute. Here is a picture of mine.

I told mom that she was going with me to Hawaii for one of my best friend’s weddings in January. We spent the rest of the day hula dancing in the kitchen. Well, I did anyways.

I topped off the three day weekend with a lot of pool time and a touch of shopping. I just can't believe that the summer is half way over! Lots of memories left to make!