4th of July!

The 4th of July is one of my most favorite holidays! It's a combination of celebrating our nation's independence along with the rest of the country, feeling happy & lucky to live in America, the red, white & blue color scheme, patriotic music, past memories, hanging out with the family, and of course fireworks! I LOVE IT ALL!!!!
Since the 4th fell on a Monday, the entire weekend was dedicated to this fabulous holiday! On Saturday evening, my sister, her daughter, Brady and I headed to watch the fireworks in Mesa. It was a late decision due to the 117* day, so we would only be watching the show! As we were not exactly sure where the best place to park would be, we found a nice spot in a parking lot close to the launching site. It may have been a little TOO close! They shot them off the top of a couple buildings- which we could almost touch from the back of the truck. Ok, maybe not that close, but really, it was LOUD! I covered Brady's ears and he held my hands just to make sure I wasn't going to let go. Peyton on the other hand, enjoyed most of the show ear plug free! The entire was home Brady was consumed with talking about the experience, "Fireworks go boom, boom in the sky."

Continuing on...
This year, I wanted to "make" a couple things to help celebrate. So, I attempted an apple pie- all from scratch! I was worried about the crust even before I tried to line the pan. I think I needed a lot more water than the original recipe called for. My guess is that the recipe wasn't calibrated for the AZ heat. Anyways, I got the crust in the pan- it wasn't pretty, but it was in. Next, the filling. I figured, if the crust was terrible, at least the filling would be edible! One last step before sending it into the oven- the top! It too was not pretty.
That evening we had it for dessert at our "3rd of July" family get together! I definitely need to find a new crust recipe!


For my second holiday treat- white chocolate covered strawberries with red and blue sprinkles! What I learned from this recipe- white chocolate does not adhere to strawberries the way dark chocolate or milk chocolate does. It is necessary to pour the white chocolate and turn the berry. Dipping doesn't work!
So, for my last creation- Nothing truly spectacular, but delicious! I froze red and blue gatorade into star shaped ice trays. For an afternoon treat we poured some sprite into a glass for Brady and added a few stars! He was thrilled! He was also excited to eat the white chocolate and sprinkles off a strawberry!




For the finale, we went to watch fireworks as a family. I thought they were just up the street, but when we got there it was obvious I was wrong, ummm, mistaken...not wrong. I called my trusty sister and asked for her help. Apparently those fireworks were the previous night. Not to worry, there were some a few miles away. We called a long time friend that lived close to the correct launching site and asked if we would crash his place. No problem! Oh wait, there was- dust! We couldn't see the first 5-7 minutes, but the dust did clear out and we enjoyed the show without the need of earplugs! :)

ok- I've tried multiple times to insert my 4th of July slideshow, but with no success. Maybe it's just too late! :) I'll try again later!