On the Fourth.

Yesterday, Ben and I decided to host a party that we have never hosted before- a 4th of July party! We kept the group small-  we had three other young families in our neighborhood come over for food and fun. I cooked up some treats, and Ben manned the grill for some great dinner. Our guests were also so kind to bring delicious food to add as well. 

You know me and parties- I cannot pass up the opportunity for some party decorations and using some ideas found on Pinterest. I was also able to re-use some of the decorations I had used for Dylan's birthday party last year. I knew all that burlap would come in handy again!

Here's a look at our fun holiday party:

 I was actually pretty proud of myself with sticking to a strict decor budget- reusing things I had on hand or printing things off the computer, and only making a few purchases. 

 I found the idea for red, white, and blue strawberries on Pinterest (of course)- they were a big hit, especially with the kids. And do you see the watermelon in the corner? Not any old watermelon- it's hollowed out and filled with fruit salad. Made me feel a little Martha with that one. 

 The chocolate covered pretzels were delicious, although they got really mushy in the 500 degree heat. Wait it wasn't 500 degrees? Sure felt like it! The cute printable was also found on (you guessed it) Pinterest. 

 Let me tell you guys, this cake was a work of art. It has three layers- one red, one white, and one blue. So. Dang. Patriotic. 

See? Such beauty! I want to sing "God Bless America" just by looking at it!

 Here are my super-budget centerpieces- glitter paper, vases filled with red candy (Dylan called them his vitamins and ate the candy by the handful), with a few little flags. 

Here we are! I feel like there are never any pictures of me, because I'm always behind the camera! I was originally planning on wearing a completely different outfit, but since the heat was borderline ridiculous, I chose an ensemble that wouldn't show my sweat-monster tendencies. Yup, true story.

And here is the man-child Dylan. He was so excited for the party, especially because it meant that he would be able to sample some of the treats he had watched me make earlier that day. He played hard with all the other kids- so much, in fact, that he required a wardrobe change by hour 2 of the party. 

Oh wait, how about some pictures of our fabulous (and hilarious!) guests:

 Cami and Seth 

Lauren and Clayton (who cracked us up with his many stories... I don't think I'll ever forget the Wyoming port-a-potty one!)

Michael and Kim

And now for some fun.... kid-friendly fireworks! I was overjoyed that there were no trips to the ER!