the glorious fourth

We've never had to celebrate a major holiday alone, but since we're here and you're there, we were left to fend for ourselves yesterday. Brent was a champ and took the boys to the park for awhile in the morning. They had a blast being pushed "super duper higher" in the swings. I stayed home and planned the feast: jalapeno cheeseburgers, potato chips, watermelon, rice krispie treats and Squirt. Gourmet, I know. 

Here's how our American meal went down:


* The hamburgers were a flop. I forgot to take the ground beef out of the freezer and since I have issues with defrosting meat in the microwave, dinner was several hours later than I'd originally intended. The onions I spent 45 minutes caramelizing  never quite came to fruition. Think slimy pink wormy things on top of your cheeseburger. Also, it wasn't until we'd finished eating the burgers that I realized the special sauce that was supposed to go on them was still in a bowl in the refrigerator.

* What's a 4th of July celebration without watermelon? I chose an awesome one at Costco, bee stings and everything. Put it in the refrigerator the night before to make it nice and cold. Took it out yesterday morning to cut it up and only then realized that our knives were still on the moving truck (that was already a week late). Since I was still scarred from having to grate cheese a couple days earlier with the butter knife, I made Brent do the dirty work.

* Brighton and I spent some time looking online for a fun treat to make together for our 4th of July dessert. We decided on rice krispie cut-outs. After unsuccessful trips to 3 different stores to find red white and blue sprinkles...and after realizing a little too late that we do not, in fact, have a star shaped cookie cutter...and after losing the battle of rice krispies vs. cocoa krispies with Brighton...and after remembering that our box of popsicle sticks was on the aforementioned moving truck...and after a futile attempt to convince the kids to make homemeade ice cream instead...

this

became this

Independence day krispy chocolate hearts. And a gingerbread man for good measure.

Fortunately the potato chips and Squirt were spot on. And fortunately we didn't try to keep the kids awake until dark for a fireworks show that wasn't going to happen. Apparently they're banned here in Issaquah. Maybe something to do with trees all around? And finally, fortunately the true reason for yesterday's celebration has little to do with pyrotechnics and BBQs. Let freedom ring!


Hope you all had a wonderful holiday!