Make Your July 4th Go Off With a Boom

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Well, next week is July 4th. The holiday that provides us with lots of yummy BBQ- hamburgers, hot dogs (is there really a good hot dog?) red, white and blue desserts and lots of explosions! Sending positive thoughts that no one loses a finger this weekend, and I’ll gladly receive those positive thoughts for our family as well! We never seem to get to crazy over the fourth. A few cookouts here and there. I find we usually use these long weekends to catch up on all our projects we have half started around the house. #storyofmylife We used to get carried away with going to the nearby state and getting tons of fireworks. You know, the BIG stuff. Then it seems we’ve died off on that when we all started having kids. I told my husband to chill on the fireworks until we had a good life insurance policy in place. #kiddingnotkidding Now we just get tons of sparklers and those annoying little snaps that the kids use to scare the shit out of me.

The boys have a four wheeler race Saturday, so we’ll be leaving home at the ass crack of dawn for that fun! I’m sure they’ll do lots more riding and swimming around here over the weekend. However I did just realize I haven’t bought any little fireworks for them, groceries, or updated our red, white and blue apparel in preps for the holiday. You’ll come to learn by following me I’m the biggest procrastinator on the planet. Well, at least I can still share with you all the things we’d be using this weekend if I was actually on the ball, but hey, most places have free two day shipping, so I still might pull it off!

As long as you’re dressed good, it doesn’t matter if your dessert is a flop…

Let’s start with the kiddos. We always seem to put them first when buying and as long as they don’t show up like a hot mess, that ultimately makes us look better too as the parent. LOL

Please, don’t call me the grill master.

I’m 100% in no way what you’d consider a grill master. Half the time when I cook on the grill the kids don’t want to eat it because one side gets a little more charred than the other. I try telling them that’s just the way it’s supposed to be. I do love using the grill as much as possible though. It’s much easier cleanup! When making burgers I love picking up the McCormick Grill Mates burger mix. There’s a few flavor’s to choose from, but my favorite is the brown sugar bourbon, and the mesquite and cartelized onion mix. Makes the burgers super tasty and a great consistency to keep them from falling apart while cooking!

Don’t drink and let off fireworks at the same time.

For the most part when it’s usually 90 degrees over the fourth of July I just enjoy an ice cold beer. But, sometimes it’s fun to be festive and offer something else a little more on the fruity and fun side to drink. This is a super simple cocktail to show your red white and blue love!

4th of July Sangria

Pint of Blueberries

1 lb of Strawberries

1 lime

Splash of Simple Syrup

1 Liter of Sprite or Club Soda ( I usually have sprite on hand or it’s easier to grab for me)

1 bottle of White Wine (I like Barefoot Moscato)

Just throw everything together in a pitcher and garnish your glass with a sliced strawberry to look prettier 🙂

It’s all fun and games until you shoot your eye out…

So, just to be safe, let’s keep the games non explosive while we are having fun. Save your ER co-pay and buy a few fun games and things for the weekend. We love having family corn hole tournaments. We usually keep a smaller set for the kids to be able to play off of too. The kids love filling the pool with floats. Madison got an Air Track (cheaper version here)for Christmas for working on her flips, but this summer it’s been in the pool more than the ground. At least it’s been multi-purpose.

Kick up some tunes, enjoy the nice weather and hanging out with friends and family and have a safe and happy 4th! If you have some favorite side dish or dessert that’s your go to for BBQ’s please share it with me!