Can you believe that Independence Day is next week?!?! What?!?!

Where the heck has the year gone?

Luckily, I was on the ball this year, and made our patriotic shirts early enough to actually wear on the 4th. Go me!

I did some searching on the googles, and found some patriotic phrases I liked for the fam and then set about drawing out the images for the shirts.

I created rough drafts and then final drafts on paper, and then used them as guides for the shirts. I lettered the shirts with a combination of sharpies and fabric paint. Each person got a personalized shirt to fit their interests or personalities.

I must say I'm pretty proud of each of these creations, although the hubs shirt was a pain. Apparently his shirt was cut much smaller than the advertised size, and so needed a bit more customization, but I wasn't about to redo my artwork, so I cut out around my original artwork, staying about 1/4" away from the painted edge, and then stitched it down to a shirt that was in fact the same size as was advertised. So his shirt officially takes the cake as the most involved shirt.

My shirt was a close second, because I wanted to create a watercolor affect for the flag, and that took a bit of planning and prayer, but luckily it turned out well on the first try, from there it was just a matter of lettering everything with my trusty black sharpie.


The kids shirts were all fairly straightforward, the only one that had a bit more done to it was Baby Girl's because I sewed some star rhinestones to it to add a bit more sparkle. A girl can never have too much sparkle.

Thank so much for stopping by!

Well yesterday I showed off last year's wreath and tablescape. For this year's tablescape, I used what I had.

I didn't iron the tablecloth, and I didn't really deviate too much.

The wreath from last year is back on our door.

So with out further ado, lets get this motor started.

Here's this year's table!
My favorite part of the 4th, besides the food and family, are the fireworks after they've exploded and the sparks are drifting slowly back down. How they get softer and softer, until they finally just go out.
So I tried emulating that with all of my soft candle glow :)

BTW - lots of pictures. :)







Oh I almost forgot my little red cabinet!
 There's the strawberry pot of hibiscus and 4th of July colors :) I love this flower arrangement
Just another close-up.

Well I hope guys enjoyed, because I had a lot of fun lighting all those candles and bringing everything together.

This year's patriotic colors are not quite done yet, and I'm suffering some major TMJ pain these last few days, so I'm pulling this post out of the attic. I hope you guys enjoy!

So every year since we moved back to Virginia, Stephen and I have hosted a 4th of July party - until this year. This year my Mom and Dad have graciously offered their home and land for the party. It also doesn't hurt that their  neighbor has ever-so-graciously allowed us to watch his fireworks display.

That being said, my house is still going to look patriotic on the 4th and that's what I did today. Gave her a quick make-over and finished some lingering projects. So here's what she looks like now!

I hope that everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! We did. We all gathered at Mom and Dad's and ate a lot of food, talked about a lot, and then sat down and enjoyed the fireworks. It was pretty stupendous! :)

WARNING! Lots of amazing deliciousness ahead

Candy Sushi-mi Rolls.  Very patriotic.... ;-) These were messy but easy to make. Rice Krispies Treats + Swedish Fish + Fruit Roll Ups = Amazingly Delicious

Saw these S'More Sticks around blogland and HAD to try them. They were so very yummy, and easy to make! Dana and I had been talking about adding flavors to the chocolate {orange or peppermint} to add even more fun and interest to these desserts.  I did end up using cinnamon graham crackers, and they were just oh-so-delish!

Cake balls.....always good. :)

Mom and Harrison!

My Aunt Toni - she's taking the above picture. :)

Here are some of the sides....More arrived. Because it was so hot outside yesterday, we moved the sides and desserts inside, but kept the meat and condiments outside in the garage. It helped filter everyone around quite nicely.

Three generations of Fishers (we're missing a link here!)

A completed dessert table is a thing of beauty!

Steve with Dev, and cousins, Tres' and Elise!  Poor Dev had just woken up. He's not a quick waker-upper.

Evan!

Devo starting to wake up a bit. How he loves his Dad!

Here's H hamming it up for the camera! His onesie is going to be discussed tomorrow. It was a new pattern.

Dae, Nicole and Shane enjoying the garage.

Dae doing her best Lady Liberty pose. I think she nailed it. The Smirnoff flame is the perfect touch. ;-)

Tres' and Dev playing. These two are inseparable and have been since Tres' first met Dev.

Oh yea, I guess that could be a problem. Good thing that Steve noticed before Dad did and had already left to run home and get the missing, but vital piece. :)

Now we're in business!

Ka-BOOM! Enter oooohs and ahhhhs : )

A captive audience. The boys were loving the fireworks. Thank you to Stevie for getting the fireworks pictures, and for putting up with my nagging about getting a picture of the boys watching the fireworks

All of the children waiting anxiously for the next round of explosions!

The amazing James doing the robot dance in front of a strobe firework! Good job James!