Many asked me what we did on the 4th? Were you with family? Did you go to a parade? Did you have special food? Did you see the fireworks? Nobody asked me if I was exhausted at the end of the long and wonderful day. I was, and I smiled all the way as I dropped onto the bed, late at night after viewing some pretty fantastic fireworks from a small farm town close by. How ’bout you? Did you enjoy the celebration………maybe from your favorite chair watching parades, specials and fireworks from the comfort of your living room? Any way it worked for you, I hope it was highly enjoyable! 🙂
My day started fairly early, frying up some requested fried chicken and getting it into the oven before heading off to the parade. I knew that everyone (all 20 of us) would be tired, hungry and hot by the time this troop converged at our place for a very late but calculated early afternoon dinner. Because of the very warm temperature, I layed out the slip n slide and a couple small pools in hopes to occupy hungry kiddos while we women got dinner on the table.
Mr. Farmer, Jen and I were invited to watch the colorful and interesting parade with Bill, Shelby and crew. The kids parked their little chairs in a nearly perfect spot….about a half ‘a block from where the parade route began, ……which meant that the participants saw those cute little blondies right off the bat and decided to be quite generous with their bags full of candy. Thomas and Anna were peppered with candy and memorabilia for a good 45 minutes! They loved every minute of it!
Thomas and Anna gathered enough candy to hold them until next year’s 4th celebration! HA! No kidding!!! I picked up their big bags…….each felt like a 10 pound bag of sugar! BINGO!
John wasn’t quite old enough to run out for the candy, but he certainly waved his little hand off. Brother and sister were kind-hearted and shared their candy with little brother.
The “city” girls couldn’t wait to show us what they created for our family gathering. “And Mama didn’t help at all,” Addie declared. “We did everything by ourselves from start to finish!” And this proud Gramma kissed their noggins, hugged their bodies and told them how proud I was of them. Did I mention how yummy that white cake with Cool Whip and berries was? Just perfect for our gathering.
Molly and Ava served up some patriotic fruit for us. Notice the watermelon cut into a star. So colorful, delicious and refreshing on this hot and fun-filled day.
Have you ever had lemon ice at Culver’s? It’s terrific plain and really terrific with fresh raspberries. Thought I’d give it a whirl and stir some up for this holiday along with some homemade ice cream. The lemon ice was a hit! Was it as good as Culver’s? You decide.
- 2 C water
- 1 C sugar
- 1 C lemon juice
- 1 T lemon zest
- 1-2 C red raspberries mashed and sweetened (Optional)
- In saucepan, bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring until all sugar is dissolved. Take off heat and cool. Add lemon juice and lemon zest. Freeze. Every half hour to an hour stir until the lemon ice is set. Serve it up plain or with fruit. I prefer mashed sweetened red raspberries
Got a text from our dear friends later on in the evening, after all the family went on their way. They invited us to watch the fireworks from their backyard. We had plenty of homemade ice cream left so we loaded up the dessert, our weary bodies and headed for some wonderful fellowship and viewing the BIG SCREEN together, oooooing and awwwwhhhing all at the same time with bug spray and ice cream in hand. What a way to end our holiday!
Can’t wait to do it again next year.
Freedom and liberty are worth celebrating. And we thank our Father for allowing us to live in these United States of America. He really has shed His grace on thee and we are truly blessed.
