Happy 4th!

I hope you had a great day celebrating the mother of all birthdays – Happy Birthday Land of the Free! We had a really great day.

We started the morning with the neighborhood parade. For some reason we missed it last year, but never again. So fun!

After the parade, we hopped in the van and head to So-Co. As in, home of the Homeslice. If you haven’t eaten at this NY-style pizzeria in Austin…well, then you haven’t eaten pizza. It’s our go-to place on Christmas Eve, but we might have to make it a tradition to celebrate America’s birthday here. I mean, what’s more American than eating Italian?!

The kids were wiped out, so after 4/7ths of the clan enjoyed a siesta (I will point NO fingers at any family members who “napped” instead of helping me get ready for the party, but they know who they are), we hosted two great families for dinner and fun. Oh my, 11 kids and 6 adults made for a super fun evening. Scott made some beans and brisket, the Cuisinart made the ice cream and I tried out an idea from Pinterest (what did we do before that slice of goodness, y’all?) If you want to know how to make that rockin’ tri-color drink, visit Family Fun for the details. The key is put the drink with the most sugar on the bottom.

After lots of laughs, 8,000 gallons of sugar, 3-dozen stuffed jalapenos, brisket and beans, a dozen snowcones, some glowsticks, no ER visits and a partridge in a pear tree, we called it a night. The 4th reminded me of one simple truth: I am grateful to live in a country that allows us to celebrate as we wish. Scott and I are blessed with great friends (who allow me to make fun of their BBQ preferences and still call me friend) who share our faith, our values and our love of Pinterest. McCabes and Blood’s – it was a fantastic evening. Thank you for celebrating with us!