{Weekend Recap} 4th of July Fun

Happy Monday ladies! I'm hoping you all had a fantastic 4th of July weekend. It was wonderful that it fell on a Friday giving all of you working moms an extra long weekend. Sometimes that's just what you need when you have a weekend filled with fun! We in the Holt household had a perfect 4th of July weekend filled with good food and fun times with family and friends. It seriously can't get any better than that. 

Sadly Kevin had to work Friday so it was just Harper and I for the majority of the day. We woke up early and since we didn't have anything on our agenda for Friday morning we packed up the car and headed on to the lake to meet up with my parents despite that their cookout didn't begin until 2. While my mom and aunt prepared lunch for all of our family Harper and I hung outside on the porch with my dad and uncle.. but not before sneaking a few tastes of the deliciousness that was being prepared inside. By 2:30 all of our family had arrived and we dug in. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the porch rocking in chairs and cutting up and carrying on with the rest of the family.

Harper and I left the lake around 5:15 so we could meet Kevin at home when he got off work. When he got home he had just enough time to change before we had to head out to his cousin's house for a cook out. They hosted some family and friends over for some hot dogs, homemade ice cream, and fireworks. We took them up on the hot dogs but passed on the ice cream and fireworks because as soon as we ate we had to leave to head to Kevin's brother's cookout.

Brooke and Bryan hosted a small cookout for some close friends and all of Kevin's family. Brooke, Bryan's girlfriend, has a little cabin down by a private lake and it couldn't have been a better place for a private little get together. By the time we arrived they'd all devoured their hot dogs so I came bearing banana pudding. It was delicious and got gone fast. I'll be sharing the recipe tomorrow.

When it got dark, the guys lit off some firework that Bryan and Brooke had picked up in South Carolina earlier in the week. For a do-it-yourself kind of show it was spectacular. The fireworks were gorgeous and they had enough to last for about 20 minutes. I'd love to say Harper was a fan but she just wasn't. At the beginning she admired the pretty lights in the sky until they started coming down at her. Thankfully my mother-in-law was there and volunteered to take Harper in so we could enjoy the show. When it was over we lit sparklers and took photos. Harper was a bit hesitant at first but then they grew on her.

Saturday Kevin had to head back into work again at 6am so Harper and I spent the morning sleeping in until 9 or so. Since we didn't really have anything to do my sister came over and we decided to hit up the Tanger Outlets in Mebane. They always run some great sales during the holidays so we figured what better time to check them out. The sales did not disappoint. Gap, Banana Republic, and J Crew had most of their merchandise 50-70% off. I ended up with two new pair of jeans for $30. It was a shopping trip well spent.

Before heading home we stopped by Texas Roadhouse for lunch. Harper loved it and was quite a hit. We sat pretty close to the bar so she could hear the music. She danced in her high chair for pretty much the whole time we were there and stole quite a few laughs and smiles from people sitting around us.

Kevin arrived home from work Saturday afternoon shortly after six. He walked in hot, sweaty, and exhausted. In the summer his work can push 120 degrees inside and it drains the life out of you. But despite the intense temperature Kevin loves his job and looks forward to going every day. But since the heat had gotten to him more so than usual he wanted to lay down a few minutes before dinner. Since he hadn't seen Harper any though he wanted us to lay down with him. I don't know if it was the late night we'd had the previous night or being on the go shopping all day but apparently Harper and I were tired too and ended up taking a nap as well.  By the time we woke up it was time to meet Kevin's brother and his girlfriend for dinner.

We hit up a local Japanese place for a quick dinner then called it a night.

Kevin was off yesterday so we woke up and headed to church as a family. When church was over we headed to my parents' house for our usual Sunday lunch. Having tired quickly of hot dogs and hamburgers with the holiday this weekend Mom fixed a simple lunch of chicken tender salads and lemon meringue pie. It was the perfect meal for such a hot day. We spent most of the remaining afternoon at their house. While there Dad and I worked on planning a vacation to Charleston for the family while Mom rocked Harper on the porch and Kevin took a nap on the couch. I'm telling you, I had some tired babies on my hands.

Sunday evening Kevin and I headed to his parents house for dinner. Kevin's been dying for some of his mom's lasagna so she fixed it for us and had his grandparents over as well. It was delicious as always and I left filling unbelievably stuffed. I also left with a huge plate of leftovers that will be completely gone by lunch today!

Overall we couldn't have asked for a better weekend. I hope you ladies can say the same!