An American Backporch BBQ

The 4th of July is my favorite holiday besides Christmas!  I love the energy of the warm, dark night as people laugh and talk all over the neighborhood at 10pm.  How cool is that?  Every time I hear the fireworks boom, it reminds me of what we celebrate: AMERICA.  The confident and commanding sound of the fireworks symbolize the greatness of the land we call home.  And the colors that light up the party in the sky unite us all as we celebrate with loyalty our freedoms, compassion, and innovative spirits.  We are America: home of the free and land of the brave. I hope we extend that patriotic swell in our heart to our future little generations.  The heart of the people determine the future of our country.  

 

Happy Birthday USA

 

To celebrate July 4th, we had a FRESH backporch BBQ.  It was such a kickback and chill day.  I spent the morning cooking and doing party prep while the boys and Chris did yard work.  That afternoon, we savored a lot of lazy moments.  Chris played guitar on the back porch. We had such a fun night together in our backyard.  Dakotah even made a ball toss contest with prizes! (annnnd, I won! lol)  We played poker and the boys did some bb gun target shooting.   

We simply couldn't ask for more...

  

Fresh, bright white with bold patriotic colors:

(bunting from Grandin Road)

Whenever we are all doing something outside in the summertime,

I like to keep a basket, pail, or bag of skin lifesavers easily accessible.

We brought in a hot dog cart to serve up some classic goodness:

(cart from Pottery Barn for all the inquiring minds!) ;) 

And I have used these chalkboard signs 

that I made a couple years ago countless time now!

I double love my pendant banner from last year! 

Getting our grill on...

 

Ketchup, check.

Relish, check.

Mustard, check.

I found a way to make AMAZINGly beautiful layered drinks 

and this will change my 

party-lovin life FOREVER.  

I will now be doing this

ALL.THE. TIME. 

Here's the down low:  

The highest sugar content goes in first as the bottom layer.  

Fill up your glasses completely with ice 

Pour slowly. 

Have fun with this one! 

This is: 

Sobe Pina Colada for the white,

Gatorade Fruit Punch for the red, and G2 Blueberry Pomegranate for the blue. 

For appetizers, I made some dangerous loaded baked potato dip

and served with chip varieties.  

To add in some healthy STUFF, I made homemade, crispy

Sweet Potato Fries.

I found these adorable fry holders at World Market
and simply pushed some pretty star stickers on them.

I highly recommend this recipe!  They were the perfect texture. 

(I modified the recipe by adding grated parmasan to the recipe and some Italian seasonings.)  

 I made a healthier version of corndogs for the littles.

I don't have a recipe for these YET

because I mixed and matched 3 different recipes!

  

I added extra long ribbon to create

*firecracker corndogs* 

for my little people.

The kids table:

Each plate had a color matched bag of animal crackers.

GOTTA have berries...

I've been experimenting with some healthier baked goods.  

This is another recipe from the Babycakes cookbook.

I'm sure kids think that parents don't always make sense.  

We teach our kids to never, ever, ever play with fire...

then 4th of July comes along...

I regret buying these fireworks for SO many reasons, 

but that's another whole story...

GUYS + EXPLOSIVES = HAPPINESS

 

Our family firework show was held in my parent's backyard, not ours....

but the dinner and festive day shown here was our backyard.

 

 

 

 I also made some CLASSIC mini pies that I will share in an upcoming post SOON! 

Here's a peek a boo at them...

Because nothing beats an ALL AMERICAN

berry pie!  Check back soon for the details on this 

backporch pie shop.

 

 I hope you were blessed on your long holiday weekend.  In closing, words from a past President of the United States of America:

“Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and success of liberty.” 
-John F Kennedy



 
This post is linked to: Under the Table & Dreamin, It's a Blog Party, Think Pink Sundays LambAround, DIY Showoff,  Seasonal Sundays,  Met Monday, Making the World Cuter, A2Z Tips & Tutorials, Lettered Cottage How To, Tasty Tuesday, Tempt My Tummy, Tip Junkie, Get Your Craft On, Home Decor & Organizing, Outdoor Wednesday, Works for Me Wednesday, Blue Cricket Design, Whatever Goes Wednesday, Transformation Thursday, House of H, Tablescape Thursday, Show off Your Stuff, Strut Your Stuff,  Show and Share Day, Foodie Friday, Frugal Friday, I'm Lovin It, Tickled Pink, Friday Flair, Design Dazzle,  Be Different Act Normal, Funky Junk Interiors, Weekend Wrap Up