Our 4th of July

 This 4th of July was AWESOME!!! 

Usually we don't do much for the holidays. We hole up and stay home for the most part. Barry's family is about an hour away from us and the way to them is always traffic filled so unless it is a holiday like Christmas, we tend to just stay home.

Not this time bucko!

Barry's Uncle Dennis asked us to come by Aunt LaDonna's beach house and spend the 4th with them. His family is not known for their planning, usually we get a call the day of asking why we aren't hanging out with the rest of the family :) At first I was like "Really? We're going to drive an hour and a half to the beach...on a 4th of July weekend where the 4th falls on a Friday? Have you lost yo' damn mind?!" 

I'm so very glad we went.

Bear Bear, Corbin, and Emma

Nana with Nathaniel, Papa with William, and Aunt LaDonna

Nana making William giggle

Bear Bear, Nana, Papa and Barry

Bear Bear with William

Papa with Bear Bear

Papa with Bear Bear

Aunt LaDonna with Nathaniel, Robbie with William

My awesome contribution to the noms :)

Papa and Bear Bear

Scott, Robbie with William, they were like two peas in a pod. So cute.

Seriously, the fireworks.

 

 

We had a blast with the family! 

Also, the fireworks...omg the fireworks! Not only did Barry's family have their very own arsenal of highly dangerous explosives (seriously, not a sparkler to be found. Go big or go home) but it seemed like everyone on the beach was putting on their very own fireworks show. I mean BIG fireworks. They started at sundown and when we left near midnight they were still going strong. 

Not too shabby for the twins' first 4th of July!

-Ri

Patriotic 4th of July Mason Jars

 Hello everyone!

I found this super cute 4th of July lantern set on Pinterest and I just had to try it out. 

Original Pin: Addicted2DIY- Patriotic Mason Jar Lanterns

I'll start by saying that there is nothing particularly difficult about this project, it just has a lot of steps. 

What You'll Need:

1-Quart Sized Mason Jar

2-Pint Sized Mason Jars

Rubbing Alcohol

Paper Towels

Star Stickers - Small foil and Large Foam

Gentle Paper Tape

Scissors

White Spray Paint

Blue Spray Paint

Red Spray Paint

Needle

1. Wipe down your mason jars with some rubbing alcohol and let dry. I believe this helps the paint to stick by getting rid of the oily residue left behind by your hands. I have no evidence for this ...I could be totally making it up :)

2. Stick the little sticker stars on the jars randomly. Make sure to leave space for the big stars later. You don't need a whole lot of the little stars.

3. Spray paint all the jars white. You could do two coats, and if you have the time you probably should. I would much rather do two light coats than one heavy coat but I was pressed for time.

4. Let the jars dry completely. I let mine dry overnight (nap time only lasts so long, I ran out of time). 

5. Use the blue tape to create stripes on the pint jars. The top of the top strip will be a little difficult to lay straight. Place the foam stars on the quart jar.

6. This is important! Paint the jars white again! This way, if there is any bleed through the tape it will be white instead of red or blue. The white paint will make a seal around the tape to make sure no bleed happens. You can skip this step if you don't care about clean lines.

7. Paint the pint jars red. Paint the quart jar blue. Let dry. My blue came out a little cracked because I didn't shake the can long enough. You can't see the defects at all when it is lit.

8. Remove blue tape from red jars. Use a needle to lift the edges of the stars from all jars. Remove stars. 

9. Grab a glass of wine, cram a tea light in each jar and congratulate yourself for being awesome. :)

I love my jars and I can't wait to use them every year!! 

-ri