Hello and happy Tuesday! I hope my American friends all enjoyed your 4th of July! We had my college bestie and her family in town for the weekend and squeezed a lot of summer fun into the time we had together. The girls helped me kick things off by making festive cookies on Friday (well, store bought cookies and ice cream plus sprinkles).

After asking “when will they be here?” about a hundred times, Christen and crew rolled into our driveway and the fun began! We packed up a cooler, ordered pizzas to the marina, and met Danielle and her family at the boat docks.

It turned into such a gorgeous evening of chatting and swimming and eating and dancing on the boat (maybe that was just me… did I mention there were margaritas involved?). It was such a fun evening and we didn’t head back home until well after the sun went down.

Saturday morning we got everyone moving so we could eat breakfast and head back to the boat club. I had rented a ski boat so we could spend some time whipping the kids around on the tube and it turned out to be such a huge it. I remember thinking when I was a kid how the adults must be sad to be missing all the fun being stuck on the boat, but as an adult I love nothing more than watching the kids shriek and giggle without crunching and cracking my own bones and joints.

After lunch we headed home to set up and welcome Liz and Danielle and families back over for a backyard hangout. David smoked two pork butts overnight so I shredded those for sliders along with hotdogs, slaw, potato salad, and watermelon star skewers. Everyone pitched in food with a tasty result.

The afternoon was spent floating and jumping and playing yard games. We lucked out with a really beautiful day and we were pleased to discover that Finley is largely unbothered by the sound of fireworks (which fits with her feisty and headstrong personality).

On Sunday morning we sipped coffee on the porch for hours talking and that is probably my favorite part about having friends stay over. Christen is a Disney expert so among other topics, she walked me through everything I needed to know about Genie+, Lightning Lanes, and transportation for our upcoming trip. I’m truly so grateful because I don’t know how one understands the monster that is Disney World without a knowledgeable guide.

They sadly packed up and had to head home and I was sad to see them go, but so grateful we’ve made it an annual tradition to spend a summer weekend together. There is something so cool about being so close with someone that has known you for 20 years. A lot of history!

Hailey and Kaitlyn were exhausted (like in tears exhausted) after the late nights and busy swimming days, so we stayed home on Sunday to read Harry Potter and R&R.

Monday was another restful day of laundry, working out, and David teaching the girls new skills (he’s setting Kaitlyn up with picture editing on LightRoom and teaching Hailey to create videos projects on Rush). Late afternoon we packed up some Brunswick stew I made with our leftover pork and headed over to my friend Katie’s house.

It was a lovely evening of kids swimming, parents chatting, and the most incredible fireworks display that her neighbors across the cove put on. It was the cherry on top of a celebratory and very summery holiday weekend.

Happy birthday, America! 💓🤍💙

The girls have a sewing camp this week that they’re looking forward to. It’s just a half day but Hailey is excited to expand her skills and Kaitlyn is happy that she’s finally old enough to attend. I hope to use my time to make progress on family albums (always) and organize our curriculum. My Gather Round materials arrived and I can’t wait to dive into them. I think we are going to start our 5th and 3rd grade years next week. It sounds crazy to me, but I know I always appreciate when we get things going in July.

But first I’ll try to get the household back up its feet, as such a fun and friend-filled weekend has certainly left us all a little tired. Happy, but tired. I hope you have a great Tuesday; thanks so much for stopping by today!