Wednesday, July 7, 2010

Long Holiday Weekend Love

This is going to be a stupid statement, but I love long holiday weekends.  When I was growing up, we rarely celebrated the holidays, other than Christmas.  My Mom's favorite saying was "It's just another day."  She still has a tendancy to say this same thing today and it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand-up.  I have always tried to make sure that I recognize special days, like birthdays and holidays for my family because I think it is important to have fun and enjoy each other, every chance we get.  Daily life can be mundane, and working every day is hard and tiresome....that means the weekends should be reserved for something special. 

We had our July 4th cookout and get together on Saturday this year and on Sunday, we had left-overs and enjoyed an outdoor movie after dark - we watched Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Ghost and Mr. Chicken.  On Monday, Mike and I went to the movies to see The Last Airbender and had a late lunch at O'Charleys.  I loved the movie...I know the critics have basically trashed it but I enjoyed the story and the visual effects were beautiful...apparently, I'm not hard to please.  I guage a movie based upon it's entertainment factor and how joyful and relaxed I feel when it's over.  I don't worry about whether this was original or that was not possible...it's a movie...it's entertainment...it's not supposed to be realistic.  I can get realism every day of the week, thank you very much.  I don't need to have to think through every phrase for the underlying meaning...let me vegetate and just enjoy.  As a bonus, give me a little kung fu and action to go along with my movie and I'm good. 

You might remember that I planned to use the hay wagon as my serving table this year.  You can read about my idea here.  It worked out great and I'll definetly be using this idea again. 

The troopes were getting really hungry, so I had to snap pictures very quickly.  This is the best shot I got of the overall wagon surface. 



I used a small chest to start the food line with plates and utensils. 



Because of the heat, all cold items were set in an ice bath and this worked out great...the food stayed cold and I did not have to jump right up after everyone was served and rush the food back to the refrigerator.  I used bandanas for napkins and also to cover the food so that it was safe from flying insects.  A little yellow pitcher held extra BBQ sauce for the smoked ribs. 


One corner was dedicated to beverages...off to the left and not shown in the picture, is a Coca Cola cooler of sodas...I used mason jars for sweet tea.  I keep the jars in their original box for storage and after washing, I store them upside down in the box. 


Individual bags of chips were available for the kiddies. 



We played and worked hard to stay cool.



We enjoyed sparklers and fireworks.




I hope you had and opportunity to enjoy your weekend with family and friends.  I'm joining Susan at A Southern Daydreamer for her weekly Outdoor Wednesday party....I almost forgot that it was Wednesday!!  Thanks to Susan for hosting this fun get together each week...please stop by and visit with her and all the party participants. 

All The Best,
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18 comments:

Kim's Treasures said...

How awesome! I am going to have to borrow some of your ideas! I love celebrating too! My parents weren't much into it either. So I always try to make everything special! So glad you had a great weekend!

Sharon said...

I sure do agree with you about enjoying family and events after a long week of work.
Hubs and I just had a quite day together doing yard work when we could and then we watched movies and just enjoying nothing together.
Great photos and I love your table idea.

Julie Harward said...

I agree with you...make these times special! I never had a birthday party growing up and we never had a vacation, farming and cows kept us at the farm I guess.
I loved how the hay wagon turned out, everything looks really nice! So glad you all had a great time! :D

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

I'm coming to your house next 4th of July, Anita! That spread looks so good!

Anita Diaz said...

I too agree about making family time special! Those are the things we remember. Love your table. I see some ideas that I wish I had seen before our family cookout!! Looks great and like you all had a great time!!

Ceekay-THINKIN of HOME said...

I just love your set up for your 4th dinner. How cool was that!! Looks like it was a great day!

WoolenSails said...

What a wonderful way to celebrate the holiday and fun for everyone.

Debbie

Ms. Bake-it said...

Your comments reflect my sentiments in that I feel the same about celebrating special days with family and friends. I also feel the same way about movies. I rarely pay attention to the reviews. It looks like your cook out was a blast! Love how you set up the hay wagon.

~ Tracy

Lynn said...

Everything looks so beautiful!! That picture of the kiddo's enjoying the watered slide is so very precious and priceless too! That makes all the time, work and effort one has to go through getting things planned and ready for a get-to-gether so very well worth it in my book! Looks like everyone enjoyed and had a fabulous time, which is wonderful!!

Have a great day and loved your post and pictures!

Blessings,
~Lynn

Teresa @ Grammy Girlfriend said...

Looks like a wonderful weekend and you had some GREAT ideas.....I am the same way about movies...If they get bad reviews "I usually like them"
Have a good day

ellen b said...

I really enjoyed all your decorations and displays of food, etc. You have given me some new ideas! We had a BBQ and tried to keep warm on our cool 4th this year...now we have really warmed up...

Theresa said...

Great decorations and the food all looks delicious! Great tip on the small chest to hold the paper products etc. Love it, I will use that at my next gathering!

Love the slip'n'slide picture! Great photography work!

Have a blessed day Anita! HUGS!

Doro said...

What a festive "table" and outside space you created to celebrate the fourth. It looks like the stage was set for a great event.

southerninspiration said...

Beautiful!!! I am sure everyone enjoyed it immensely!!!

Suzanne

Melissa Miller said...

Anita this is so wonderful! It is the perfect all American setting. You did great! I wish I would have been there too. *Smiles*

Linda said...

What a great holiday you had! I couldn't agree more about all you said...keep days special. Life is just too short not to celebrate whenever you can. Your Mother sounds like mine. Your serving "table" is unique and wonderful. It screamed 4th of July. I love it!!

Sandy aka Doris the Great said...

It's beautiful! I too loved to make big of any holiday I could. My kids are older now and all but flown the nest. But they still remember and try to get home because they know there'll be a celebration.

Heck, I like to celebrate anything -- "It's Thursday! Let's use the good china!"

Maria said...

What a great family get-together and what an awesome table! It was festive, pretty, and the food looks wonderful! I think you've achieved your goal of creating some amazing memories for your family. They'll remember this one for sure.