On the day our nation declared independence

                           

Fourth of July, oh what fun it was…

Our Fourth of July celebration started one day early, Our church volunteers with the city of North Las Vegas for numerous events to partner and volunteer. Our mission statement is “Making disciples of Jesus who live in the community for the community.” (Grace Point is our first love) Our good friend Aubrey runs Community Renewal for our church and practically anything she’ll offer us to volunteer for, we’re there! This time was even more fun because we got to serve alongside our mothers.

Vickie, Drew’s mom… Face Painted and body painted, andd added glitter… (Mad Skills)

My mom was working during the day so she showed up at the end and helped us tear down

& Drew and I helped to hand out Grace Point information cards and fans to over 2,000 people! What an awesome experience, we got paid in free entry, free fireworks, and god’s grace shining down on an economically hard hit city who still believes in the power of family and a good time to celebrate our nation’s independence! YEAH!

This Fourth of July was quite different than year’s past… I grew up with the huge family block parties (when I say this, I mean about 1-200 people on my street partying with fireworks, cake walks, pools, fruit stands, ribs, and potato salad) We used to have an all out bounce house, 1-3,000$ worth of illegal fireworks show and everyone would go to sleep happy and content, knowing that our neighborhood… our block, had the best party in the northwest. (it actually looked something similar to the picture below)

We would even rope it off with caution tape so cars wouldn’t interrupt, and the fire dpt and police force would come by and let us kids crawl in/on their emergency vehicles to watch the show and play with gadgets while they ate free food until they were called for duty

… Now that I’ve ranted and raved about how wonderful and amazing my childhood independence day memories are compared to yours… let’s scale back about 50% and speak about my adulthood fourth of July...Due to a series of unfortunate and unmentionable events... my family decided not to host the fourth at our house this year, 

BUT that didn't mean my dad didn't cook! 

We ate dinner for two on Drew's Mom's back patio. 

My father (the BBQ trophy holding champ) prepared:

Smoked Pulled Pork

Smoked Corn on the cob

Smoked Hot Links

Smoked Brisket

Smoked Chicken (not pictured)

Coleslaw (on top of the pulled pork, underneath the bun)

Potato Salad

And I made Southern spicy macaroni and cheese! (Recipe soon... ahhmazing)

Don't you just love the straws and the napkins!? Thank's Mom!

Mama Liz, Dj's Stepmom

Afterwards we relaxed put our feet in the Jacuzzi and pool for about an hour… just to digest and check out the sounds (not the lights) of the fireworks, when we finally looked to one another and realized with the tall trees in his community, we weren’t going to see ANY good fireworks :[… saddened by this thought, we figured it’d be best for us to head over to My friend Dj’s Parent’s house up the street… Dj unfortunately and tragically passed away in 2008 at age 16, though throughout the years his family has basically kept me close and love drew equally the same. It was a nice surprise for them to see the two of us, little did we know what treats we were in for!

FLAME THROWERS….. Flaming Chains, Flaming Hula Hoops, and Neon Fingers… we were in awe.

legal...

In addition to the purely fun potentially fatal display of illegal fireworks being set off by under 10 year old children and inebriated adults… we had a fun time watching.

forgive Drew's short short swim trunks!

Jesse James, (Dj’s youngest brother) and I go wayy back. I’ve jokingly called him my boyfriend since before he could speak. It's quite comedic to recall how he took to the news that I had another boyfriend and was going to bring him around from time to time, he's adjusted but Drew has had to remind him countless times that because Jesse came first, He will always be the first in my heart... and bless his heart, he remembered the comfort of pri, and fell asleep on the sidewalk, in my arms.. during the fireworks show. 

This (big) little guy was tired.

For dessert, Mama Liz brought us two Smore’s Cookies… (I’m thinking of making them with the girls) :] SUPER EXCITED ABOUT THIS…. They were delicious!

overall… our fourth of July was perfect!!!