4th of July Weekend...party party party

July 4 was a great day at the VeggieBruce's! V waited impatiently for her friends to arrive
because she knew what was in store:

2 pools full of kids


1 slip and slide


a ridiculous amount of food (thanks to everyone who brought something)

and best of all, fireworks!



Could you ask for a more appreciative audience than that? Zane loves fireworks.

V liked them too, although a bit less effusively.


Somehow I missed the opportunity to take a picture of Tres' first adventure in kegging his home brew (sorry, T). He made an IPA using the hops he grew on our back porch and it was a hit! Less of a hit were my terrible pouring skills. Yes, I'm 33 years old and this was my first time pouring beer out of a keg tap. My Dean's List college years should be enough proof of that...if the foam in your cup didn't already convince you.

At any rate, each Bruce had a great time with friends and neighbors...

I think we'll do it again next year. After we take a little nap.

4th of July Weekend...party prep

Tres and I decided to turn our 4th of July party into an annual event so that translated into spending Saturday getting ready for the 50 some odd people that were going to descend upon our house on Sunday. First things first, we had to harvest some important ingredients...namely the Caribe potatoes we'd been growing since Spring. You can't have a 4th of July party without potato salad, right?

I was amazed to actually find purple/blue potatoes inside the bags that have been sitting on our back deck for months. It was kind of like an Easter hunt looking through the dirt for the potatoes. Virginia squealed with delight at each one. Predicted yield for a bag? 12 pounds. Our yield? Just shy of 3 pounds. Oh well, better luck next year. We had plenty of parsley, cucumbers, basil and cherry tomatoes to round out our harvest.

Next up, testing out the new dinosaur blow up pool we acquired at ye olde Kmart. I blew this whole thing up by myself. Now that's a lot of hot air! Set it up, drug the hose around and nearly passed out in the process only to get this reaction:

After adding a bit more water, the pool thankfully passed the most important test of all: the lick test.

Yep, you guessed it. Dinosaur tastes like chicken.

4th of July Weekend...the warm up

We were thrilled to get to see the Coynes en route to their new home in Alabama. While they stayed less than 24 hours, it was a memorable trip in that Molly has finally caught up with James and Virginia...at least in her mind. Exhibit A: the trampoline

I cannot think of a better way to spend a Thursday night than with Coynes, Neomonde take out and lots of good wine.

Friday night we took V to my favorite summer activity: Music on the Porch at Seaboard Always good music, cheap beer and pizza (price, not quality thankyouverymuch Carolina Brewing Company!) and so kid-friendly we can hardly stand it. Case in point, they close off a huge parking lot so kids can ride around on their bikes/tricycles/scooters,

everyone backs their cars up to unload chairs/tables/snacks

(our friends Greg, Bridget and "Crispy" from V's school)

and this week they even had BOUNCY HOUSES!

What could be better on a Friday night? Dancing you say?

Check.

Squealing at the band?

Check.

Face-staining treats?

Check.

No, nothing could be better.