Five on Friday - Our 4th of July + a Trip to ATL

We are settling back into the work week just in time for the weekend to be here again already!  Ya gotta love a short work-week! 

We had a great 4th of July holiday so I thought I would recap it Five on Friday style! 

O N E – Fourth of July Eve

Unfortunately we had to work the day before the fourth, but B was able to leave around 2:30 and my boss let us go around 3:30.  The second he said it, I was outta there.  Didn’t have to tell me twice!  I headed straight to my parents’ house to pick up J, and off to Publix we went. 

Holy whoa, it was crowded, but Jacob and I got everything we needed to host our party the next night including Bomb Pops and festive sugar cookies with red, white, and blue frosting and sprinkles.  Yum!

We decided to take it easy that evening and we whipped up some eggs, grits, and bacon for dinner, and then we headed out to the back porch to hang for a bit since everyone was off the next day.  We let the kids indulge in Bomb Pops a day early because – why not? – and then they both ran around barefoot in the back yard.  

All was well until all of a sudden we heard Jacob screaming bloody murder.  Brian snatched him up within two seconds and started frantically wiping ants off of his ankles and feet, and before I could jump in to help, Olivia started screaming right behind him.  I snatched her up and shook the ants off, and we sat down to check out the damage.  Jacob had nine bites on his left ankle and foot and Olivia had seven on one of her ankles and foot.  Jacob’s bites swelled up big, probably to the size of dimes or nickels, but Olivia’s stayed tiny.  He obviously had some kind of allergic reaction, but he wasn’t in any kind of distress, so we put some anti-itch cream on them and headed back inside.  Neither of them wanted to be outside after their traumatic event.  

Brian stayed out looking for the ant bed, but he couldn’t find anything even though we know the exact area where they were both bitten.  We’re thinking the ants must have just been passing through?  Who knows.  It’s not uncommon for us to have fire ant beds pop up in the yard, but B is really good about staying on top of them, so we’ve never had an issue with them bothering the kids before.  Plus, we have trained the kids to watch out for them and stay away from them, but I guess you can’t avoid something you can’t even see!  Our pest control people came yesterday morning to hopefully fix the issue and prevent any further attacks.

It ended up being a rough start to the holiday, but the kids were resilient and none of us let it ruin the fun! 

B and I ended the evening by starting the new Gilmore Girls episodes, but a little after nine Olivia was rudely awakened by fireworks and she ended up downstairs with us and then in our bed since they went so late and she couldn’t go back to sleep.  Girlfriend is terrified of loud noises!

T W O – Fourth of July Morning

We were up bright and early on the fourth despite the fact that we had been up laaaate the night before so we got ready and headed out for donuts downtown.  

Next on the agenda was the splash pad, and just as I was slathering sunscreen on Jacob’s legs and ankles, I noticed this:

His left ankle (where he’d been bitten the night before) was super swollen… not just the bites… the entire ankle.  I took note, and we decided that since he had been fine all morning and not showing any signs of distress we would continue with our original plans. 

The kiddos loved every second of the splash pad and since it sits downtown on the river, we decided to take a walk on the River Walk to let the kids air dry for a bit.  I mentioned recently that our city has been participating in the painted rocks craze, and we had been wanting to hunt for some.  The kids ended up finding five rocks on the River Walk, and they were so excited!!  I think I was just as excited as they were! 

While down by the river, we watched a couple of people zip line, and we also watched some of the white water rafters come through, and then it was back up to the playground next to the splash pad for a little bit more fun before heading home.

T H R E E – Fourth of July Afternoon

When we got home, Jacob’s ankle was still super swollen, so the early afternoon was spent calling acute care, the pharmacy, and my uncle (who is an EMT) to make sure that we didn’t need to take him in for some kind of analysis or treatment.  Once we were completely reassured that he was okay and that he didn’t need to be taken to acute care, we gave him some Benadryl and made a quick lunch of cheese, crackers, and fruit.

I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing for our party, making homemade banana pudding, sangria (which turned out to be not my favorite), baked beans, and hamburgers to grill.  Now, you may remember that I mentioned recently that B and I never grill.  We grill out with family and friends all the time, but we have never actually grilled on our own until Memorial Day.  For the first time ever on Memorial Day, B grilled hot dogs for us (because ya know, they’re already cooked so you can’t give anyone food poisoning – haha) and they were such a success that I told B I thought we were ready to try hamburgers. 

Sure enough, B completely rocked the grill and everybody said that our hamburgers were amazing! 

F O U R – Fourth of July Evening

My parents, B’s dad, my grandmother, brother, and a couple of my brother’s friends all came over around five and we finished preparing for dinner.  I had created a fun summer playlist loaded with “bro-country” as my Daddy affectionately calls it (or not so affectionately – he hates it, haha) – Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton, Thomas Rhett, Jake Owen, Sam Hunt, and Luuuuke Bryyyyan as we always call him.  Throw in some Ed Sheeran, Darius Rucker, Zac Brown Band, Chainsmokers, Justin Timberlake, and Chris Stapleton, and you have yourself a party!  We turned on the twinkle lights on the back porch, I lit a festive summer candle, and I set the table with the cutest American flag paper plates that I had picked up at Hobby Lobby.  There was definitely no shortage of patriotism around our house!

As stated before, dinner was delicious.  In addition to the hamburgers, hot dogs, and baked beans that we had made, my mom brought her famous mac-n-cheese and we all gobbled it up and washed it down with homemade sangria.  I was stuffed after dinner, but that surely didn’t stop me from indulging in some homemade banana pudding… it is, after all, one of my favorite desserts of all time.  Mmmm… I’m drooling even thinking about it.

After dinner, we sat around chatting for a bit, and then once it had cooled off a bit outside (and by cooled off, I mean it was still mid-to-upper-eighties with a zillion percent humidity) we headed out to the porch for some Bomb Pops, baseball, and sparklers.  And we brought the speaker for the bro-country with us!  Can’t forget those guys.  ;o)

Everyone left a little before nine, and just after, I realized that we had forgotten to take a family picture, so we snapped a few on the couch.  You can’t see our festive outfits, but you can see how happy we are after such a wonderful day! 

Our neighbors a few houses down started doing massive fireworks in our cul-de-sac right after everyone left, and we decided there was no point in putting the kids in the bed, so we decided to YOLO and let them stay out to watch them.  Olivia is completely terrified of them so B and I ended up taking turns staying inside with her while the other was outside with Jacob.  He’s not afraid of them at all.  Or in his words, “I’m not afraid of anything.”  Haha.

The fireworks were nice for about an hour, but a little before 10 we came inside and headed upstairs to get the kids ready for bed, and the fireworks just kept going and going and going.  We finally decided to put J to bed around 10:30 because in his words, “I love the fireworks.  They help me sleep better!” and sure enough, he fell right to sleep within minutes despite the fact that the neighbors were blowing up huge things right outside his window. 

We didn’t even bother to try to make Olivia sleep in her bed, so we got ourselves ready and settled in with her between us.  The entire time I was getting ready for bed she followed me around literally touching me the entire time.  She would not even get an inch away from me because she was so scared.  Bless her heart!

The fireworks on our street finally stopped just before 11 only to have the neighbors on the street behind us start firing up some up around 11:20.  Needless to say, we were all sleep deprived the next day.

F I V E – The Day After

The next day, B and I dropped Jacob at his Dad’s house since his camp is not in session this week due to the holiday, and then we dropped Olivia at school, and he and I headed to Atlanta for my second treatment for my chronic back issues.  The treatment went well and I am in significantly less pain (from the treatment) this time than last.  However, the doctor is concerned that this particular treatment might not be working for me since things haven’t improved overall since my last visit.  He did remind me that it takes time for things to progress, but he is saying that if things haven’t improved somewhat by my next visit in two weeks that we may need to discuss other options.  I was a little disheartened overall by the visit, but I’m still praying for a miracle and trying to stay positive.  HEAL, LIGAMENTS, HEAL!

On the bright side, we were in Atlanta, so after my appointment we were able to go to PF Chang’s for lunch since we don’t have one back home.  Brian had some kind of Honey Chicken, and I had my beloved Mongolian Beef with a side of this:

I wasn't sure what it could possibly mean at first, and then one day later, it became perfectly clear.  Usually I toss these things to the side, but for some reason, I feel like this one might actually mean something...  

After PF Chang’s we decided to be total pigs and go to Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream for a couple of Brown Butter Almond Brittle cones before heading back home, and it was the best decision that we made all day.

It’s been a whirlwind of a week, and next week will be no exception because… the kids are starting two weeks of swimming lessons!  This will be Jacob’s second year, and Olivia’s first.  I am nervous and excited for them!! 

On another note, we finally took away Olivia’s paci.  <insert hands-on-shocked-face emoji here>  Last night was her first night without it, so pray for us that we have a smooth transition.  Eek!

Happy weekend!  And if you’re still with me, thanks for sticking around for this entire book of a post!  It was a marathon!  Whew!

*Linking up with A Liz Adventures and Carolina Charm for Five on Friday, A Little Bit of Everything for Friday Favorites,  September Farm and The Farmer's Wife for Oh Hey, Friday, Meet @ the Barre for Friday Favorites, and Cup of Tea for High Five for Friday.