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      Do you have big plans for the 4th of July this year?  We have two events happening with family and friends. An early morning pancake breakfast and then in the evening a fireworks block party! Many people all across the country will be celebrating in similar ways! We thought it would be fun to come up with an invitation that can be used online as a jpeg, or to print off and add your own details to.  
     PicMonkey is a great place to design your own invitations and flyers for your own needs. They are who I used for this July 4th invitation. To add your own details on the computer, I would upload the jpeg to Google Drawing and use texts boxes to add your details.  You can also size the invitations to your own needs.  Then, just print! You can print them on white card stock, or do what I did and print them on regular paper and glue onto colored card stock.  Just use your paper cutter (I have this one) to cut everything to the right size.

     I am going to give you a couple of choices of ways to print the invitations, plus a pdf.  You can always just add your info and then upload the flyer to your Facebook page about the event, or print it off and hand it our without any card stock at all. Or, another choice is to just print off the blank invitations and write in your information by hand.

         Another event that we are going to try doing this year is Christmas in July.  We love getting together with extended family and having a Christmas craft day, but it is always so busy for everyone in December that we haven't been very consistent about it.  Since there is even a week in July labeled "Christmas in July", we've decided to take advantage of it.  I've even composed  little poem for these invitations!

     The files for these invitations are available on our subscribers only page.  go ahead and subscribe today and get access to all of the fun and useful things that are free to print from that page.

     Be sure to check back over the next couple of weeks as we share more ideas for the Christmas in July event! 

     Have you had a chance to listen to our first podcast? If not, go to our Cover to Reel page and give it a listen!  We have just recorded our second one, so be on the listen for that! 
      Have fun planning your summer/July events! If you have any great ideas for Christmas in July, we would love to hear them as we are still adding to our plans! Thanks! 

     
​I know that I didn't talk about food today, but this special Panna deal is to pass by and I wanted to let you know about it! 

   This year, Panna earned both a James Beard Award and an IACP award. To celebrate, they're offering a 7-day free trial (cancel anytime), then 50% off a year's membership!  It is so much fun to cook with these famous chefs! 

This post contains affiliate links.  If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you.  All opinions expressed are our own.  Thank you for your support.​​​​​​​​​

      This post was originally written for Memorial Day last year.  It has been a busy, crazy time for my girls and I the past few weeks, so I didn't get to repost this for you in time for Memorial Day this year.  We all spent that weekend much differently than we did last year, but we did take the time to remember the meaning of this holiday.  Since it will only be a few weeks until July 4th, this post is still appropriate and I hope that you can use some of the ideas and inspiration that I shared.  

 
     Memorial Day and Independence Day are special to me.  There are many veterans in my family and one of my Uncles gave the ultimate sacrifice as he trained to help keep our land free.  It nearly broke my Dad's heart for him to lose his brother and he kept the newspaper clipping in his wallet for the rest of his life.  My Dad served in WWII and rarely spoke of his experiences there.
    While traveling with my husband lately, he talked to me about his time in Viet Nam, recalling some frightening moments there and I am so grateful that his life was preserved.  I am so grateful for the freedoms that we have that have been bought with a tremendous price throughout history and for those who continue to sacrifice so much to serve and defend in this world of turmoil.
    It does seem odd that we celebrate such a sober holiday as Memorial Day with backyard barbecues and  swim parties.  But, it is because of those who fought and died for our freedom that we are able to do the things we do the way we do them.  We can travel from state to state without hindrance.  We can buy the food that we want to eat.  We can celebrate the way we want to celebrate and observe our religious customs in any way we choose to do so.  This is not the case in many places in the world.  What a glorious blessing it is to live in this free country.    
​       To prepare for a Patriotic Celebration, with swimming, grilling and family,  I headed to Dollar Tree to pick up most of what I needed.  I was so excited about the things I found there to help get everyone ready for the patriotic holidays. Here are the things that I brought home with me!

,      One of the things that caught my eye right away was, of course, the sparkly beaded ribbon. (You can see it in the photo above.)  They had it in red, white & blue!  I knew I had to do something with it! If you buy a supply of it on line, there are 32 rolls of ribbon in a case.  I picked up 3 rolls at the Dollar Tree  in my neighborhood. I decided that I would make a printable with a saying that I love to put on display in our tablescape.  Here is what I did, click on the pictures:

You can download and copy the print for your own use by clicking the button.

     Our family likes to celebrate with a barbecue and for dessert, some ice cream is in order!  Look at the ideas I got from walking into Dollar Tree! 

   I love the battery powered star light strands that I put on the tiered server!   You can't beat the price.  If you want to order a case, there are 24 in a case! 
     If you have a large family, you can order all of your supplies online and have them delivered for free to your local store.  Just go to the Dollar Tree website to check it out. 

     These ideas would be great for July 4th as well! Here is a slide show with some images just to give you an idea of what I did.  I will expand on this at the family party.

     The end result of an ice cream sundae was so delicious! It looked good and tasted good! I think that the end result speaks for itself! 

     I think the ice cream bar is going to be a hit, with a little help from Dollar Tree!

     Like our free printable?  There are more available to you when you subscribe to us on the newsletter.  
​     Hope you are having a cool summer so far!  

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     July 4th, Independence Day, is Tuesday!  We have been talking about what to do for it this year and what our favorite memories from years past have been! 

Favorite Memories of Fourth of July!

     Some of my favorite memories are crafting things to display and add as a reminder of the day! The red, white and blue and the beautiful colors of the fireworks fill me with exhilaration and excitement. Family times together in a free land have always been important to me.  The photo above is something I made two years ago while I was staying with Alicia after she had given birth to my grandson.  Her husband was playing in a locally popular band that year in Provo and they were able to perform in the preliminary show ahead of Journey in the BYU stadium! That is an exciting memory!     You can go to the directions for the patriotic wall hanging here.  You can find other patriotic plans and songs here and here.  Don't forget our free printable and frame idea here! 

     Alicia says that she loves a good barbecue and swim party on the Fourth.  I am with her.  Here in Phoenix, you can't have a barbecue without the swimming, or you will die.  But, anywhere you are, swimming and food are always fun to enjoy together before the fireworks. 

     Maddy says that part of that barbecue food should be pie! Her favorite pie is Strawberry Rhubarb! We did an entire series on pies, plus we have added a few more.  You can find them all here.  But, Lindsey is the one who makes a mean Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie in this family and the recipe isn't on our blog yet.  So, maybe we are just going to have to have her put it on here as one of Renny's Recipes soon. 

     Lindsey says she loves a good fireworks show! Growing up in Phoenix, we were never able to do our own fireworks.  Just recently they have been made legal again.  But, we would take the kids, when Glen didn't have to work, to watch one of the big shows somewhere.  Lindsey says it was always exciting. Now, even if it isn't July 4th, fireworks make her feel very patriotic. 

     What do you love to do on Independence Day?  Whatever you do, do it safely and have fun and remember to give pause and think about our free land! Talk to you next week!