Patriotic cupcake-cake. Jeb added a neat touch of adding 2 sparklers on both sides when he presented it to us! :)

This year was my first official Fourth of July celebration being a U.S. Citizen.  We weren't really planning anything, but on Sunday (the 3rd), it so happened some friends of ours are in the area and see if they could stop by (since we've opened the invitiation to them earlier on). We then decided to have an impromptu little party. :)  So, we had out little festivities Sunday -- Fun, Food, Friends and Karaoke!  Monday (Fourth of July), we had it easy and just relaxed.  We made some Filipino-style BBQ chicken (Jeb cooked it in a gas grill for me, which actually turned out pretty good, since I was insisting on cooking it over coal fire), had some jello shots and cupcakes left-over from the previous day.  Later that night, we went out for a drive around our town to watch some fireworks show.  We were able to see a few shows, in the comfort of our vehicle with the AC on, and without having to be eaten alive by mosquitoes! :)  The kids enjoyed it too, and had fun holding the sparklers (not inside our truck, by the way) .

One negative about being the photographer... you hardly or are never in any of the pictures!  Well, we...  and I did have a lot of fun and thankful to our friends and my family for making it a special and fun day.

Our gallery is not working (maintenance) at the moment, so I just put the pictures in here. Click to see all.

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We had a fun weekend.  We had friends of ours visit and stay overnight at our place Saturday through Sunday.  After our guests left Sunday noon, the kids, Jeb and I went to go try out a new fishing pond later in the afternoon.  The pond is also by a playground so after we were done fishing, the kids played in the playground.  Jordan, Aubrey and even Amberly was able to catch a fish!  It was a nice, fun, and a relaxing family day.  We all had a great time.

Our kids with our friends' girls played in our parks playground and then we walked around the pond in our neighborhood.

Fish, fish, fish... fishing!

I've slacked with my updates lately.  We haven't planned much anything for this years' summer, mostly just staying close to home, but we are trying our best to fill and enjoy our nice sunny days in the best possible way we can.  To give you a lil' inside scoop into our Summer so far... let me show them to you in pictures! :)

The start of Summer this year was quite slow coming.  But here, the kids couldn't wait to go play outside with bubbles (and at another time, Peaches falls asleep on the deck with the lulling sound of the lawn mower), the second it got warm out!

We cleaned up the yard a bit, picking up dead branches and sticks... piled them into the firepit and we had a little campfire.

The girls having fun outside, finding flowers and all! :)

Went on a trip to the garden center at our local Home Depot to pick up some plants to plant and landscape around our yard. 

Took walks around our neighborhood pond and saw a family of geese and a sole male duck swimming in the pond.  The kids love this!  They love walking around our block, to the park so they can play and then to the pond where they can watch the water and hope to catch and see (or feed) some ducks or geese.

And whenever they get a chance... they love running around the backyard the most.  We also got a water table this year, and they love playing with that one as well.

Most of the days... Aubrey enjoys her days just being outside and sitting by our trees, looking at flowers or / and bugs.  Probaby, pretending she's a fairy princess in a beautiful garden.  She's such a girl :)  

More pics and posts to come!... :)

Right corner of the deck for my herb garden

Left side of the deck for my herb garden

I've always wanted to start an herb garden, ever since we started growing our own garden and vegetables.  This year, my herb garden became a reality.  I love it!  I love cooking with herbs, and fresh herbs from your own garden is just wonderful.  No more special trips to the store (or sending my Hubby out to pick it up), for herbs that I ran out or don't have when I need them.  My herb garden was designed by my sweet husband, Jebby... and I love it!  The different sized cedar tubs just gives it a nice touch and look.  Also the self-contained herbs in each pot/tub will make sure that it won't go wild and multiply all over the place like a weed!  I have a total of 15 different herbs + a cherry tomato plant.  Among my collection or herbs are:

• Basil
• Cilantro
• Chives
• Oregano
• Rosemary
• Thyme
• Mint
• Stevia
• Lavender
• Sage
• Flat Parsley
• Curly Parsley
• Marjoram
• Lemon Balm
• Tarragon

What's also nice is that it is on our deck and just off my kitchen, so I can pick it when I need it.  I can also save and dry the herbs come winter months, or move them around to change the look, or bring them into the house if there are some herbs that couldn't survive the winter. :)