Red, White and New Traditions

One of our absolute favorite things about living in White Bear Lake were the weeks leading up to the Fourth of July. With Manitou Days, parades, fun, games, Marketfest, our neighborhood children’s bike parade on the morning of the 4th and all of the festivities wrapping up with a giant fireworks show over the lake. We’d host a BBQ every year and then take in the fireworks at the edge of the water. It was always so fun, so Norman Rockwell.

I was feeling a little homesickness as the 4th approached. I had envisioned that a state that does everything BIG would definitely do Independence Day in a festive manner. That was not the case. The local celebrations seemed rather lacking and the fireworks shows even more. Severe drought will do that. We had to set out to make our own new traditions.

I thought it would be fun to do something with our new neighbors, many of whom are transplants and also don’t have family BBQs to attend. A children’s parade was considered, but I was worried that it could very well be 95 degrees at 10am, so marching children down un-shaded asphalt probably wouldn’t be good for morale. Another neighbor volunteered to pull their grill out to their front yard and host, and I started inviting everyone in the neighborhood. Our first (annual?) neighborhood 4th of July BBQ and potluck was born.

As we prepared for the upcoming BBQ, we did have some festivities to attend. On June 29th, the Hill Country Galleria had an all day festival (like Marketfest) and fireworks at sunset. We didn’t show up until 8:45 pm due to the record breaking 108 degree weather. Because the twilight doesn’t linger quite as long as in MN, we didn’t have to wait until 10 for the fireworks to start. At 9 pm, they were booming. It was a decent, if somewhat modest display, lasting about 10 minutes. Perfect for two little girls who were a bit freaked out by the noise. We were also sitting near ground zero for the explosions. The cardboard shells were falling around us and the smell of sulfur was thick in the air. The aforementioned temps had made the sidewalk a rather toasty place to sit, even after sunset. However, we were not caught up in crowds and on our way afterwards quickly. I’m glad the girls were able to see some fireworks that didn’t culminate in a forest fire.

The first boom sounded and Lily basically attached herself to Loran’s side.

The morning of the 4th, with no children’s parades to ready for and no influx of guests converging on our house in the afternoon meant we were able to have a leisurely morning of yard work and cleaning, followed by Ella and Loran napping mid-day, in a most patriotic way. Look at that sleepy display of red, white and blue!

The girls and I worked on cupcakes for the party. I may never make cupcakes the same way again, these little ice cream cone cupcakes were so easy, so adorable, and a big hit with the kids and adults.

Someone was very excited to get ahold of one…

Cupcake “Ice Cream” Cones

Prepare a box mix according to the directions. Stand 24 flat bottomed sugar cones up in mini-muffin pans. Fill each 2/3 full with batter, bake according to cupcake directions. Let cool, frost with ‘whipped’ frosting and decorate! I used bulk cherry flavored candies as my cherry on top. To transport the cones, I cut x’s into a shirt box with an x-acto knife. Easy! Adorable!

The party was a blast, we had a great turn-out, everyone brought amazing food, and a good time was had by all. Not bad considering we’re all mostly strangers. It was the first time many of us met, however, we all seem to get along great! I look forward to getting to know our new neighbors through the years, and create even more memories! We had a blast! The girls were so excited to be playing with their new friends. A kiddie pool was assembled, which led Lily to needing three complete wardrobe changes. The first occurring after she pulled a lawn chair to the side of the pool with the intention of dangling her feet in. She perched herself on the very edge of the chair so her feet could reach the water and the chair tipped forward, dumping her into the pool. She screamed, and we plucked her out, but truth be told, it was really funny.

Stock photo, but accurately portrays Lily’s reaction.

The children ran around the yard, played with the water and had a blast playing with our neighbor Matt who entertained them and us with his antics. As the sun set, people slowly drifted home and a group of us remained enjoying the beautiful night with a few adult beverages while the remaining children burned off the last of their energy. Finally around 9:30, coincidentally when a wagon of fireworks was rolled out, Lily announced she was tired and ready to go. We watched the guys play with a few sparklers and shoot a roman candle and then made our way home. 

We drifted off to sleep feeling happy and content in our new neighborhood. While I loved fireworks, and have rarely missed them on any given 4th, I wasn’t really missing them last night. Laughing and having fun in the new neighborhood was just what we needed to add an extra layer of ‘home’ to our new Texas life.