Buckets and Bikes

Besides the loud patriotic music that I played to wake up my kids and the blueberry sour cream waffles that followed, we celebrated the birthday of our country by gathering with some good friends with some delicious food and fun. It was us, the Hammers, the Bells, the Balls, and the Pierces. Several years ago when we spent 4th of July with them, we ate KFC fried chicken, so this year we decided to do the same thing and make it a tradition. We all brought buckets full of that greasy yet crispy hormone injected chicken. I can only handle it once a year... or maybe not even that often. We enjoyed strawberry lemonade, yummy side dishes, and rich desserts. I made The Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake. You HAVE to try it, I tell ya. Four sticks of butter, people. That includes the frosting. It is the BEST!

We continued another tradition last night too. We took our bikes down to Joe's Crab Shack in Boise and got out and rode our bikes a mile or two on the Greenbelt to Ann Morrison Park where the fireworks show is. There were 20 of us making our own bike parade. It was a hoot. I love riding along the river. We had to be real careful not to run over all of the pedestrians slowly making their way to the park. We arrived about an hour before the show. We found a big spot by the fountain for all 20 plus two more friends who drove. The fireworks were pretty good. Worth the effort, at least. The ride back to the cars was a lot of fun too. Here are some pictures from our evening.