4th, and other fun stuff

First and foremost, the decorations. Gobs of fun ones came my way through the number of crafty websites I follow. Here was one of them:
I wasn't crazy about it when I first finished it, b/c I like my wreaths to have a more organic shape. But I really do like it a lot now. And best of all, I had all the supplies on hand except the wreath. So that baby only cost $3!
And a fun bunting from the dollar tree...
This one came from another crafty website. How cute is that?! I didn't know where I'd put them when I saw it, but I had to make them. I just noticed that two of them look the same size... they're all different. The 2x2 stick was... I dunno $3, and I bought some good rope too, for about $3. That's a little pricey, but worth it.
... and to balance the fireplace. I'm not in love, but it'll do. This star was a Target $1 spot treat. I think it was originally purple, fall decor.
USA was from the $1 spot too last year, it might've been $2.50 though. So I spent $10 this year. Not bad.
Anyway, we had fun. Last year was the first time we invited over the L family. They're now good friends. And we had them over again. We started with the kids in the pool. Then this time we were able to grill out. And we ate, and ate, and ate. Nothing traditional, but it was good. We had 3 kinds of chips and dip, apple salad, kabobs, baked beans, cupcakes with festive sprinkles for the kids to decorate. Then we shot fire works. I don't really have any good pictures. But we did have fun.

We started with the fun little tanks and ended with the big ones. L's little one didn't like them. She was done pretty quickly. She was exhausted too. Chloe wanted to be done when the storm clouds came but didn't want to miss everything. So she kept begging us to go inside and ended up watching from inside the car. Everett was the only kid that loved it. He stuck it out through the sprinkles, to the bitter end :) He even got to light one. The weather was awesome! Nice and cool, good wind...It was a late night though. They HAD to nap today. Oh, I forgot! On our kabobs, we got to put the only thing that we've gotten out of our garden, 3 potatoes.And other fun stuff: The current project. When I went to pick up the kids from SC 3 weeks ago, I found out that they have a Habitat for Humanity store in town. Why didn't I know about this?! I was SO stoked! So we went, and I found 5 good chairs, that I quite like, without a table (places aren't usually willing to split a set.) Did I mention that I needed 5 chairs for my antique family dining table? It seats 8, but I'm going to put a bench on one side. So, yeah, 5, odd right? But I found them! I wanted ladder backs for comfort, but this is actually super comfy. The only thing not perfect is...... country shabby unchic. But that's not really a problem now is it.Two coats of black paint, a little distressing, and two coats of spray poly. (I love how the green peeks through.)Oh, and some fabric, and that problem is solved. Now I have 3 chairs for my crafting tab... I mean formal dining room table.:)3 down, 2 to go.