Is it just me, or do relaxing, long weekends make anyone else exhausted?

It’s been a pretty low-key weekend around these parts. We spent Saturday at Typhoon Lagoon, and on Sunday, we decided to invite some friends over for dinner.

My husband is in a monthly poker game with a group of neighborhood guys, and over the past couple years, we’ve grown close to two couples in particular. We have three daughters who were born within six months of each other — instant BFFs!

It’s nice. They’re all the kind of friends now that the house doesn’t have to be in perfect order (and the kids destroy it within 45 minutes anyway!) and entertaining is always easy.

So we spent Sunday watching the Casey Anthony closing arguments (don’t judge) and getting ready for the BBQ. DadJovi demanded another Green Goddess potato salad, I cut up the world’s biggest watermelon (thank you Costco) and I made up a batch of Sangria. Mmmmmm, spiked fruit.

After the kids swam in E’s new Redneck Pool and we stuffed ourselves on BBQ, it was fireworks time! After E touched the hot end of her sparkler on Saturday night, she wasn’t so sure about doing them again. But then Mommy had a stroke of genius — Ove Gloves!

She was so awkward in them though. It sort of reminded me of this.

(source)

What can I say? I’ve got Sheen on the brain this weekend.

After the sparklers, though, E and her two friends retreated to the house for the fireworks. E keeps claiming she likes fireworks, but whenever they start, she gets scared. Doesn’t bode well for tonight. I hope this is just a phase. I really thought she would have loved them by now.

Today, we all slept in (E slept until almost 10! It was heavenly), then watched the rest of the Casey closing arguments (seriously, STOP JUDGING ME!).

After I smoked E. at Candyland, we caught a mid-day showing of Mr. Popper’s Penguins. We loved it! OK, DadJovi and E liked it, but I LOVED it. I think it’s because I rarely go to the movies anymore unless it’s a cartoon. So even if it was a kids movie, I was just so happy to see live actors! And, to be honest, I adore this man.

I had one issue with the movie. They really need to STOP making divorced parents get back together in these family movies. Seriously, filmmakers, stop it. It never happens, and it just perpetuates the myth to the poor hopeful children of divorced parents.

As a child, thankfully I had no illusions of my parents reuniting (I know and love them both, but I can’t imagine how they ever were together in the first place!) but I know plenty of kids who held onto to the ideal of their “perfect family” reuniting. Ain’t happening.

Other than that, it was adorable and some old friends appeared in it — Cooper from “Brothers and Sisters;” Uncle Junior from “The Sopranos” and Detective Bookman from “Seinfeld.” And, seriously, I could watch Jim Carrey for hours. I hope there’s an extended version when it’s released on DVD. I get the impression he did a lot of ad libbing.

And I had one more mission for the day — getting E. to pose for her annual Fourth of July picture. I have two flag shirts and she initially rejected both of them. She was so much easier when she didn’t care what I put on her. But then I showed her the pictures from her first three Fourth of Julys and she was ready to play my game. This may change the way I always dress her. Clearly, we’ll have to go to archives for picture proof of Mommy’s stylin’ skills.

But I can’t believe this is E’s fourth Fourth already.

 

Sadly, there was one change to this year’s annual picture. Our beloved porch rocking chair succumbed to dry rot this year. I had to improvise with E.’s mini Adirondack chair until we get a new one.

Now, we’re just relaxing before heading to another Fourth of July party tonight. I’ve heard there will be bouncehouses and fireworks. When did people start getting bouncehouses for every occasion? Oh well, E. will love it.

And I can’t forget the Ove Gloves.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!