July 4 weekend

Here are a few snaps of our long Independence Day weekend. We enjoyed a morning trip out to the beach, fried seafood and hush puppies for lunch, then homemade pasta with our new Kitchenaid pasta maker. When we first moved here N set a goal to master some fresh, authentic Italian recipes at home. He has been impressing us lately with tangy marinaras, homemade meatballs and fresh linguine, spaghetti and ravioli. It is a welcome sight to come home from the playground or music class to a hubby in an apron, crafting some complex Italian meal at the end of our days. The purple ravioli was L's idea. We thought this was the one meal that fell flat, but L and C loved it.

L and I had a girls morning on Saturday: shopping for sewing and craft supplies, trying on hats and sunglasses at TJ Maxx and lunch out. Then L and N had a date today at the local mini golf place. It's fun and somewhat novel to have alone time with just one child and L needs a break from little bro every once in a while. She truly misses him while she's away, too.

N is headed to Hawaii for a couple days of work this week. It's a tough job he has, but we're all glad he suffers through.