Independence Day!

Ryan and I decided to have a cookout for the 4th of July this year. We got started planning it sort of late, so we didn't expect too many people to be able to come. However, this was evidently one of those times when we were given something we didn't know we needed - a house FULL of friends. Our lives have been kind of stressful lately, and this huge turnout reminded us how blessed we are to have a "family" of wonderful people around us.

So many people were there! The house was bustling with conversations, laughter, and adorable children running around. It started off kind of small around 2 in the afternoon, and by the early evening, tons of our friends had shown up. We ended the night by watching fireworks in our front yard and eating popsicles. It was perfect. People didn't leave until around midnight. It was a full day and night of awesomeness.

Here are some pictures!

The table:

My first attempt at pulled pork was a success! I used this recipe in my slow cooker (which I really should bust out more often. It is a working girl's best friend).
I made an American Flag fruit pizza using this easy recipe. So it's not "symbolically correct," but I did my best with the room I had ;)

I, uh, also made this...er...watermelon cake. First of all, it ended up being a strawberry-flavored watermelon cake. I scoured greater Tulsa for watermelon Jell-O. No one had it. NO ONE. They had APRICOT Jell-O, but no watermelon. Of course, the next morning, multiple people from other towns/states told me they'd seen it in their grocery stores. How very ironic. Anyway, it would have been a lot cuter if I had had room in my fridge for the icing. Instead, it sat on the counter and got runny. This is the salvaged version. But I still think it's kind of cute. Kind of.
This is what it looked like when I cut into it - much more watermelony!
A house full of people!

Cute children!
Sparklers and popsicles!
We found this amazing bug on our garage door late at night. We think it's some kind of beetle. Cool, huh?
And that's all! I think I posted a sufficient amount of pictures...hope the rest of you had a great 4th as well!