4th of July celebrations

We had some friends over on Saturday for a 4th of July celebration and had a great time. There were 8 adults and 4 children all around Lucy's age, from her playgroup.

We served carnitas which is a Mexican beef dish, much like fajitas. The beef is marinated in a rub for a day or so, then sits in lime juice and onions for a few hours. We served it with all the trimmings....guacamole, fresh salsa, sour cream and Mexican cheese, all wrapped up in tortillas.

We borrowed our next door neighbour's picnic benches and set them out under the trees in the back garden for shade. The kids had their own play area around Lucy's playhouse, with a sand box, pool, trucks and balls, and a blanket for them to sit on and read books and play with quieter toys if they fancied a break. It worked perfectly and they all got along really well together.

The adults did some damage to a sizable amount of beer and wine (and the pear vodka went down well later on too).

The house and garden really performed well for entertaining and it was nice that the kids barely came inside, staying out in the garden with their wet clothes and grassy feet! Those who hadn't seen the new kitchen before loved it, and one friend saw the house for the first time since we moved in (the last time he saw it was with a view to buying it and the previous owners showed him around!).

Lucy enjoyed having her friends to play, but also showed her slightly more reserved side at times. I had set up a quiet area and she enjoyed sitting there through the meal, reading to herself and periodically looking up to see what we were all doing around her.

We haven't entertained friends for a few months, especially a relatively large group, and this party really was a pleasure to host. It was casual and easy-going, great fun and the food was edible! What more can we ask for :) The only thing we forgot to do was take photos....so apologies for the stock photo from Google!