My Memorial Day Weekend

The entire weekend was a complete whirlwind!

Amidst thunderstorms, my family arrived in town on Friday afternoon. I had planned on grilling bratwurst and enjoying a nice afternoon/evening outside, but since the weather was not cooperating we moved the party indoors! We still grilled, but instead of hanging outside we enjoyed lots of cocktails inside.

My mom and I made an appetizer for our party we were throwing on Saturday night and we really just enjoyed being all together.

AJ hanging out with her uncles!

Saturday we got up, made a big breakfast and then some of us hopped in the car and headed to post to check out the memorial, a museum, and some of the planes on the Air Force base. My family likes that sort of thing, so it was a nice way to spend the morning. We came back and the boys all went to the beach while my mom and I started cooking! We hosted an engagement party for D's best friend and his new fiance who got engaged this weekend. (You can read all about the recipes on my food blog, This American Kitchen.)

The party was a huge success! D's friend knew that we were planning this party, but his new fiance did not, so when she came in and realized that the party was for her, she was very excited! I was glad we were able to pull it off and that everyone had a good time.

Sunday started slowly after the partying from the night before, but as soon as we decided that we wanted to go to the lake, people started moving! We even took AJ over to cool off a little bit. She continues to think she can swim and tries to dive face first into the water, which makes me incredibly nervous. Luckily she doesn't seem to be fazed, so I guess we'll have to find her some swim lessons!

After some time playing at the lake and in the sand, we came home and stripped her down and let her play in her little plastic pool in the backyard to get some of the sand off of her. I got some of the cutest nekkid baby pictures ever! She just loves water, she can't get enough of it!

Swimming in the backyard!

We were all exhausted Sunday night and I was all cooked out after making all the food for the party on Saturday, so we ordered Chinese food and sat around and relaxed. We played in the yard for a while and my brother, sister, brother-in-law, Dad and sister's boyfriend all walked down the street to the vacant lot to get back in the lake.

Memorial Day began with pancakes and bacon and then we decided to check out the neighborhood pool for an hour before the fam had to hop in the car and head to the airport. We had a nice time sitting in the sunshine and tossing the frisbee around. AJ had to stay home because she needed a nap, but D and I took her back right before dinner so she could swim around a little bit. I think that AJ and I are probably going to try and go at least a few times a week to get out of the house for an hour or so.

All in all, we had a great weekend! We hosted a successful engagement party and had a great time spending quality time with my family. Its always sad to see them go, but I know that AJ and I will be back in Hometown, USA soon for a wedding, and we'll get to see them all again then!

How was your holiday weekend? How did you spend your time?