4th of July

The Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday! The weather is warm, cook-outs are on, we get to celebrate our amazing country, and our neighborhood puts on quite the party! We began the day by putting the finishing touches on our water balloon supply... 

Every year, Cape Story puts on a fun parade based around a central theme. This year the theme was "Candy Land"! Once the final float passes by our street, a MASSIVE water fight begins- our side of the street verse the other side! We spent the previous night filling hundreds of water balloons so they were loaded and ready for battle. 

Every family on the street creates their own stock pile and gathers on the corner to combine ammo before the parade begins.

The parade began with a marching troop of soldiers, the perfect way to remind us what this day is all about. Cape Story is the first neighborhood bordering Fort Story- most days we can hear training drills from the Fort and our kiddos love spotting the S.E.A.L. boats & black hawk helicopters flying over the bay. Growing up in this military town constantly reminds me of my neighbors sacrifice. 

^^ Poor Ikey was startled by the necklace that was perfectly tossed from a float! 

^^ The Beach Cart Brigade!

^^Our neighborhood President & all her spirit! We love Empsy!

^^ Poor W received a water balloon straight to the chest! He quickly retreated to the safety of our front yard for the rest of the fight! 

^^ The final float was secretly a water attack from the opposing side of the street! And the battle begins! 

^^ Matt being the kid-at-heart that he is, was in the middle of it all. He was the commander leading an army of 8 year olds, launching balloons and pouring 5 galloon buckets on anyone who shot against us! 

^^ After the parade, there is a party in the park- complete with live music, breakfast sandwiches, donuts, and an ice-cream truck! 

^^ Nutty-buddy cheers! 

^^ My Dad & the King of the Chesapeake. These two have been watching the parade since their kids were in diapers...

^^ And here we are now!!.... with our own little guys. H&W<3 

This is a GREAT photo we re-created from the party in the park last year! Matt and I had recently moved in to the neighborhood, and The Bibee Family were our newest friends. Since then, Anne and I have grown to be besties and our boys have done the same. These two have learned to crawl, walk, talk, and explore together- as we have learned to become Mommy's along side them. 

^^ Our beloved Schaefer family girls, dancing the day away! 

^^ Headed home for nap before the next party! 

^^ Later on in the day, we hosted a cookout in our backyard. 

^^ The grill master himself!

Our cousin Sara & her boyfriend Nate spent the weekend with us... LOVE having family in town!

We ended the cookout with mini-pies & s'mores... fuel for staying up for the fireworks. 

^^ This little guy played hard all day & crashed wayyyy before the fireworks began... maybe next year! 

This was by far our best Independence Day yet. We had a blast with our friends and family & spent the day celebrating the greatness of our freedom. I am so, so thankful to be a part of the U.S.A.!

xo,

Monica

Guilt-Free Spiced Pumpkin Muffins

In the midst of all this Summer heat & humidity, I got the urge to bake with Fall flavors... most importantly, PUMPKIN. Unfortunately, pumpkin is only "acceptable" during the months of September-November. During these months, pumpkin flavored everything (beer, yogurt, coffee, cereal, etc.) stocks the grocery shelves. After that, we are left with a lonely corner shelf in the baking aisle with canned pumpkin. Being a pumpkin lover, I always puree & freeze pumpkin during the Fall months, and stock up on good canned options when I see them. Most healthy pumpkin muffins are made with apple sauce and bananas- of these, I am not a fan. I've found the banana to totally mask the flavor of pumpkin, so I cultivated this healthy recipe for my family to enjoy all year!

INGREDIENTS:

• ⅓ cup melted coconut oil 
• ½ cup maple syrup 
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice or cloves
• 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 cup almond meal (almond flour)

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 24 cups of your mini-muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (I use coconut oil spray).
• In a large bowl, beat the oil and maple syrup together with a whisk. Add eggs, and beat well. Mix in the pumpkin purée and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice or cloves.
• Add the flour and almond meal directly to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, until just combined. Fill each muffin tin to the top! 
• Bake muffins for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into a muffin comes out clean. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack for 5 minutes, then remove the muffins and let sit on the rack until completely cooled.

*** Feel free to add chopped nuts, raisins, or even choc chips / cocoa nibs to these muffins!! 

I know it's a recipe-win when Walter asked for muffin after muffin at breakfast until I cut him off! I hope you & your babies enjoy these Guilt-Free Muffins... even if it is the middle of the Summer ;-) 

xo-

Monica