It has become a new tradition for the Ballantyne household to host a birthday party for Eric’s sister, Sarah every July 4th. Sarah was born on July 4th, which fits her perfectly due to her love of birthdays. It is only fitting that she was born on a day where everyone celebrates the birthday of America as well. I like to think that if America was an actual person, her and Sarah would really know how to throw a party. 🙂
Sarah and her new boyfriend James. Aren’t they such a cute couple? 🙂
To start the festivities off, we followed Wisconsin tradition of boiling bratwursts in beer and onion on the stove. This tradition has been passed down from Eric’s father who is from Wisconsin and has continued through Eric. It’s the only way we fix bratwursts in our house.
From there Eric, prepped the burgers with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire Sauce, complimentary of his Weber grilling cookbooks.
Ready for the grill!
This my friends is Eric’s favorite past time… grilling. This past time has further been increased due to his new Weber Grill. Apparently we are grill snobs now and only buy all things labeled Weber. I can’t say I’m complaining though, the quality is definitely noticeable. It has also made Eric more motivated to learn the “correct” ways to grill different types of meats.
Look how hot it gets! Let’s just say our old grill did not reach that temperature… not even close.
The grill master at work!
P.S. We got our meat at this new local butcher that we found in Ballantyne called “What’s Your Beef.” The owner is named Vic and he provides fresh local meat of all kinds. You name it, he has it. The meat comes from a farm in Union County. He provides a full butcher service and handles all the meat directly. PS the meat was delicious. We will for sure be buying all of our meat there from now on. Not to mention, it was reasonably priced, even lower than the farmer’s market!
Due to bad weather ahead, we had to eat inside. 😦 Practically the moment we got everything in side, it began to pour down rain and the wind picked up. But we made the best of our birthday feast.
Lots of food to go around.
After everyone was able to stuff as much food as possible into their mouths (because it was delicious!), we headed into the living room to begin the opening of the presents.
Lot of picture taking of the happy couple. And check out all the clothes Ms. Sarah got for her birthday. Needless to say, she will not need anymore shorts for the rest of the summer!
After presents, we enjoyed cake and homemade cotton candy ice cream. I also made a frozen yogurt kind as well. I do have to fit into my wedding dress you know!
And of course more pictures of the cute couple. 😉
Finally, I have told many of my friends about Eric’s obsession with birthday cake, but now I have proof! The Bi-Lo yellow cake with Whipped Icing (IT HAS TO BE WHIPPED OR ELSE).
I’m pretty sure this was almost half of the whole cake. Oh goodness, Eric and his birthday cake. I am not joking when I say he used to buy a cake every week and eat it by himself. I have explained to him that unfortunately our wedding cake will not have whipped icing and will not be from Bi-Lo. Haha
After we filled ourselves with all things good, Eric’s mom, Sarah, and her boyfriend went out see the fireworks. It did stop raining just in time for fireworks. Eric and I were so tired that we decided to stay in. We were surprised around 10 PM with fireworks practically outside our house. Turns out that a local shopping center does a fireworks show. Eric and I watched part of the show and then turned in for the night.
Not a bad Fourth of July for me. I hope that you and all  of your families had a wonderful and safe July 4th!
The Modern Ballantyne Wife 