The Fireworks Are For Him

My husband was born on the Fourth of July.  As a small child, he really thought that the fireworks were for his birthday each year.  That leaves a lot to live up to in the celebrating department.  He is also an extrovert who loves to be surrounded by people and at the center of attention, so his birthday is his second favorite day of the year.  (His absolute favorite is Christmas Eve).

Usually we are at the beach on the 4th, but this year, with a 2 week old, we decided we had better stay put.  For the big 3-5, my husband wanted more than burgers on the grill (he was pining for my mom’s annual lobster dinner), so we decided to invite his family to a seafood grill dinner.

Like every good Italian boy, he loves to cook, and we had so much fun all day prepping the food that would go on the grill.  I love this about my husband, because instead of the stress of entertaining we have the joy of preparing, and there is a lot of love there.  All of the kids flood into the kitchen and ask to help, and except for a brief moment when a child spilled a bottle of water on a tray of crab cakes, their help really is helpful.  It amazes me that we can put on a dinner party for 15!  The other great thing about entertaining with my husband is that his mother and aunt are insistent on doing all of the dishes — who am I to disagree?

Without further ado, here are some snapshots of our celebration.  I was away nursing when the seafood buffet was set, so I don’t have a picture of that, but the menu was crab cake sliders with coleslaw and Old Bay mayonaise, grilled pesto shrimp and scallops, clams and mussels steamed in white wine and shallots, and a caprese salad.

The kids and I had fun making this awesome surprise Flag Cake, and of course we finished up the day at our town’s beautiful fireworks display.