Land of the Free, Home of the Brave

As we prepare all our food, deserts, party favors & cute outfits let's remember what this holiday is all about. Sing along with me...

The Star-Spangled Banner

  by Francis Scott Key

O say, can you see, by the dawn's early light,   

What so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming?   
Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight,   
O'er the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming;   
And the rocket's red glare, the bombs bursting in air,
Gave proof through the night that our flag was still there;   
O say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave   
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave?   
   


On the shore dimly seen through the mists of the deep,   
Where the foe's haughty host in dread silence reposes, 
What is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,   
As it fitfully blows, now conceals, now discloses?   
Now it catches the gleam of the morning's first beam,   
In full glory reflected now shines on the stream;   
'Tis the star-spangled banner; O long may it wave 
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!   

   
And where is that band who so vauntingly swore   
That the havoc of war and the battle's confusion   
A home and a country should leave us no more?   
Their blood has washed out their foul footsteps' pollution. 
No refuge could save the hireling and slave,   
From the terror of flight and the gloom of the grave;   
And the star-spangled banner in triumph doth wave   
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave!   
   

O! thus be it ever, when freemen shall stand 
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!   
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land,   
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.   
Then conquer we must, for our cause it is just.   
And this be our motto— "In God is our trust; " 
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave   
O'er the land of the free, and the home of the brave. 

xoxo, Mrs. Montgomery Thanking our Military Men & Women Like...

Happy Independence Day!

We wish you fun, family, fireworks & freedom this 4th of July!

Try to remember why we celebrate.

We hope you have just the right outfit,

all your Pinterest Projects turn out with perfection,

and your 4th is drama-free.

Here's to the Red, White & Blue!xo~Mrs. Montgomery & the RHOKCelebrating America's Birthday Like...

Mason Jar Madness

First, I want to say “What did we do without Pinterest?” I have used Pinterest for a multiude of events, TV segments, etc. It is so much fun…and addictive! 

With the 4th of July upon us, this idea is really intriguing me. The holiday is known for the picnics, park festivities, and family fun. And, I think this is a PERFECT twist to the traditional picnic. Mason Jar Meals! Serve the food in mason jars.

(From blog- Jones is Hungry)

Forget the serving bowls, forget the paper plates, and serve everything in mason jars. From the appetizers to the main course, you can find fun ways to put your meal in a jar. 

Now, there would be a bit of investment going into the jars, as well as the fact that the jars are glass. So, keep in mind, how many people are attending your picnic, as well as the location and activities that will be going along with it. You don’t want to bring a ton of glass jars filled with food and realize that the majority of the picnic attendees are children 6 and under.

(From Babble- The Family Kitchen)

And, this one takes the cake! Who wouldn’t want to at least END the 4th of July picnic with a BANG and serve cake in a jar? This is a fun and easy recipe where you pick the colors of the cake. Hmm, I think I will pick red, white, and blue food coloring for this particular event? 

Mason jar meals are definitely on my ‘to do’ list! And, hope they will be for you too! If you give it a try, please share. I would love to hear how it goes and the response from your picnic goers. 

Why not give a little style to your 4th of July picnics? 

May you all have a safe 4th of July holiday and take time to reflect WHY we celebrate… 

Stay Stylish – 

Mrs. Stylish Stepmom 

StylishStepmom.com

Patriotic Style the Crafty Way

With only 10 days until our country's 236th birthday, I thought it would be fun to give our readers a few ideas to get their crafty style poppin'! I personally like the RW&B year round, but these items will go an extra mile this year as we support Team USA in the 2012 Summer Olympics- I can't wait to see what the designers are pulling out for us there! 
I made this shirt for my daughter last year courtesy of Make it and Love it! It has been a huge hit and she can still wear it this year!

Source: makeit-loveit.com via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

Patriotic Beaded FlipFlops anyone? Most of you know that I make these like crazy! What started out as a football fundraiser for my son, has now become a popular gift item, raffle item and just all around favorite among sport moms! A few of our RHOK readers have even received a pair at our RHOK Outs.

Source: via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

For a little patriotic style around the home, or even a hostess gift you could make a patriotic Wordle like this one to frame.

Source: Uploaded by user via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

And finally I will show you what my daughter and I will be sporting this year for the 4th! I think I saw this idea on Pinterest, but never pinned it so I can't give it credit to anyone in particular. Besides at less that $8 for both shirts, the rick rack, ribbon and some Liquid Stitch that I already had on hand this was the easiest style maker ever! (I'm still not 100% sure about the bow on mine though, but for one day I guess I can bow out.)

Source: Uploaded by user via ShaRhonda @ The 4-Crow's on Pinterest

What will you we wearing and doing to get your Boom Boom Pow on?

 Hope I gave you a few ideas, if you notice I didn't even touch on all the food.

♥Mrs. Hart♥Getting my Crafty Patriotic Style on like

In Your Neck of The Woods - Bang, Bang, Pow!

I hope everyone had a safe and fun 4th of July! Didn't it seem like it went on and on and on....??? I'm not complaining on or anything. We had lots of fun with different friends and family.

Since it's time for In Your Neck of the Woods I thought I'd show you a few pictures from our holiday weekend. The housewives can't wait to see what's going on In Your Neck of the Woods as well... be sure and link up!

 The fireworks were beautiful over Oologah Lake.

Me with my long time friend

You know the drill. Link up the URL to your In Your Neck of the Woods post. Be sure and try to visit anyone else who links up if you can. It's a great way to make some new friends.

Mrs. Albright
Living it up like.....

Happy Independence Day!

The RHOK would like to wish everyone a Happy July 4th!

We pray you and your family are celebrating everything American today.

Take a moment to say thanks for the freedoms we have here in the good ol' USA.
Can you believe our country is 235 years old today?

I am thankful for the freedom of speech, religion and education.

I am also thankful for our medical system. 

We had a scare with Mr. Montgomery this week and if we did not have 

wonderful hospitals he might not be here with us this holiday.

What are you most thankful for today?

Mrs. Montgomery
Celebrating the 4th like a...

Pinning My Way to July 4th!

It's time to start thinking about the 4th of July, if you haven't already. I've been busy pinning away on Pinterest lots of fun crafts, food, and decorations for the holiday. I know I mentioned Pinterest recently, but just in case you didn't catch my excitement about it, I thought I better share with you about it one more time. It is seriously just the neatest website ever.

Do you find yourself bookmarking recipes, crafts, clothing, etc., on the Internet so you'll have them for later? Well, Pinterest lets you create boards you can pin those sites to. I have something like 53 boards on my page now. I have everything from holidays, food, kid stuff to photography on my boards. You can follow your friends and their boards and repin their stuff to your boards.

I came across this hilarious definition of Pinterest and just had to share it with you. Because, to be honest, the majority of the things I pin are things I'll never have or make. But, I pin them because I like them and there's always the possibility I may have or make them some day.

Okay, I know I said this was about preparing for the 4th of July. But, I had to share with you about Pinterest because the following awesome crafts, decor and recipes were found on Pinterest.

I love everything but one thing about Independence Day. Yep, love all but the heat. I could do without the heat. I love the colors red, white & blue. I love the drinks. I love the fireworks. I love getting together with friends/family. I love the food. Could we just move Independence Day to the 4th of May?! Then it would be perfect! I don't ask for much, really.

So, here's what I found. (You can click on the pictures and it will take you to the original websites.) If you're planning to have people over for a party and you use any of these, you will totally be the hostess with the mostess. If you're going to a party and take any of these recipes, then you will be the coolest guest there. If your kids just need some activities to celebrate the holiday.... yes, there are some of those too.

Decorate the Cups 

Decorate the Door 

Paper lantern craft for the kids

Tutorial for these super cute flip-flops

Wow your friends with these patriotic strawberries

Treats for the kids - Easy and so cute!

Fun treats - I love the little smores treat bags! 

Another super cute party favor 

Cocktails, anyone?! 

Umm... can you say, YUM!? 

Skewerlicious! 

Grand Old Flag Cheese Spread

Cute stuff, huh? And, I found it all by searching "4th of July" on Pinterest. I then "pinned" all of these to my board for safe keeping. I do plan on making a few of these. What will you be making?  Do you have plans for the 4th? Do you have any 4th of July traditions? Please share with us. We'd love to hear all about it. 

If you would like an invite to Pinterest (because you have to be invited) then be sure to leave your email address in the comments. I will happily invite you to your newest addiction. ;-) FYI .... For those of you who blog the things you make, whether it be delicious foods or the crafts you make, you'll really want to start pinning those things because it will drive traffic to your blog. 

~Mrs. Albright

Pinning on Pinterest like.....