Summer Vibes: 4th of July, Tanning, Summer Water, and more!

Hi guys! I hope you all had a good Fourth of July! Did you guys light some fireworks? If so, I hope they were lit! 🔥 

My Fourth of July was really fun! My cousin Kenna came to Tennessee to come celebrate with us, which was a blast. On July 3rd me and Kenna watched Hamilton for the first time ever on Disney Plus! If any of you readers out there are Hamilton fans, comment down below if you watched it this past weekend. I really liked it, and of course I sang along to all the songs! Shoutout to my friend Lyla for making me a Hamilton fan.😂 

The next day, aka Independence Day, we went to my aunt’s house and swam in her pool. I don’t know about you, but I love to go swimming and I love fireworks. So when the time came to light em’ up, it was really fun to watch from inside the pool. Overall, my Fourth of July was really fun and exciting, and I hope your guy’s was too! Comment what you did to represent America.

Here’s a list of some of my favorite pool party party songs to celebrate with if you guys are interested:

• Party in the USA

• Party Rock Album

• Dynamite

• Cake by The Ocean

• Watermelon Sugar

• Three Little Birds

• God Bless the USA

• 24K Magic

• My House

Anyway, so far my summer has been HOT. Like, really hot. Which means you’re going to be sweating a lot if you go outside to exercise or play a sport, which I do. (When I’m not lazy.) Another popular way to take advantage of the summer sun is to get tan. When I went to the beach, I came back pretty tan, but since then, my golden color has faded. But not all hope is lost! I read somewhere that the sun shines just as brightly and strongly where I live as the beach! That means that going outside in my bathing suit and tanning on my trampoline actually works. So you can say I’ve been spending a lot of time outside lately, trying to regain my color. If you guys find yourselves in the same situation as me, follow my lead! Go outside in your bathing suit and read a book or go on your phone. Do this everyday for a couple of hours, and you should see some difference. Soon, you’ll be rocking your tan look and you’ll be able to wear bright colors again. 😂

However, while tanning, you’ll need to be careful not to damage your skin. You only get the skin you have now, which means you should take care of it the right way. Here are some tips on how to tan naturally without damaging your skin:

• Apply oil on your skin to tan evenly. Some oils you can use are: Coconut oil, Olive Oil, and Avocado Oil. 

• Turn your body frequently to get tan on all sides. For example, lie on your back for 30 minutes, then switch and lay on your stomach for another 30 minutes.

• Wear as little as possible to tan evenly and be under direct sunlight.

• Wear sunglasses to cover your eyes and chapstick to protect your lips.

• Do not stay under the sun for too long! Take it from me, you will burn. 

*Another thing to know is that there are certain times that you should tan. Avoid tanning from 10 am to 4 pm. Tanning from 4pm to 6pm is safer for your skin because the sun is going down, meaning the sunlight will be less direct and there will be less radiation.

Now, with all this tanning, you’re going to get hot. Especially when it’s literally 90 degrees out. Which means you’re going to need a way to stay refreshed, and frankly, the little fans just don’t do the job.

But don’t worry! Today I’m going to provide you guys with 3 refreshing drink recipes you can make at home, and use to stay cool during summer. (They are also just plain delish) So let’s get right into these recipes: 

1. Easy Water Refresher

I just made this drink a week ago, and I loved it. It tasted great, and it was healthy too. Now, I didn’t use an exact recipe, just some things I had at home. 

For this you’ll need:

• Water

• Your choice of berries (I used strawberries and blueberries)

• Lemon juice

First you're going to pour yourself a cup of nice and cool water. You can use ice, if you want. 

Next add your berries.

Lastly, you're going to add a splash of lemon juice. Like I said, this recipe isn’t really precise. I added about 4 drops, and it wasn’t sour but still had good flavor. Test it to see how much you like. 

And then you’re done! Super easy, right? This recipe is definitely one of my favorites.

2. Copycat Chick Fil A Lemonade Recipe

Oh my gosh, if you know me at all, you know that I literally love Chick Fil A lemonade. I feel like I crave it at least once a week. Chick Fil A is life! So when I found this recipe, I was super excited to give it a try. It definitely tasted really good and I hope you like it:

Ingredients:

• Juice from 10 lemons (Chick Fil A uses Sunkist)

• 5 ⅓ cup water

• 1 cup sugar

Directions:

1. Combine lemon juice, water, and sugar in a pitcher.

2. Whisk until sugar is dissolved

3. Refrigerate until served over ice.

*Tip: I was confused on how to squeeze a lemon when making this, so I googled it and discovered that there is a certain way you should squeeze. First, roll the lemon on your cutting board. This will make it super soft and easier to cut. Next, cut the lemon long ways, as this will give you more juice. Lastly, squeeze. You can use your hands, but I found that it will actually give you way more leverage if you take some kitchen squeezer thing and use that to clench the lemon. You’re welcome. 

Also, if you want to give frosted lemonade a try, like I do, here is a bonus recipe I have yet to try but I’m sure will be really tasty.

Follow the steps above to make lemonade, but instead add the lemonade to a blender. Next you're going to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and blend it all together. I haven’t made this, but I have had the Chick Fil A version and I’m telling you, it is AMAZING! 

      3. Summer Water

This is one I have yet to try, but is pretty similar to the first and looks really yummy. I stole this recipe off of Pinterest, so here you guys go:

Ingredients:

• 1 liter water

• 1 cup strawberries

• ½ tbsp cinnamon

• Juice from 1 lime

Blend all of those together, add crushed ice, and voila! 

Hope you guys enjoyed this very summery post, if you guys liked it, maybe I’ll make another one. Hope you guys are having a great summer! Don’t take it for granted, trust me, in winter, you’re going to miss these summer days and memories. I just love swimming, don’t you? Oh, I almost forgot, another reason why I’ve been outside a lot is because I’m practicing volleyball. My tryouts are tomorrow, and I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of nervous. But I’m still super excited! I love volleyball, and I really hope I make the team. Wish me luck! Anyways, I’ll see you guys in a couple of days. Bye! ☀️