4th of July

4th of July

Absolute Anonymität
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I couldn’t resist sharing my 4th of July Snapchat photo.  I hope your Fourth was fun.  We started our day with a birthday breakfast for Alec.  He was here with Olivia for the weekend.

Happy Birthday!

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Did you notice the portrait pancakes?  Olivia made one for each of us. How did she do?

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Just add a teaspoon or so of cocoa powder to pancake batter to create two tones of batter. She used two squeeze bottles to create her shapes and lines. Flip and eat!

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Later, Steve, Diane, and Nick came to celebrate the Fourth.  I was busy having fun and I didn’t take many photos of the day, but here are a few.  We like to play board and card games and then keep up with the score for prizes later.  Look at Alec’s steely gaze ready to psych out his opponents.  Apparently we were psyched out because he was the big winner for the day.

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We bring in “fabulous” prizes and then go in turn selecting and opening a prize.  The last place person goes first and then the first place person goes last enabling him to steal any of the other gifts already opened or choose a new one.  I’m sure there is a name for this but it eludes me right now.  Look how serious we are contemplating our choices! Ha!

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Davis was a good sport with his shower cap but was able to trade it a little later for some cool sunglasses. He is holding my prize for the day – a pink lawn flamingo!

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I used the last of the Fourth of July Peeps for our red velvet cake. Olivia created a marshmallow traffic jam with them.   Happy Birthday USA!

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Red Velvet Cake

1 ½ cups sugar

½ cup shortening

1 stick butter, room temperature

2 eggs

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1  1-oz bottle red food coloring

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cream sugar, shortening and butter, beat in eggs.  Mix flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl.  Add to sugar mixture, alternating with buttermilk.  Add food coloring and vanilla.  Pour into three greased and floured 9-inch cake pans.  Bake 20 minutes or until cake pulls from edges of pans and center springs back when lightly touched.  Or, pour into 24 cupcake papers and bake about 15 minutes.  Cool on wire racks and frost.

 

Frosting:

1 stick butter, room temperature

1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature

1 1-pound box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix butter and cream cheese until well-blended.  Slowly stir in sugar, add vanilla.  Beat until fluffy.  If making cupcakes, you may have to make more frosting if you want piled high decorated frosting.

 

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One Response to 4th of July

  1. DOROTHY ALLCORN July 8, 2015 at 10:47 pm #

    SOUNDS LIKE YOU HAD A FUN DAY. I STILL REMEMBER THE JULY 4th WE SPRNT WITH YOU. THEY JUST MADE SEBRING A “GOLF CART FRIENDLY” COMMUNITY. I DON’T KNOW IF I WILL SHOP FOR ONE OR NOT????–BUT YOURS SURE ARE FUN!

    WE WANTED TO PLAN A TRIP YOUR WAY THIS SUMMER, BUT IT IS SWIFTLY GETTING AWAY FROM US–ESPECIALLY YOU! G-R-R- :o(

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