4th of July Weekend 2010

Woowee!!!  

I am so far behind in posting again!  July has been a very busy month!! 

Here are pictures of our Independence Day fun.  We started in Arco with the 4th of July Parade.

Okay...let's get this show on the road!!

Kami, Collin and Carlee waiting some what patiently for the parade to start. 

The kids really could wait for the candy that the parade participants throw out to them.  It's the only reason they want to go!!!!  The parade was very short.  It's too bad that more people don't enter this parade like they do for Atomic Days, but it is a holiday and I'm sure a lot of people leave town.

We are now in Idaho Falls to watch the BIG fireworks that evening.  We have to camp our all day to keep our spot.  The kids had tons of fun and they were very good through the whole thing.

Getting in the spirit!!

Sweet!!!

Of course there were lots of things to buy and play with.

Grandma Tina came later for the fireworks.  Collin loved see how huge the fireworks were up close, but Carlee was scared of the loud noises and made herself fall asleep!  That's her way of shutting things out.  

It was so worth going to though, except for getting out of the crowd and where we parked.  Took a good hour of bumper to bumper cars and we were just a block away from the road we needed to get on to go home!!  Whew!!

Remember the Brownie Dilemma?

Remember the brownie dilemma that I had some time ago. No? Well you can read about it at my A Little Brownie Help Please post. Well, I did get in touch with a Baking Guru that was recommended to me by a commenter who recommended some tips that I could do. The next time I make brownies, I will have to come back and do a few of these tips. I don't make brownies very often because how they turn out, but if these tips work, the I'll make brownies regularly as I do cakes.

Here are the tips listed below:

If you are using dark metal pans, please know that they are absorbing more heat and brown more than other baking pans.

Brownies are done when the bars begin pulling away from the sides and when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out still sticky.

You might be overcooking.

Your oven might not be heating evenly.

The best pans for baking are light colored and shiny.

New Blog Look

So I have changed the way my blog looks and I really like it. I found a free template from a wonderful lady that does her own blogging templates. I think the new looks is a little better and has a more baking feel to it and it was light and airy.. lol.

I've been really missing in action for a good while now, but hopefully will be back soon. Just have been busy with my classes and home life and haven't been able to do much cooking. Well, I did do a recipe for strawberry cake I think it was. It was a white cake, topped with strawberries and covered with whipped cream topping. I made it for my sister in law and she really enjoyed it. That was my first time making it. I will have to find the recipe and post it for those that may be interested.

Alice in Wonderland Cake

This is my first attempt at a topsy turvy cake. I watched a tutorial, but didn't exactly follow the directions. I learned a lot and I think I am ready to try to make one the proper way. I made this cake for my twin nieces' 12th birthday party. My husband said this is one of my best cakes, and I think I might have to agree, which is pretty amazing because my daughter's birthday party was the night before and I was working on about 3 hours sleep.

Roller Skate Cake

My daughter was having an 80's themed birthday party that included a trip to the roller rink (dressed up in totally awseome 80's gear). I made this cake for her. The roller skate is made of Rice Krispy Treats covered in fondant.

Cake For a Baby Shower

I'm thinking about doing a cake for my sister in law since she is due this November with another boy. I haven't made a cake like this before so this should be interesting and fun. Although I think i will probably do a few practice run before that time. I do have an idea of doing a cake that looks like two or three personalized baby gifts, kind of like wrapped gift boxes on top of one another, but I know that will really be a challenge for a noob like me. I guess I better look around online and such and see what I can come up with. I never did something like this for her with her other two and wanted to something special for her at least once and try to do a baby shower for her. Hopefully it will be good turn out.

The Last Airbender Cake

My neighbor asked me to make a cake for her son's birthday. They were taking him and his friends to see The Last Airbender. I had seen previews, but had to do a little research to find out enough to make a cake. In the movie, the Avatar can control the elements, so I decided to cover the cake with fondant and paint (with food dye) a section of each cake for each element. I added round disc on each section with the symbol of the element. Then I made a figurine of Avatar. I enjoyed painting the fondant and trying out a new technique I have very little experience with.