Maryland, My Maryland

My sisters and I have so much fun when we are together. They are my best friends!

This summer has been broken into two parts for me: the first part that I would spend in Utah, at home, and the second part I would spend in Maryland, with my family. We have finally started our Maryland portion of the summer! Yay!

I, along with my kiddos arrived in Maryland in the middle of July around 7 p.m. and it was still hotter than Hades. Ugh. How do I forget the humidity, especially for this time of year?

It's hard because I want to see my whole family at once, but it's impossible because everyone lives in different cities. So, we shuffled around for the first few nights between Paige and Todd. I wouldn't be able to make it to Robin's house til later in our trip, so her family (Robin, Buff and their kids, minus Torin) met us on Saturday at Quiet Waters Park in Annapolis. While we were there, we definitely learned that uncles bring fun, fun, and more fun!

Tiercy and Buff

First we started at the normal park swings and jungle gym for the kids; but, they are at that stage where they are too old for that and it didn't hold their interest for very long. So, Buff decided we should walk down to the water and play there. As my sisters and I ambled along catching up and chatting, Uncle Buff entertained the kids by bouncing a tennis ball for them to catch. Who knew a tennis ball could be so fun? Once we were at the water's edge there really was nothing to "play". We let the kids throw a few rocks into the water, but decided in the end that they shouldn't because the park probably pays for those rocks to designate the path.

Uncle Buff's next plan of fun was to head over to the kayaks. Boy did he succeed with the kids and they had a ball (ha, pun intended). Everyone was settled into a boat of some variety (paddle boats and kayaks), except Robin and me, and they set off for an adventure. While the kids would have had fun out there, Uncle Buff made it more fun for them. He brought the tennis ball along and they threw it from boat to boat. He also splashes. Everyone was soaked from that, so they "accidentally fell in on purpose." They all had a blast.

Ethan, Brenna, and Tyler

Ethan, Grayson, and Tyler

Let Freedom Ring

What a fabulous day we had yesterday celebrating our nation's 235th birthday!

We went to Grandma's house. It's a tradition now and the kids would rebel if we tried to do anything different.

We kept busy all day with things like: Red Rover, Tug 'O War, Jump Rope and Double Dutch, a Fire Pit, Watermelon Seed spitting contest, the children's talent show, and of course, fireworks.

Steve and I were in charge of desserts this year. And boy did we bring plenty.

The hit of the night though was this Tres Leche Torte Cake:

It so made my "meal off" so worth it. I layered the cake with Dulce De Leche thinned with milk (carmel in a can), and whip cream, and topped the final layer with skor bar. Sheer bliss.

Here is the recipe so I don't forget.

Classic Yellow Cake

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup flour

1 tsp salt

5 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup unsaltened butter - softened

1 3/4 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 1/4 cup milk

Baking:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease and lightlty flour baking pans.

Combine flour, salt and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate bowl, beat butter for about 30 seconds. Add sugar & vanilla. Beat until well combined. Add eggs to butter mixture, one at a time, beating mixture after each egg. Add dry ingredients & milk alternately to butter mixture, beating after each addition. Pour into pans.

Baking Time:

two 8-inch rounds - 25-30 minutes

or 9 x 13 pan 35-45 minuets

Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan.

NOTE: if i made this cake for the same purpose again, I would use 1 and a half times the cake recipe. I had to handle my layers with TLC because they were on the thin side. They only needed to be a little thicker.

My friend found this cake recipe from the web when she was looking for a sturdier homemade cake to use to make a dinosaur cake for her son's birthday. So, this cake is a little denser than your store bought cake, and oh, so delicious!