Summertime II: Pass the Pie

Ah, the 4th of July. The pancake breakfast, the fireworks, the pie! It's all about food and pyrotechnics, two of my favorite things! Well, I suppose I also reflected on my gratitude for having been born in this beautiful land of freedom and prosperity. I can never get through "America" without crying. I truly do love my country. (And fireworks--I LOVE fireworks!)

Here are my chickies, posing in the front yard. I made the dress Natalie is wearing when Ella was her age. It was fun to give it another wear.

These two are BUDS. Oh my goodness, they love each other. Tyler is six months younger than Natalie (and a wee bit shorter, but bear in mind that a couple inches of Nat's height comes from her hair) and they are best friends.

For the past I don't know how many years we have been enjoying the Six Flags Fiesta Texas 4th of July fireworks spectacular from the mall parking lot behind the park. Same show, minimal crowds. Lots of friends come and we all bring treats and sit around in camp chairs while the kids basically play in traffic. (Well, near traffic.) I look forward to it every year.

You know, I'm not usually one for pie. Given a choice, I will always choose cake, then cookies, because those are usually the options containing chocolate. Well, and cake tends to be covered with frosting... mmm, frosting... However, twice a year, on Thanksgiving and the 4th of July, I must make and eat pie. For Thanksgiving they must be pecan and pumpkin, and in July I must have apple pie a la mode. I have this Mrs. Fields recipe with a crumbly top--dynamite! This year I went a little crazy because we were having dinner with lots of friends and there would be a high demand for pie. I made blueberry-blackberry and strawberry-raspberry pies from Martha Stewart Living (find the recipe here). I highly recommend the blueberry-blackberry, with vanilla ice cream, of course. This picture is my patented "get down with the desserts" pose that Greg REALLY makes fun of me for.