Four July

The Fourth of July is a day marked by many anniversaries - other than the better-known national holiday type - at our house.

Number one, Katy and I had our first date on July 4, 1992. Ten years ago. Wow. That seems like a long time to me.

Number two, C&C both slept through the night for the first time on July 4, 1999 - three years ago. Strangely, that seems like an even longer time ago. It's hard to believe that they have grown up so much in a mere three years.

We had a busy Fourth. The day started with a trip to the local parade and then some friends' for lunch and swimming. Then home for an extremely short nap. Then a small get-together with some of our neighbors, followed by the traditional fireworks viewing - from a spot about 50 yards from our house. We can see three different shows from there, plus all the miscellaneous illegal stuff getting launched in the surrounding neighborhood. It made for a long day but it was a good day.

Here are some pictures: Claire caught some candy, and wore mom's hat. Cameron watches for more old-fashioned cars. Then we all went swimming!

Yesterday I made homemade ice cream for the holiday. It's kind of a tradition for me to make a gallon of the stuff under the pretense that it's for the little block party we usually have in our cul-de-sac, and then have nobody at the party want any. So then (horrors) I have a lot of ice cream left and I have to (gasp) eat it myself. Of course, now there are a few more kids on the block, and they will always eat some ice cream - but nobody over four years old (myself excepted, of course) had any last night.

Here are my quick tips for good homemade ice cream:

1. Make it up the night before and chill it in the fridge all night. Most recipies I have seen call for an hour or two but if the mixture isn't totally chilled you can get ice crystals in the end product. And who wants that?
2. If the recipe has eggs in it, strain it through a sieve before you chill it. Invariably there will be some bits of egg white that didn't get broken up when you were beating the eggs, and they will end up as little cooked egg bits in the ice cream. If you were planning on using that as an excuse to eat it for breakfast, well, leave them in - but it kind of grosses me out.
3. Mix something in with the ice cream. I myself am a big fan of crushed oreos - but anything will do. It's hard to get perfectly smooth homemade ice cream, and something that adds a little texture to the end product will mask any graininess in the ice cream.
4. Use whole milk - and don't skimp if the recipe calls for heavy cream or half and half. Come on, it's ice cream - live a little! It makes a big difference.