4th of July Recap

This is the second year in a row that we have spent the 4th of July partaking in a block party with our neighbors. Everyone pitches in with food and goodies, one of the neighbors rents a snow cone machine, another neighbor rents a bounce house, someone else has kiddie pools/slip n slides out, etc. Sadly, it seems like the only time we converse with most of the neighbors on our street, but we have a great time. 

Bobby smoked some pork butt for the occasion that turned out fabulous as always and I tried making 4th of July Rice Krispies that I found on Pinterest. I found the directions on this blog quite vague, but I managed. Rice Krispie treats aren't difficult to make, but I made my first mistake in my purchase of the Rice Krispies. The directions call for 6 cups, so when I looked at the box and read that each box contained 12 ounces, I did the math in my head and figured out that I needed 4 boxes.....64 ounces....6 cups, right? Ughhhhh.....if only each box contained 12 FLUID ounces. FAIL! I got a good laugh out of that one and still have three boxes and the receipt on top of my fridge waiting to be returned. 

Anyway, I redeemed myself big time when I realized that I was out of the wax paper that I was sure I had in the drawer. I ended up emptying the remaining cereal from the bag, cutting a strip of the bag off and using that as my wax paper. Worked like a charm and I felt a lot less like the numb nut that I was 10 minutes prior. 

Aside from my absentmindedness, here are a few tips I feel the recipe is lacking:

• Don't microwave your marshmallows for "a few minutes". I found a minute and a half to be PLENTY!
• You're going to need more than 10 drops of red food coloring. She does not mention how much to use and I was scared of using too much, so my red ended up being pink and I used at least 10 drops.
• Buy two packages of marshmallows for two reasons. First, it allows for some snacking while you're making them ;o) and second, even after my very precise calculations of figuring out how much a third of the bag actually was, the division of marshmallows wasn't exact. I used 2 cups for each layer, but ended up needing an extra ounce of so from the second bag. 

Back to the block party......Jordan decided she was going to try out a kiddie pool, with her clothes on and had a blast splashing around with Dada. She also had her first experience in a bounce house and I'm pretty sure she would have fallen asleep in there if we let her.

Here are some shots from the day:

2012

2011

Aside from the Rice Krispie treats, I also attempted to follow this blog's directions and make a 4th of July Wreath that I figure I will probably keep up till Labor day.

I ordered the red and white ribbon off of amazon as suggested and was planning on getting a blue ribbon at Michael's or Joanne's, but ended up not being able to find any that was 1.5", so I settle for some a bit thinner and, clearly, I could have used at least one more spool, but oh well. I'm pleased with the overall outcome and proud to hang it on my door!

Hope everyone enjoyed their 4th! It was definitely brutal going back to work Thursday morning, but it was nice having a day off in the middle of the week as well.