July 4th: Cake and Fireworks

As mentioned earlier, the 4th of July is my birthday. Cake and fireworks are ALWAYS a part of the celebration. However, this year was a little different. This year was a milestone year for me, I turned 30. I wasn't really sure what to think about it. However, my daughter started my day off with some encouraging advice that put a spring in my step and a song in my heart! The exchange went  little something like this:

Daughter: Good morning birthday girl.
Me: Thank you sweetie. Good morning to you
Daughter: (singing) "Happy birthday to you....happy birthday to you...happy birthday Mommy...happy birthday to you." How old are you Mommy?
Me: 30 baby
Daughter: Ok let's clap to 30 (I think this is something they do in school when a friend has a birthday, but they are between the ages of 3-5. Not a lot of clapping needed.)
Me: Oh, um, ok
Daughter: (clapping and counting) 1, 2, 3,...........23 Wow Mom, this is a lot!
Me: Yeah baby it is
Daughter: 23, 24, 25, 26 ,27, 28, 29, 30! Happy birthday Mom

Then I hid under the covers for the rest of the day. Later she sang and clapped for me again, was she taunting me? Oh and to top it off, my husband decided to get in on the action this time.

Daughter: (clapping and counting) 10, 11, 12
Husband: Are your hands burning yet? That sure is a lot of clapping.
Me: *raspberry*

So to commemorate my "oldness" we had cake with fireworks. I bet you were expecting some fancy outdoor firework shots or something. Nope, not this time. The bountiful candles on this cake, when lit, offered a pretty shocking show all by themselves. You know there are a lot of candles on your cake when your husband says, "We should have figured out a better approach to lighting these. I am getting burned, there is wax on the cake and several candles still aren't lit."

I hope you had a safe and happy 4th full of family, friends, fun and fireworks! 

P.S. For my next birthday we are sticking to outdoor firework shows and I am buying the candles that are shaped into numbers.

Happy Baking,

AJ