Happy 4th of July!

Just wanted to take a little time to wish all my readers a Happy 4th of July today! I hope everyone enjoys themselves today and tonight and I hope they have safe travels wherever they may go.

I will be spending the day with my children and my husband. We are planning on having a big Barbecue and just enjoying the time together.

Does your family have any traditions? Every 4th of July it is customary in our family that we all get together and have a Barbecue and top the evening off with a Fireworks Display. We have done this for as long as I can remember. As a child that is how my parents celebrated the holiday and once I married and had children, we continued to celebrate in this manner. Today my sons girlfriend told me that she could not understand why our family chose to celebrate this Holiday. She says it is her mothers birthday and if it were not they would not celebrate today. I thought that was kind of sad. She is expecting our fourth grandchild in October. I want Skylar to be a part of our family traditions too. I think Children should enjoy Independence Day and they should be taught what it is really about and why we have the freedoms that we do here in America. I thought I would close this post by sharing today`s menu with you. Normally I prepare several desserts but I had one special request from my kids this year, they wanted me to make a Poke Cake with Cool Whip Frosting. So in keeping with the Holiday theme of Red, White and Blue. I made a Patriotic Poke Cake.

You can find the recipe at the Kraft Foods Recipe site above, I have included a link above to the Cake Recipe. It is very versatile, I have made it for Christmas in the past using Red and Green Food coloring as well. I chose just to top it with plain ole Cool Whip as the kids requested I do so this time. I am going to garnish it with some sliced strawberries.

As for the rest of my menu it goes as follows:

• Barbecue Pork Steaks
• Barbecue Chicken Breasts
• Grilled Hamburgers, Bratwursts, Hot Dogs
• Cowboy Baked Beans (My own special recipe in which I add ground beef)
• Coleslaw
• Mustard Potato Salad
• Garden Salad using Romaine Lettuce, Tomatoes, Onion, Shredded Cheese topped with Buttermilk Ranch Dressing.
• Soft Drinks

God Bless each of you today and all year through and have a wonderful time with your family and friends. Happy Birthday America, Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave! God Speed everyone!