goodbye summer...we will miss you...so, let's bake a cake!

School started for me today. It was strange spending my day with all adults I have grown accustomed to hanging out with kids. Summers spoil me that way.

Jake starts back to school on Thursday, and Ian has to go on Wednesday (something he is NOT happy about!). My hubby starts tomorrow.

As much as I love my job (I really, really do enjoy teaching 7th graders!), I will miss summer.

We had a great almost three months. No doubt about it. In fact, I will go as far as saying it was our family's best summer ever. Really. We spent a great deal of time traveling. I love that. We will absolutely be doing more in the future. Lots more! :)

The boys are having the hardest time with saying goodbye to their summer break. I am thinking part of it is the earlier bedtime now. :)

Yesterday, the boys wanted to bake an end of summer cake. I was definitely game. (Who needs a reason to eat cake??) I was thinking we'd use a cake mix, but the guys wanted to bake from scratch. So, I pulled out the old Fanny Farmer cookbook and looked for a simple-ish recipe.

Once we had the recipe, I gathered ingredients, and then I sat back and photographed my boys in the kitchen. (Actually, Ian did all of the baking. Jake jumped in when it was time to make icing from scratch.)

One of my friends asked me how I can allow the kids in the kitchen. She said she could never put up with the mess. Sure, the boys tend to make a big 'ole mess whenever they bake, but I have managed to teach them (somewhat) to clean up after themselves as they go.

I truly believe that the kids need to have the experience of baking and cooking. They learn to read a recipe. They practice measurement, and they have fun making mistakes and consequently, learning from them. Important life skills.

At any rate, back to the cake. Jake and Ian agreed that they wanted a yellow cake but couldn't agree on an icing flavor. Jake wanted white icing, and Ian wanted chocolate. So, they decided to divide the cake in half and ice each half they way they wanted. Perfect.

The end result, though not all that pretty, was delicious! Not bad for a first cake from scratch. :)

So, tell me, do your kids bake and cook with you? I'd love it if you'd share some of their favorite recipes. :)

(Thanks to Wilton for providing the Ultra Gold baking pan and mixing bowls. Review of the Ultra Gold baking pan is coming soon!)