A Day on the Lake

So we put our calendars together in July and September 15th was the soonest date we could come up with for the whole family to have a day on Centerhill lake. We rented a pontoon boat with a slide. 

I originally wanted everyone to come at 7 a.m. so we could get an early start. Everyone balked, so we settled on 8 a.m. Butch said we didn't need to rush as it was going to be cool. It turned out to be the most gorgeous day. 

Before we get to the photos of the day, I have to tell you about the food. First, everyone knows that Butch doesn't care about food. He always second guesses me on the amounts I cook for our crowd. Sometimes, without consulting me, he reduces the amount of meat to be barbecued. Or he'll make comments about the amount of vegetables I make. 

For this outing, with 9 of us (including the boyfriends), I ordered 28 pieces of fried chicken, made a dozen eggs for deviled eggs (making 24), marinated tomatoes and potato salad. Butch went to the grocery store for me, but didn't buy the snacks I had listed. He said we didn't need snacks with all the food I had. He did pick up a large bag of potato chips for Mindy who doesn't like mayonnaise based things. For dessert, I made Black Bottom Cupcakes (recipe below.) I added 2 boxes of girl scout cookies, a bag of gummy bears and and some mixed nuts. 

We hadn't even left the dock when the kids started asking for food (they had eaten breakfast at our house before we left.) When is was all said and done, we had 3 pieces of chicken left, some potato salad, 7 cupcakes, some cookies and gummies. They went through a lot of food---as usual. I hope Butch is going to start trusting my judgment about the food soon.

Spencer saved the day when

Morgan's hat blew in to the lake. Butch went back for it as it was floating. Spencer leaned over and grabbed it. It was her Alabama hat, so she was happy to get it back.

 Morgan got to be an ace driver.

 It didn't take long before the boys were jumping from the top of the boat. The water turned out to be warm.

 This is such a pretty lake. They don't have any buildings or docks---just miles of natural shoreline.

 Mindy and Morgan hamming it up for the camera.

 Spencer, Jordan, Carson and Morgan.

 Morgan is behind the camera.

 You can't see it in this shot, but Carson and Spencer put a message on the rock---we love M & J. Actually someone else had done it first.

There were a couple of times that the boys had to help push off after another boat's wake pushed us on to the bank.

 I told the "fam" that we had something important to discuss. What I had in mind was that game where you say you are going on a trip and are packing...then the next person picks it up. They were disappointed that we weren't really discussing something important. Here they are showing their sad faces.

 
 Morgan at the helm.

 The "kids" spent hours in the water. By the time we got back to the marina, everyone was exhausted. I noticed in Butch's car that everyone was sleeping as they were in my car on the way home.

It was such a fun day that we've decided to make it an annual tradition. We're thinking we'll stick with September as the weather was perfect and there were few boats on the lake.

Now, for the recipe share. This recipe is from the 1970's. I got it from Toni Eads'---dad Eads' wife. It's been a family favorite for years.

Black Bottom Cupcakes
Batter:
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
Sift dry ingredients. Add:
1 cup water
1/2 cup oil
1 tbsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. vanilla
Mix well and pour batter in to cup cake liners about 1/3 full.

Filling:
1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup sugar
1 egg
MIx well. Drop by heaping tsp. on to batter. (I use the smallest Pampered Chef scoop).
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 30-35 minutes.

Enjoy!