July 4 Birthday!

Ellie is 5!  She woke up at 6:30am and said with her eyes still closed, "It is my birfday!"  I agreed, but suggested that she'd enjoy it more if she waited until morning to wake up.  She dutifully went back to sleep and then at 8 woke up again and said (eyes still closed) "I'm 5!" so I sang happy birthday, and then everyone came in.

Although we are the only ones celebrating, Deree is closed on July 4 because it is an American university, so we planned our trip to Sounion and the beach for today.  What a perfect birthday for Ellie!  Sand, sea, and then a party.

The birthday pair... Jimmy is also an independence baby!

 We started at Sounion, and those in the know went down to the rocks afterward to test out the water, but didn't get as far as the jumping rock.

The first swim in tribute to Carly, Michelle and the other brave ones from  year  1!

 Then we had our lunch at a restaurant with a view of the sea.  Filia restaurant in Agia Marina

Lunch with a view:  amazing kolokokeftedes!

 Followed by beach time at Mojito Bay.  We were obliged to rent "sunbeds" which were shaded, but at least they came with complimentary bathrooms and the possibility of getting frappes.  It was very hot the first 10 days, but has cooled off.  Everyone swam for a bit, but then came back to the sunbeds, and many dragged them actually into the sun for siesta.

Greek beaches:  deck over the sand, shade blocking the sun, and  music drowning out the  sea.

 At home, we showered and prepared for Ellie's birthday with cupcakes, popcorn, gifts, sparklers, singing, face-painting, and dancing.

The spread

 Baking is tough in Greece.  I'm not always sure that things like baking powder are formulated the same as they are in America.  The vanilla is a powder, not an extract, which at first seemed so weird to me... why was it a powder?  But in my food class, I've been exploring how to make things that we take utterly for granted, and I have a bottle of vanilla extract brewing in my pantry.  To make an extract, you take the bean, slit it open, scrape out the seeds, then soak them in vodka for 3 months.  To get the powder, you grind the beans.  So who is weird in the end?  I think the powder is closer to natural (why do we want vodka in our cookie recipes?), but I now can't account for why we use liquid extract when it is possible to get ground vanilla bean...as is often the case the mystery shifts from them to us upon reflection!

But as is often the case with powders vs. liquid, the proportions are different, so I tried several capsules to equal 1/2 a teaspoon (but of course I don't have measuring spoons anyway, and was relying an actual teacup for the cups of flour, a half-filled teaspoon of powder instead of the teaspoon of extract, and a guesstimate for the 1/2 cup of butter...).  Turns out you can play a little even with baking.  The cupcakes were perhaps a little denser than ideal, and the frosting a little pixelated, but it all tasted pretty good.

Ellie's recipe:  cookies and cream cupcakes with a cherry on top!

 We brought with us the accoutrements, and what we didn't have, our kind friends supplied.

The birthday girl and the only other munchkin!

 And of course when your professor invites you to her child's birthday party, everyone comes...

A good turnout!

Singing and blowing out the candle

opening presents

We finished with sparklers and soccer, and then one contingent moved on to night-time frisbee at the soccer park nearby, while another returned to the reality of deadlines later in the week.  A lovely day!