McMulberry Street

Blessing Day!

2011-09-25T21:14:00.004-06:00

Miss L was blessed back at the beginning of May. Her Grandma (James' Mom) made this beautiful dress for her. We call it the 80 hour dress! She could have spent even more time on it than that, but that's how long we heard it took her to make it. All of the smocking on the front is hand sewn. M&M thought the dress was big enough to fit her since it was so long. They loved seeing their new baby sister in such a pretty princess dress. The blessing was amazing and we hope she will be our "calm" child from things said in the blessing.

Smores!

2011-08-25T11:59:00.001-06:00

The kids love to have a fire and roast smores in the backyard. This was the end of April so it was still a little cold. They are still perfecting the roasting part and I suggest not to give a roasting stick to a 2 year old.

Bath time!

2011-08-24T14:16:00.001-06:00

Miss L loves her bath time. She loves to be covered with the warm wash cloth and just sit and chill in the water. Nothing better than a clean baby!

Happy Easter!

2011-08-23T22:40:00.001-06:00

Happy birthday James!

2011-08-12T09:00:00.001-06:00

In April we celebrated James' birthday. We kept it low-key and had sweet pork salads, red punch (courtesy of the girls), and molten lava cake. I think I'm liking simple cakes. Hah! :) Happy birthday to the best Dad and hubbie ever! The kids had to make it special by making their own decorations and of course crowning him with a birthday crown. He's so nice to wear it for them. <3

James came home to this on the driveway. He thought it was worth saving. Our M&M is quite the poem writer.
Some kids are black

Some kids are white. We should

be friends not tease or fight.

We should include them, be happy

and nice. Play games with jokes and cards

and dice. We shouldn't tease people who

wear glasses with lens. Some just someday

we all could be friends.

Easter Egg Hunt

2011-08-11T11:30:00.000-06:00

Back in April we had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma's! The kids get so excited for this and Grandma sure puts a lot of work into it to make fun memories for the grandkids! I didn't get pictures of everyone but here are some highlights.

Grandma had to have a picture with her two newest grand-babies. Miss L with her cousin born 3 days before her.

Storytime.

2011-08-10T21:04:00.003-06:00

I think this is the cutest ever! CJ reading his favorite book. Can you guess what book it is? Sorry no video, just audio.

2 weeks old

2011-08-09T21:26:00.003-06:00

A couple random pictures of Miss L at 2 weeks.

Decisions!

2011-08-09T21:04:00.009-06:00

So it's been a little time in the making but we are officially "coming out" and letting everyone know that James has decided on a different career path to be ...get this.....a doctor!! I know, I was stunned as much as you are. :) So we have started (actually more than a year and a half ago) on our long journey and will keep you updated on all of our happenings. We thought having 4 kids in Med school would be fun!! James has stopped almost all his business endeavors to persue Med school. This would explain my long absence in blogging. I have had to up my work hours (thanks Reel Theatre!) and to keep up with 4 kids is sure keeping us both, very busy. I want to shout out and THANK all our friends & family who have stepped up SO much and helped in our time of need. It's a bit humbling to say the least and we want to let you know we LOVE YOU and appreciate you all!! James has 2 more semesters of pre-med classes before he can take the MCAT and start applying. We will miss Boise when we have to move but someday, we'll be back!!I couldn't publish a post without a picture. Haha! :)

Coming home!

2011-05-10T22:34:00.004-06:00

We came home the next day after Miss L arrived. We got home to a fun surprise! A friend of mine started a new business and surprised me with one of her lawn displays. Put a HUGE smile on my face!! Thanks Aim! My kids especially loved it.

When we took Miss L to the doctor that same week her bili count was way up. The doctor prescribed a bili blanket and bed delivered to our house that same day. Talk about not fun. She hated her mini "tanning bed" but she was a trooper for the amount of time she had to lay in it. Our house was a little drafty at the time (due to the great weather we were having) so we put it in front of the fire place and made her really toasty. Luckily her levels came down quickly so she didn't have to lay in the bed too long.

Please welcome...

2011-05-06T10:09:00.002-06:00

Her "official" announcement!

Number 4 has arrived!

2011-04-13T21:18:00.006-06:00

I am finally emerging and blogging about our newest arrival!! It only took 5 weeks! :) I'm sure you all don't care about the details, but I need to write it for myself so I don't forget! I went into the hospital to get induced on the 21st. When I arrived I was measuring around 3cm. Knowing that I thought it would go quickly and we would have a new babe. Our goal...baby by noon! Not so much. Things started out pretty slow and I sat at that 3 for a long time. The doctor eventually broke my water at 1pm (which my Mom and James had just barely left to go get some lunch...I thought for sure this baby would slide right on out while they were gone...nope!) Once my water broke things progressed quicker. I found standing and rocking was making things progress so I did a lot of that. At 2pm I was at a 5, 3:30 I was at a 6. 4pm I was at an 8. By this time the contractions were getting pretty strong but I was still able to handle them. I decided not to get an epidural but went for an intrathecal injection. By the time they gave me the shot I was pretty much ready to push this baby out! Oh the instant relief once the shot was administered, right in time to push 3 times and out came our cute baby girl! She was born at 4:46pm. We had some names in mind but ended up choosing something that wasn't even on our list.
The kids were SO excited to meet their new baby sister. Grandma brought them by the hospital that evening and they loved holding her. CJ was the most excited that there wasn't a baby in my tummy anymore so I could carry him! :)

Little A behind the camera and M&M and CJ posing. The most exciting thing to do while Grandma and Grandpa held the baby. :)

Disneyland!

2011-02-28T14:33:00.005-07:00

The happiest place on earth! The day we went it was POURING rain. We were soaked the second we got out of the car. Luckily our kids were troopers and we took the time to grab some cheap ponchos. The rain actually let up around lunch and the kids had an even better time. Besides being cold from wet shoes, socks, and pants we stayed the full day and left the park around 10pm. It definitely wore the kids out but they loved it and still talk about it.

I wish we took more pictures, but we got some video and us being saoked kind of hindered the picture taking. The girls didn't venture on any of the real big rides, but had a great time on what they did go on. CJ was a little nervous for some so he and I did some things together including seeing Mickey Mouse. He thought that was pretty cool and gave him a big hug when he saw him.

I loved going during Christmas break. They have everything decked out in Christmas decorations and the lights were awesome on the castle. Thanks to my parents for giving us the opportunity to go. It made some great memories for the kids and we can't wait to go back!!

The beach!

2011-02-22T14:58:00.003-07:00

While in Cali we visited the nearby beach we were staying at. The girls loved to run from the waves, throw rocks & sticks in the ocean, and play in the sand. It was a chilly day, but the sun was out in full force. CJ didn't want much to do with the ocean. He was nervous getting too close and preferred to climb the rocks and watch the train when it came by. Hopefully we can go back sometime and CJ won't be so scared. I love the beach!!

Cali trip

2011-02-12T14:35:00.001-07:00

The end of December and over New Year's we flew down to California for a wedding. The kids had so much fun and are still talking about the trip. I'll post a little about the trip but first here is a pic of our fam in front of the San Diego Temple. The girls were in awe of the beautiful building and though it looked just like a castle!

Valentine's deco

2011-02-09T14:42:00.006-07:00

I am always wanting to change my mantle decorations according to the holiday. I loved my Christmas decorations and was missing them during January so I decided to fancy it up a little with Valentine's decorations. I got a lot of inspiration and cute ideas from other blogs and most of the ideas I can't remember where I found them. I'll try to update as I remember.

Valentine's subway art found here.
Lolly tutorial found here.
Felt rose wreath directions here.

Ready!

2011-02-03T14:12:00.003-07:00

So this is by far the soonest we have had a room ready for a new baby. I think with Little A we just happened to put up her crib the day before she was born. With a few changes here and there it looks like a new room. I'm loving how it all looks. Now I'm even more ready for baby! :)

Bounce!

2011-01-26T15:32:00.001-07:00

This picture is hilarious to me. Just had to share!

Baptism Day

2011-01-20T14:16:00.006-07:00

In December, M&M had her special day. She was so excited to be baptized and wear the new dress her Grandma had made for her. She said she felt like a princess in it. The details of the dress were so cute and the dress was perfect for her. She was a little shy to have all the attention on her but she soaked it all up. Thank you to all our family and friends who came to support her and her decision to be baptized.

Snowbird 2010

2011-01-17T15:15:00.008-07:00

Each year we are lucky enough to head down to Snowbird, Utah for the whole Thanksgiving week. So fun to relax, swim, eat, snowboard (when you aren't pregnant), visit with friends and fam, eat, play in the snow or sled, and eat some more! I always head into SLC in the wee hours of the morning to hit the black Friday shopping too. So fun! I hardly took any pictures, but here are a few.

The kids "sledding" down the stairs.

We had a small crew for turkey dinner so we invited some of the Shurtleff gang to join us. M&M took over the camera and made sure to take a picture of everyone!

We also celebrated M&M's birthday by having cake, going out to dinner and watching Tangled in 3D (her choice). She loved it!

Can't wait to shred the hills next year! :)

M&M's birthday party!

2011-01-17T14:51:00.003-07:00

Wow, I've been a little MIA lately! Let's just say being sick is the pits and being on the computer is the last thing I've wanted to do. I am going to play a little catch-up with the main things that have gone on since Halloween for posterity. :)M&M had a big birthday and turned 8 back in November. Her birthday is the week of Thanksgiving so we opted to have a fun birthday party with friends a couple weeks before so everyone was sure to come. She came up with most of the idea for her birthday so we went with it.

I enlisted my Mom to help me out (thanks Mom!) and we were set. I made M&M monkey bread (for her "cake") which made my life SO much easier. We also served donuts, yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit & milk. Once everyone arrived we ate the yummy breakfast, then laid out pillow cases for all the kids to decorate using sharpie markers. They had a great time figuring what to put on their pillow case. It was funny because M&M invited 2 boys and the rest were girls. While decorating the boys sure didn't want to spend as much time on their pillow case as the rest of the girls. The girls were so nice and neat and the boys played destructo on their pillow cases. Funny! We opened gifts and then headed into the theatre to watch the movie.

Of course the kids had to have popcorn so we loaded them up with more junk! Popcorn and juice for all! The kids had a great time and the movie Despicable Me is really cute. It made it funner to watch it in 3D. During the beginning of the movie I folded up their pillowcases and tied them with a balloon and a movie pass for all the kids to take home. Such a fun party and made for easier planning on my part. Happy birthday M&M!

Family Pictures

2010-11-05T16:22:00.003-06:00

Our good friend, Kristin, was super nice and took family pictures of us. These can always be stressful for me, picking the right outfits, making sure all my kids look clean, and hoping they cooperate when we are taking them. They cooperated ok except for our dear CJ. He had a mind of his own and definitely didn't want his picture taken. I even forgot candy to bribe him. Oh well, we still got some great shots. Thanks Kristin!!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T08:54:00.003-06:00

We had fun dressing up as a themed family. The kids were pretty impressed by Mom and Dad's costume this year. Happy Halloween!!

Uh oh!

2010-10-13T14:05:00.004-06:00

I'm guessing this is just the beginning. (permanent marker) Though in studying the drawing I see 2 really straight lines that look like the beginning of tic tac toe. Maybe we should be blaming his sister :) His Daddy made him pose for the picture!

*update*

My sis-in-law emailed me this picture after she saw this post. I had to laugh, this was a family swim night a couple days later!

Hike to Josephine Lake

2010-10-06T14:57:00.003-06:00

Beginning of September we went to McCall and did a fun hike with Nana and Papa. James even caught a fish! We love getting out and wearing the kids out. Good times!

Summer!

2010-08-23T15:41:00.004-06:00

Don't you love summer for this reason?

Now if we could all strip our shirts off and let watermelon drip down, the world would be a funny place. :)

And then there were...

2010-08-08T21:30:00.003-06:00

Four :)

4th of July festivities

2010-07-24T21:17:00.007-06:00

We went to McCall to celebrate the 4th with my parents, Eric, Jamie, & Ammon. Of course I didn't take all the pictures that I wanted, but I did get some.
We started out Saturday morning with a pancake breakfast at the church. Tradition is to shoot off rockets too. CJ had fun pointing them out and watching them land. The kids were also able to ride a trailer pulled by a tractor. CJ was in heaven!The previous week they had a big wind/thunderstorm that wiped out trees around town. Here is one that was almost entirely uprooted. The other trees around it weren't even damaged in the slightest.
Later during the day James, Eric, Jamie, and I went mountain biking. It was fun to get out and have a good ride. Eric decided he needed to do some more riding when we were done and rode all the way up to Brundage lookout and back. Let's just say we didn't see him until dinner was almost over! :) No pics but he did get some sweet footage on his helmet cam.
After biking we hit the beach. It was sunny, but it was sure cold! It was breezy down at the lake so we didn't stay too long. The kids still had fun playing in the water & sand.

Here we are watching the fireworks in the back on the truck. We got smart this year and staked out a spot up on the hill from the lake. We all laid in the back of the truck during the show, then when it was over, Eric jumped in the drivers seat, we closed the tail, and drove home. It took a total of 5 minutes from the end of the fireworks to us pulling into the driveway. It was the fastest we've ever made it back from watching fireworks. No doubt the best way to do it!

Happy Fourth of July!

Celebration continued.

2010-07-06T22:52:00.003-06:00

Celebrating Little A and CJ's birthday again at our monthly birthday party with James' family. The kids loved the cakes made for them by their Aunt Kara. CJ was funny and covered his eyes when we all sang him happy birthday. He's starting to show little signs of shyness when the attention is on him and thinks he can make it all better by covering his eyes. Silly boy! :)

Happy birthday CJ!

2010-07-03T20:14:00.005-06:00

The beginning of June is busy with 2 birthday's within a day of each other. Celebrations started at the BBQ over Memorial Day weekend. CJ loved his birthday cake with a car on it. I enlisted James to make his race car from this tutorial. We make a good team :) CJ decided the whole birthday thing is pretty fun. He loved opening presents and blowing out the candles on his cake. We were lacking toy cars at our house so he got loaded up! All kinds of cars. Thanks fam! He loves them all. The candle for his cake was a sparkler. He was all excited to blow it out. We lit it, and then he got scared and started backing away from it. Too funny!

We saved his cake for his actual birthday and sang to him again. Grandma and Grandpa joined us for dinner, cake and presents.
Favorite food: watermelon
Favorite candy: all candy
Favorite birthday present: soccer flip flops

Happy birthday CJ!

Little A turns 5!

2010-07-03T11:15:00.004-06:00

Beginning of June Little A had her 5th birthday. First the birthday celebrations started during Memorial Day weekend with a combined party for Izzie, CJ and Little A. We had a yummy BBQ at at her Uncle Eric and Aunt Jamie's house which included grilled jumbo prawns, grilled veggies, grilled pineapple, grilled salmon and of course cake and lemon cupcakes for dessert. Nana, Papa, Eric, Jamie, Aimee, Izzie, Elliott, Nate, and Jamie were all there to celebrate!

Turning 5 in our house is a big deal so she was able to have her first "friend" party! She was SO excited for it. She chose to have her party at Young Chef Academy where they all learned how to measure things and make and decorate their own cupcakes.
Favorite birthday present: Princess beads to make her own necklaces (thanks Grandma!)
Favorite color: pink
Favorite food: pizza
Favorite restaurant: McDonald's
What she wants to be when she grows up: artist
Birthday breakfast: cinnamon rolls with scrambled eggs & orange juice
Birthday dinner: pizza & root beer
Little A is our spunky little girl who is SO excited to start Kindergarten in the fall. She adores her older sister and is enjoying having someone to play with for the summer. She loves to cuddle, organize, help with things around the house and bake. Happy birthday Little A!

Twinkle Twinkle

2010-06-27T21:02:00.005-06:00

So I took a little break from blogging, but I'm back! :) Now that I have a little time this week I'll post some things. This one is great of our little CJ singing twinkle twinkle. If you can't understand him at the end of it he says "lots and lots of water" because we passed the river. That kid cracks me up. Enjoy!

Bed

2010-04-21T23:07:00.001-06:00

CJ's new place to sleep. Maybe it's time to get him a real bed. :)

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T15:02:00.003-06:00

Recently we traveled to Spokane to see my twin & her family. She surprised us all with new Easter outfits for the kids. Of course we had to have a photo shoot. Thanks Ame. They are adorable! :)

Finger lickin good!

2010-03-07T01:06:00.003-07:00

If you haven't noticed, we live for food in this house. We like to teach them young that the only thing better than cookies, is the cookie dough! It's a battle of who gets to lick the beater. Usually Mom wins. :)

Fire in the hole!

2010-02-25T21:27:00.001-07:00

Our favorite entertainment these days is our popcorn popper. All the kids immediately stop what they are doing when they hear it come on, climb up on the counter and yell "Fire in the hole" when it lands in the bowl. Oh the joy!

Smoothie?!?

2010-02-22T16:43:00.001-07:00

We have a smoothie lover in the house!

Movie night

2010-02-16T10:06:00.003-07:00

We got a wild hair to have dinner in our play room while watching a movie. We made a serious batch of nachos (don't worry I didn't forget about a vegetable) and had a fun picnic! CJ was a loose cannon during the movie & dinner, but we still enjoyed ourselves.

Greenbelt

2010-02-14T20:50:00.005-07:00

My sis and her husband are in town for the weekend so we enjoyed a stroll on the greenbelt. All the girls loved to chase the geese and watch them fly away. They thought it was hilarious!

Snooze...

2010-02-10T14:07:00.003-07:00

Came downstairs and happened upon this. How funny!

Tea party!

2010-02-08T20:50:00.001-07:00

What a better time to have a tea party then in December?!? My sis-in-law's sister was getting married so we threw her a smashing tea bridal shower. It was such a fun idea! We served curry chicken tea sandwiches, lemon cookies, almond cookies, baklava, mini quiches, mini cupcakes, petit fours, fresh fruit & dip, cranberry hot tea, & 2 different herbal teas. Of course I was put in charge of making the petiti fours (PF's for short...inside joke) & mini cupcakes. It was a fun to be a little girly and just drink something from a tea cup! As a thank you for throwing the shower, Libby gave us each our own tea cup and saucer. Thanks Libby!

Temple Square

2010-02-06T21:24:00.002-07:00

While we were down in Salt Lake for Thanksgiving, we were able to go to Temple Square with the whole family and see the lights. It was very cold, but the kids still loved looking at all they had! It's fun to visit the same places that I went to when I was little and share it with your own children.

M&M's birthday celebration!

2010-02-03T15:20:00.003-07:00

So back in November (yes, I know it's February!) we were down at Snowbird, UT for the week of Thanksgiving. Lucky for M&M, her birthday falls within that week almost every year and this year it was on Thanksgiving day. So she got to celebrate with a bunch of family. Her cousin E-man also celebrated with her (he was turning 3) so we had a festive day. Since we normally have a birthday meal M&M can pick out,? we decided to make it breakfast since the thanksgiving meal was later in the day. We had crepes filled with fruit & whip cream, broccoli/cheese/sausage muffins, and orange juice. Yum!!
Before her birthday we asked her what she wanted to do on her special day. She wrote out a list.
Great list if you ask me :)
Happy birthday to me sweet 7 year old!
Your loves:
~playing with your Dad
~Reading
~having friends over
~Riding your bike or scooter
~School!
~Being the BIG sister
~Helping your sister to read and reading to CJ

Halloween recap

2009-12-08T13:42:00.006-07:00

So isn't it fun to read about Halloween when it's almost Christmas?!? We had a fun halloween and did a lot of festivities up until the day. It's great when your kids get older and actually start getting really excited about holidays which makes all the preparations worth it.
First it started out with pumpkin carving with friends. The girls stuck their hands in once to clean out the pumpkin pulp. They sure get grossed out from it.

Next we went to a fun Halloween party. Thanks Megan for inviting us! We were Princess Peach and Mario if you couldn't tell. :)

With all the Halloween festivities, I think the kiddos had to dress up about 4 times. Good times! On Halloween we went over to Eric & Jamie's house for a 3-person birthday party. We celebrated Ammon, Eric, and Nate's birthday all at once. The kids dressed up as Ursula (M&M), Ariel (Little A), and Flounder (CJ). Tick-or-treating was great with the older kids. They ran from house to house. CJ just wanted to eat the candy as soon as it was given to him. I think next year he'll be running!

Mowing the lawn

2009-10-20T13:28:00.004-06:00

I don't know what it is but as soon as CJ hears the lawn mower he goes bonkers. He wants to push it soooo badly. James came up with a way to solve the problem. (patent pending)

Camping

2009-10-14T20:08:00.006-06:00

We only got out one time this summer to go camping! We need to do it more often because the kids love it. We went to Shafer Butte above Bogus Basin. It was really pretty up there, but the campground spots are VERY close together so you don't feel like you have much privacy. We met up with Harris & Carson and had a great time. There were small walking paths around the campground that the kids ran around and explored on. One last thing..camping with a 1 year old is dirty and you can't ever sit and relax because they want to jump in the fire :)

Gotta love Little A's attire!

Funny thing about this picture. The kids found a tent stake stuck in the ground. They thought it was the coolest thing and worked on trying to get it out for a good 20 minutes. Of course they had no idea it was a tent stake or even what a tent stake was.

Little A

2009-10-14T20:00:00.002-06:00

Had to post Little A's first day of preschool. She was SO ready to start since her sister had been going for a couple weeks already. We were in McCall the previous weekend and she managed to fall off her bike onto her face, so she had battle wounds to boot. She loves her teacher (she went to the same preschool last year) and had a great first day!

The Wedding

2009-10-06T20:45:00.007-06:00

So back in August (I know, it's October now) my brother was married. The last one of us kids to get hitched! They had a beautiful ceremony and reception at the sky box at BSU. It rained all day, moving the ceremony from Katherine Albertson park to the sky box, but it was still a fun evening. I even had the privilege of making their cakes, and with the help of Holly they turned out great! (I could have done without the rain spots that got on the cake) Here are some photos of the event. Thanks to all the friends and family who came and visited!

(Our best family picture of the evening)

The Groom's cake

A toast by Jamie's sister.

I love this pic! (taken by Jessie)

Nothing cuter...

2009-09-03T23:02:00.003-06:00

than a baby's bum! :)

Tablerock

2009-08-30T19:49:00.004-06:00

My sis made a visit the end of July where we tackled the hike up to Table Rock. I've never done it before and didn't know what to expect. I strapped CJ to my back and all of us were off. (M&M, LittleA, CJ, myself, Ame, Izzie, & Steph) It was a faster pace at first because the kids were excited to be hiking. Then as we trudged along, the pace got a little slower and slower. At the end, near the top, it gets steaper and steaper and it took a lot of coaxing to get all the girls to continue walking. At one point, to give Little A a breather, I carried her. It was definitely a workout, but we made it! The girls were very excited to be at the top and have a snack. The trip down was much quicker. Too quick for Little A where she slid and skinned her knee. Sad at the moment, but stoked to show her Dad later that day. Good times!

CJ's first haircut

2009-08-25T10:05:00.003-06:00

Last month CJ had his first haircut. He had curly little locks around his ears and it was really making him look like an old man :) I was torn to cut them off, but am glad I did. He is starting to look like a little boy now. Love this kid!

(Before & After)

Our first grader!

2009-08-23T20:13:00.005-06:00

M&M started first grade earlier this month. She LOVES it! Her teacher seems to be really nice and she was excited to have one friend in her class. No bus this year so we either drive, walk, run, or bike to & from school. One thing she was so looking forward to was eating lunch at school. I made her take a lunch the first day and she came home that day and asked "Mom, can I PLEASE have school lunch tomorrow". We have compromised and do part hot lunch and part cold lunch. She picks the days to have hot lunch so it works out great. She was also stoked about having 4 recesses during the day. "Mom, that's 4 recesses!" It's fun having her so excited about learning at school and being so willing to come home and do her homework. I hope her love for homework stays around. :)
Now Little A on the other-hand isn't fond of having M&M at school now. She keeps asking when does she start school and is already talking about her first day of Kindergarten (that's in a whole year!) She asks me at least 15 times a day if she can go to someone's house or if so & so can come over. She just misses playing with her best friend now.

Park time!

2009-08-22T09:56:00.005-06:00

The summer is almost over and I haven't posted much about it. Here are some random shots of us and friends at Settler's Park. Love that park!

Happy birthday to me & my sis!

2009-08-09T21:42:00.006-06:00

So it's been a few weeks since my birthday but I have to go back and actually post about it. All in all it was a chill day. The kids were EXTRA good since it was my special day so that made for a great day! We went to On the Border that just opened close by with James' parents for dinner, then headed to a park with friends to have cake & ice cream. James had pre-arranged with Holly (my cake decorating partner) to make a fabulous cake for the special day. Fabulous it was! I was surprised with this sweet cake & cupcakes!

Since starting the frosted cherry, I've been spending a lot of time in my kitchen. I mentioned it to James that it would nice to have a little TV in there to have something to watch while I bake. Well he tucked that idea away and totally surprised me with a nice TV! He even wired it so I could watch our recorded shows from the TV in our room. Pretty sneaky! Thanks to all who helped out with it..I love it!!I don't have a picture of it, but this was me opening the card for it. The TV is now hanging right where that picture is in the background (above our phone). I really dislike pictures of myself but figured I better document what a 31 year old looks like :) Thanks to all my friends and family who made it a special day!

The cake aftermath!

Happy birthday to my sis too!
Ame came to town the weekend after our birthday so we celebrated again with her! She made me some awesome cake pops, that were amazing, and of course she got a strawberry pie. That girl is not a fan of cake (what the...is she related to me?) so pie it was!

Look whose riding.

2009-07-21T08:39:00.002-06:00

M&M has been so nervous to try to ride without training wheels that we never thought she was ready to do it. We actually thought Little A would ride w/o training wheels before M&M! Well her Aunt Kara gave us a little smaller bike and I guess she thought she'd try it out by herself. James was sitting in the house a few weeks ago and looked outside to find M&M riding a bike all by herself! What?!? She was so surprised and excited and now LOVES riding her bike everyday. I love living in a culdesac for times like this.
She really wanted to race in the kid's race at the Twilight Criterium but we were a little hesitant since she really is clueless when it comes to riding around other kids or other things for that matter. We could just see her side swiping and taking out other kids in the process of trying to be the fastest. Maybe next year.

Our one year old!

2009-07-19T20:31:00.006-06:00

June 2nd my littlest one turned 1!! It's crazy how fast they grow. I figured while he's young and he doesn't have a say, that we celebrate it with his sister. He had a great birthday and loved digging into the cake. If anyone knows our CJ, he loves to stuff just about anything in his mouth including cake!

Things he loves:
walking
tormenting Brutus
eating sand
Ripping flowers/bows out of his sisters' hair
FOOD!

We love our little man! Happy 1st birthday.

4 years old!

2009-07-02T22:12:00.003-06:00

This is a little late in posting, but we celebrated Little A's 4th birthday last month. Her birthday is the day before CJ's so we had a combined birthday party. We went to Costa Vida for dinner and then had fun with friends and family eating cake & ice cream. She was so happy and received so many awesome presents. She got decked out with art/craft supplies. Too bad I don't have a picture of her being sung to or blowing out her candles *wink* She's our little shy girl and didn't like all the attention on her anyway. There was a lot of coaxing just to get her to stand on the stool next to her cake. Maybe next year! Happy birthday cute girl!

Roaring Springs

2009-06-30T23:03:00.002-06:00

Here we are the first time we went to Roaring Springs this season. The girls loved it. CJ... liked to just eat. He's getting better at liking the water each time we go. Maybe by the end of the summer he'll want to stay in the kid splash area longer than 5 minutes. :)

Lunch

2009-06-23T11:49:00.003-06:00

The girls favorite way to eat their lunch. Though the bees started coming and there was a little freaking out, but they still had fun. We are learning to "talk" to the bees (thanks Grandpa). We have come leaps and bounds from last summer!

Fun with Dad!

2009-06-22T15:13:00.006-06:00

I went out of town and this is the fun the kids had with their Dad. They road their bikes on the greenbelt and played in the fountain. Fun!

It just goes to show that Dad's need a little help in the getting dressed department. Oh, and the hair dept too! :) Love ya hon!

Reward System

2009-05-18T21:05:00.004-06:00

Today for FHE we decided to start our token system. We've done it in the past, but LittleA wasn't old enough to grasp the whole concept. Now I think she's ready. I thought it would be nice to share what we do and pass it on. I bought cheap little glass rocks (buttons, marbles, or anything small would work) and have a tupperware container for each child with a slit cut out at the top. The kids earn tokens (glass rocks) for things they do throughout the day and then they get to "spend" those tokens on things of their choice. I made up a small chart (above) so the girls had something easy to go off of.
Tonight the girls were in bed in record time! I sure hope this keeps up! :) Email me if you want my actual sheet that you can input your own family needs/wants. As you can see, my girls love anything to do with sweets & restaurants. Hmm, I wonder where they get that from?!?

Cinco de Moustache party

2009-05-06T22:18:00.007-06:00

We headed to the fairgrounds for a little bike racing and taco eating. Good staches, yummy food, made for a great time! Thanks for the invite Jamie, and all who brought food. Congrats to all who raced, especially Eric who took 1st in the Cat 1,2,3 race!

Libby and I did our first bike race ever! I was happy with how I did and now have the bug to do a little more.

Cinco de mayo or moustache??

2009-05-05T08:57:00.006-06:00

I hope you are all enjoying Cinco de Mayo, but how about cinco de moustache?!? Every year my bro tries to play up in cinco de moustache. This year James decided he would participate.

Happy Cinco de Mustache!

Imagine, this stache only took 1 month to grow :) Tonight....taco party with the rest of the staches. Can't wait!

Mother's day

2009-05-04T21:05:00.002-06:00

Ok, I'll be plugging my new little company quite a bit on my blog, so be ready! :) We just put up a mother's day special that you all need to check out. It's a GREAT deal! Even if you don't get them for a gift, eat them yourself. I would!
Mother's Day special at the frosted cherry!

A new endeavor

2009-05-02T08:43:00.010-06:00

I wanted to let you in on something I have been working on for the past little bit. My friend Holly and I have decided to take it upon ourselves to grace Boise with a new (at-home) baking business. We are both so excited and need all of your help to make it a success. Pass the word to friends and family about us so we can have some fun! Visit our blog to see new creations we have been making, giveaways, and other fun things. Just Email or call if you need a cake!

Another cake creation

2009-04-29T22:31:00.007-06:00

Here's a cake I did for Holly's 30th birthday. Not quite the cake I got for my 30th, but it's the thought that counts, right? :)

Look whose walking!

2009-04-29T22:03:00.005-06:00

Our little CJ has decided to keep up with his sisters and start to walk. It’s so cute to see him take some steps. He’s 10 months in this video! The girls both started walking around 1 year. Guess we have an early bird on our hands. His new favorite thing to do, bolt to the kitchen and tear open any cupboard he can. Oh, another favorite...screaming. He's a screaming machine. Anyone who is around us knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Good times!

uh, oh!

2009-04-29T21:53:00.002-06:00

Someone knew they were in trouble.

My cuties!

2009-04-27T22:19:00.004-06:00

Little A-3years, CJ-10 months, M&M-6 years

Pancake House

2009-04-27T10:30:00.004-06:00

Need I say more?

Surprise!

2009-04-26T21:35:00.004-06:00

Monday James turned 30! Happy Birthday to my hubbie! He did a surprise for me for my birthday so I had to get him back. Fun was had at the Reel theatre with pizza & scrumptious cake followed by a movie (Monsters vs Aliens). I was so happy it all turned out, the surprise wasn’t spoiled, and all who came had a great time. Thanks friends & family for helping, coming and making it a great evening!

Oh and I was even able to make this cake without James knowing it was for him! I sure know how to tell a great fib! There was even a little mishap with getting the cake to the theatre. My sis-in-law (thanks Jamie) came and picked up the cake and some other stuff to set-up before we arrived. I guess the cake did a little slipping action in the car, but you can't even tell. Nice work! :) I'm also lame and took horrible pictures! No more even worthy to stick on the blog. I'm hoping to view the video of the evening and may post some of it later!

Happy Birthday hun! :)

167 years

2009-04-26T21:05:00.001-06:00

I was asked to make a cake for the annual Relief Society birthday night (actually I offered…any excuse to make a cake!). I was really excited to try my hand in making my own fondant. It’s kind of messy, but actually not as hard as I thought. Here’s the finished cake.

Top tier: white cake with strawberry filling

Middle tier: yellow cake with strawberry filling

Bottom tier: chocolate cake with chocolate mousse filling

All frosted with vanilla buttercream

My gift!

2009-04-19T21:10:00.004-06:00

So remember this post?? Well I received my little gift and wow, it's awesome! I just had to share. I received a sweet purse with a cute button flower, a shirt she designed and a little game for the kiddos. It's a metal tin that you play tick tack toe on the lid, or race around the cars (with a magnet held on the back side). So cool. Thanks so much Holly!! You've got some serious talent. Right now she is selling some of her art for 50% off in honor of her birthday. Go buy something!

(If any of you know me, know how much I love to have pictures of myself...not! I had to laugh at this one. #1 I don't model. #2 I had the dumbest look on my face. Conclusion...major cropping! :P)

In honor...

2009-04-04T15:07:00.007-06:00

of Twilight!

(vanilla with oozing cherry filling & vanilla buttercream)

of Samoa Girl Scout cookies!

(chocolate w/coconut cake and caramel frosting)

First customer

2009-04-04T14:56:00.006-06:00

I completed my first cake to a paying customer! I was excited about it and had fun looking around and thinking of what I wanted to do. The cake was for a girl who was having a party with friends one day, and serving cake for family the next. Perfect for a 2 tier stacked cake with cupcakes! I hope you enjoyed it Claire!

Cupcakes: chocolate with chocolate buttercream & fondant flowers

Cake: Vanilla with french vanilla filling & vanilla buttercream & fondant decorations

April fools!

2009-04-04T14:35:00.005-06:00

M&M was SO excited for April Fool's day this year. She had something planned and couldn't wait to do it to us. The day finally came and first thing in the morning she ran down with this in her hand.

She asked: "What is this?". James and I were a little confused and said "A bear?"
With a huge grin she shook her head and said, "April fool's, it's a bunny!", while flipping it over.

Now THAT is an april fool's joke! :)

St. Pattie's Day!

2009-03-31T11:27:00.002-06:00

Since I seem to be way behind I thought I would post about our St. Patrick's Day on the last day of March! I can't believe March is over!!
We had a special leprechaun drop in and leave a trail to places he visited in our house. He left a special treat for each of the kids and to top if off, lucky charms for their breakfast! He even managed to turn the milk green!
We kept the festivities by making a green dinner too. The girls were a little grossed out by green potatoes & green pork chops, but it was fun to do.
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Family trip-part 4

2009-03-12T22:07:00.007-06:00

Thursday was another lazy day. Little A was actually not feeling the greatest when we got back Wednesday night and ended up having a fever all day Thursday. We layed around and watched cartoons so she could feel a little better. After awhile we were a little stir crazy and decided to head out. I had found where we could go to a place called "The Chocolate Factory" and watch them make chocolates and buy some too. Well we went there and it was closed! Who is closed at 2:30 during the day? :) So no chocolate for us! We then went down into Monterey and walked around the Fisherman's Wharf and other areas of Monterey. Luckily we could carry CJ in our hiker pack while we pushed around Little A in the stroller. She was a trooper since she still wasn't feeling good.

We came across a place where you could purchase fresh fish/prawns/crabs, etc. M&M looked like she was going to hurl when we walked in due to the smell. I got a laugh from it! She immediately wanted to leave. Both the girls haven't quite got used to the different smells there are around the ocean :)

We headed back to make some dinner, and attempted to watch the sunset again. This time on the beach. Brrr, it was windy and cold so M&M didn't want to stay long. We took a few pics and went back to the room to watch a movie & head to bed!

Friday, we started our journey back. We took our time to pack up and headed out after lunch. (we ate all the leftovers for the week first!). We made a stop in Sacramento to eat dinner with one of James' missionary friends. Chevy's, yummy place! Thanks guys for joining us for dinner. We had fun catching up. We drove to Sparks, NV and stayed at a hotel to break up the drive. Here's a sweet picture of CJ displaying his hanging skillz. He held on for a good 15 seconds..tough guy!

It's great to have such a nice trip with the fam! More enjoyable than I thought it was going to be and I'm already thinking about our next one. Until then!

family trip-part 3

2009-03-12T21:09:00.008-06:00

Tuesday we had a relaxing day. We headed to the beach mid-morning and played in the sand. It was CJ's first time actually crawling around on the beach and he loved it! Sand, seawead, sticks & even a bird feather all went (or really close) in the mouth. When he crawled around he would flip up sand into his face, which he didn't seem to mind. He cruised a bit while flipping it all over. It was funny. Little A stayed FAR away from the waves, while M&M and James played the "run away from the waves" game. I got in on the action as well. We took the video camera with us so no pics. :) After the beach we came back, had some lunch and hit the pool! Wow, it was a bit chilly. We spent the majority of the time in the hot tub (which is huge and felt like a pool) and eventually ventured into the pool. I just realized today that we took no pictures of us at the pool any of the times we went! So I had to document that we really did go swimming. We went again today and the pool was warmer so we played a lot more in it.

Wednesday, after some exercise (heh, we had to do it at least once during the week) we went down to Carmel. We drove "17-mile drive" and saw some very pretty scenery and awesome views. It's so beautiful around here! There are also some really nice houses down in this area.

(A couple sea lions playing along the beach)

CJ was sleeping in the car during this pic :)

After the drive it was time to hit Dennis the Menace Park. This was by far the coolest park and we could have spent hours here. We took a picnic for lunch and then tackled the park. The kids loved it.

When I was younger we went to Carmel beach and I remember getting there right when the sun had set and it was dark. I remember how pretty the beach was (white sand) but I couldn't see much else. So we went to check it out after the park. It's such a pretty beach with all the white, soft sand! The girls had fun building a river, a lake, & cinnamon rolls in the sand. I had reapplied sun-screen on CJ so he didn't have as much fun. He kept flipping sand by crawling and all the sand would stick to his face. He had sand everywhere.

To top the evening we hit a great place to eat. We made it there during their "island" hour and our meal was 50% off! Score! CJ had a taste of his first lemon too.

We made it back to our room to see the sunset. We stopped at Walmart and grabbed some ice cream and waffle bowls & ate it while watching the sun set. We didn't stay outside too long because it was getting breezy and cold.
The view from our back porch of our room.
We couldn't have asked for a better day!

Family trip-part 2

2009-03-10T22:50:00.007-06:00

Monday we went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It is such a cool place with SO much to do. We spent all day there, with taking a break for lunch at a local diner on Cannery Row. We had fun exploring jellyfish, touching starfish & other slimy things, learned about penguins, saw all kinds of fish & even sharks too! The girls loved all the interactive things they had for kids.

M&M's favorite part: playing the fish/water games they had
Little A's favorite part: seeing all the pretty jellyfish
CJ's fav: taking a nap in the stroller
James' fav: the "outer bay" area where there was a huge tank with shark, barracuda, tuna, hammerhead shark & other fish to watch.
Charise's fav: watching the fresh water seals turbo through the water.

Family trip-part 1

2009-03-10T22:48:00.001-06:00

We're off! Our first official family trip with just the five of us. We drove first to Winnemucca, NV and stayed the night, and then drove most of the next day to Marina, California (which is by Seaside, Monterey, etc). It's beautiful here! The weather could be a little warmer, but it's sunny and really nice so we couldn't ask for better weather. The whole way down the girls were SO excited to get to California. Little A would constantly ask, "Are we in China yet?" We would correct her everytime, and 10 minutes later she would ask it again! She couldn't get it that we were going to CALIFORNIA. One time she said:

LittleA: Are we in China yet?
James: China?
LittleA: Oh, I mean Mexico.
James: Mexico? We are going to California.
LittleA: Oh yeah! California! Are we in CALIFORNIA yet?

She was pretty funny about that. On the way we stopped at a couple parks. Here we stopped in Sparks, Neveda. Close to Reno. It was a really nice park next to a little pond/lake. It was CJ's first time playing with bark/dirt. Add that to the "in the mouth" checklist!

We finally arrived to our destination and are so happy with the accommodations. A cute little place with a full kitchen, living room, 2 rooms & even a washer/dryer! It's fun to have a place like this to ourselves. Since M&M watched movies the whole drive down she asked:
Do people really live in California or just people in hotels?
Umm, I think she managed to miss all the houses we passed while driving :)

The first day was pretty chill. We found a ward to go to (which half of it was in spanish-translated) and also relaxed by walking around where we are staying. The beach access is really close and the girls love it! It's fun to see their reactions about the ocean & the beach. It's a first for both. M&M loves going down to the water and running for cover when the waves come. Little A did it at first until she did a face plant in the sand and the water drenched her in her jeans. She steered clear of all waves & water today.

This post is getting lengthy, so stay tuned for more!

9 months!

2009-03-03T22:13:00.003-07:00

Wow, I can't believe we have officially hit the 9 month mark with Mr. CJ, but he's there. He's a crawling machine, can conquer a few stairs (definitely not down yet), and pulls & stands up on anything he can get his hands onto.
Found in the mouth tally:
-leafs from the only plant in our whole house
-a few pieces of dog food
-minuscule crumbs from the floor
-2 new teeth!

This photo isn't very good, but it shows what he loves to do with his tongue now that he has a couple teeth. He twist it all the way around, and does it all the time. So cute!

I love this!

2009-03-03T08:00:00.000-07:00

The first 3 people to respond to this post will get something made by me. My choice. Made especially for you.

Restrictions and Limitations:
1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It will be done this year.
4. You have no clue what it's going to be, because I don't even know what it's going to be!
5. I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The Catch: You must re-post this on your blog and offer the same to the first 3 people who comment on your post and agree to do the same! So get ready for your mystery treat... but be prepared to share the love! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you get when you get it.

Quotes

2009-02-23T22:29:00.004-07:00

James and I were able to go on a sweet bike ride on Saturday. We came back and the babysitter shared some awesome quotes by Little A. I wanted to be able to remember them.

Babysitter: "I'm so full my tummy is going to explode!"
Little A (I can't remember who she said, said this): "If your tummy explodes then you'll get to go up to heaven with Heavenly Father and Jesus!"

They were in CJ's room and they saw one of those nose plungers that you get boogers out with. Well LittleA preceded to tell the babysitter what it does and then added, boogers taste good. They taste like chicken.

The last thing, Little A asked: "Did you know there is glue in the ocean?"
Babysitter: No, is there?
Little A: "Yeah, I washed my hands the other day and they had glue on them, so now there is glue in the ocean!"

Babysitter

2009-02-18T22:23:00.002-07:00

We recently came home to this. Our girls had a little fun doing the babysitters hair. I think she needs a couple more flowers! She's s a great sport and a fun babysitter!

Holdin on.

2009-02-08T20:23:00.004-07:00

This is what CJ looked like when I went to get him from his nap. He didn't appreciate that I had to run and grab the camera. He was just so darn cute struggling SO hard to keep himself upright. Can you imagine how hard this would be if you were a little person like him? :) The picture doesn't do it justice, but he's holding on to the rails for dear life. Oh, and he's standing on his right foot while his left foot is on top of his right foot, it's hard to tell in the picture. I think it's just funny to see your little babe standing in his crib when you're expecting him to be laying there as you walk in.

8 months!

2009-02-07T21:34:00.002-07:00

CJ is 8 months now! He's even crawling. This picture was funny and figured his Nana would love to see the sweet yumminess coming out of his mouth! :) Oh, and you can probably guess he's teething.

First the right and then the left.

2009-01-28T23:00:00.004-07:00

So my girl is growing up! She has lost not one but her TWO front teeth. The first one happened to be on Christmas day, right during our Christmas morning breakfast. Pleasant :) It was really loose on Christmas Eve and I really tried to coax her to pull it out that night. Wouldn't that be sweet to have the Tooth Fairy and Santa come in one night? Nope, she didn't buy that!
The 2nd one was exactly one month later. She ate some whoppers at church and it somehow dislodged it out of its comfy spot. It was practically hanging there until she finally got the guts to wiggle it out, 2 hours later! I've never heard a kid whine & cry over a little loose tooth. Do all kids do that, or just our little princess? :) In the end she was glad to get it out and now is sporting one toothless grin!

"Tea time"

2009-01-26T21:56:00.004-07:00

Little A has been ~~pestering~~ bugging me to have a friend over for awhile now, so I finally gave in to her ~~demand~~ request. :) An inversion had hit the town for a good couple weeks, and boy was it gloomy, cold, and not any fun to go outside and play. We picked up Little A and her friend right from preschool to come back and get ready for a "tea" party! In this case, water. They both were so excited to get dressed up in cute princess dresses, while M&M and I got the table & food ready for them. M&M was so motherly, leading them to the table and serving them up some princess food. M&M couldn't serve them long because she had to run and catch her bus (hence, no pics of her).

When they first sat down I heard Little A say "let's pretend this is our princess restaurant!". It was funny to listen to what they talked about and see all that they ate. Man, those girls sure loaded up their plates. I don't think they ate 1/2 of what was on them, but they had fun loading them up. The best thing they ate, turkey pepperoni! Who knew little girls love turkey pepperoni! For dessert, bunny graham crackers with frosting in the middle. I was glad I finally gave in to Little A. For not a lot of work, it meant a lot to her. Thanks Teresa for letting her friend come over!

Tuckered out!

2009-01-20T17:33:00.001-07:00

I think he had a little too much jumping.

Cupcake anyone?

2009-01-18T15:24:00.006-07:00

As gifts to friends I decided to give cupcakes! Who doesn't love cupcakes? I even baked them on National Cupcake Day, but just getting to posting them now. I baked most the day and came out with 4 fab flavors.
*Orange Chocolate Chip with Chocolate buttercream, with white chocolate drizzle
*Carrot with white chocolate cream cheese frosting
*Coconut with Vanilla buttercream & topped with more coconut
*Chocolate with Chocolate buttercream, filled with mint chocolate ganache, topped with crushed candy cane
I baked over 100 cupcakes and loved doing every bit of it. The girls helped frost and sprinkle them too. I hope all recipients enjoyed them as much as I loved baking them!

Our little dancer.

2009-01-18T15:06:00.003-07:00

In December M&M had a dance recital and of course she did great! She is getting to be quite the dancer these days. I'll post her dance once I find time to do so :)

Girls, and now a boy!

2009-01-15T11:41:00.006-07:00

I was sitting at the computer when the girls really started laughing. I turned around and this is what I saw. They think it's hilarious to put bows/flowers in CJ's hair. At least it blue, right?!? This will be just the beginning.

Girls!

2009-01-14T16:36:00.004-07:00

I think a month sabbatical is good enough, don't you? :) The holidays were a little crazy for us and so now we are back in action.
A couple of cute pics of M&M and Little A sporting some sweet make-up applied only by M&M. I think a true make-up artist is budding!

Don't miss this!

2008-12-02T15:10:00.005-07:00

So my brother has finished his annual Christmas light display and it's up and running for all the world to see. He had a grand kick-off last night and it's fabulous! Anyone who wants to see a great show of lights & music you better head to his place in Meridian.
4468 Blue Creek St.
He is also collecting food & cash donations for the Idaho Food Bank so don't forget your canned food to drop off in a barrel on his porch. Happy watching!!

Happy Birthday Papa!

2008-12-02T15:01:00.004-07:00

We love you for the owies you fix,

the pretty pictures you take,

and the hugs & kisses you give!
Happy birthday to our favorite Papa!

Happy Birthday M&M!!

2008-11-26T15:24:00.006-07:00

Today is M&M's special day and we're putting SIX candles on her cake! Lucky her she gets to spend it with family in Utah at Snowbird. She has been excited about this for months! Our original plan was to take her skiing for the first time for her birthday, but the snow isn't cooperating. Not enough snow to ski on the kid's slope. Maybe later this season! So far today she has played Dominos, stacked pyramids (with the dominos), watched a movie, went over to the Cliff lodge and played arcade games at their gameroom, and played unlimited games on Nana's computer (luckily it's only for today). She got to choose what's for dinner. Her pick:

Pork roast (what kid picks pork roast??)

mashed potatoes

mixed veges

orange jello w/ oranges

confetti tinkerbell cake

I hope I always cherish these years I have her at home. I'm happy to be her Mom and hope I can always make her birthday a special day for her! Happy Birthday M&M!!

TSO

2008-11-12T10:48:00.004-07:00

Monday, my Mom called me and asked if I wanted to join her to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra. The flu is going around and my Dad caught it and so I was my Mom's date. Thanks Mom!! Sorry Dad :) It was an awesome show of lights, music, and fire! If you have a chance to hit up this show..do it! I also found out you aren't supposed to have a camera. The guy checking my purse looked right over it! Whoops :)

The best cupcakes!

2008-11-09T23:56:00.003-07:00

In honor of my bro's birthday, I made him some yummy cupcakes to celebrate! Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes to be exact and they were good! I ended up just making the cookie dough (with some oatmeal) instead of buying store-bought due to Little A's allergy. Happy birthday!

Wedding cake.

2008-11-09T23:20:00.007-07:00

My FIRST ever wedding cake. I don't like to brag, but I think I did ok! We had Young Women in Excellence so I was able to use my skillz to make a cake for our "wedding reception" decor. It was fun to do, but a little time consuming.

Don't mind the 2 flowers that fell off. :) We used some hymn books to prop the cake up and those two flowers got pushed off. I used my emergency frosting to do a quick fix but came back later to find they weren't sticking (I think because there was so much frosting on it already). Thanks to Sheryl for the pics! I, of course, forgot my camera to take any of the finished product.
A side note: I'm sad because our ward just went through new changes on Sunday. Our ward was split and so I'm no longer in the YW! Cross my fingers they put me back in. I'll miss everyone who was split to go in the other ward!!