Hyper speed Summer

So I just realized that's it's been well over a week since I've posted. I dont' know about you, but this summer is rocketing past us. Unfortunately, I don't have much to show for the past week or so. We've been pretty busy, but I haven't really captured too much on film. So I'll start off with a flashback. Craig spilled water on our end table and this picture ended up getting pretty wet. I figured I'd better scan it before anything else happens to it. This was taken right before we left for Texas, Chloe was five. It's one of my favorites. Actually, it was one of the photographers favorites too and I was asked to sign a waiver so they could put it up in the photography studio at Penny's. Those of you in So Cal should go by the Laguna Hills mall and see if it's still there. Okay, so here's a snapshot of what we've been up to.

Logan and Roger have been enjoying some quality time together.

Same for Roger and Chloe.

Can you guess which child he likes more?

We've been swimming quite a bit and going to several different water parks. We ended up getting season passes to Splash Town, but I never bring my camera, so no pic's of that. But I did take it to a smaller local water park. The kids had a great time.
There was a huge bucket that dumped water every few minutes. This kids LOVED it. I went over to get a picture. Luckily, there was an umbrella that you could stand under if you didn't want to get hit.

Yeah, I wasn't under it.

Needless to say, this is the last picture I got at the water park.
(Gotta love Sony. After the camera dried out, it was right as rain.)

Daisy turned 10 last week. Here's her cake.
I'd been wanting to try this design for a while. I really loved the way it turned out.
It's definitely one of my favorites.

Well, it WAS one of my favorites.

The poor thing met a horrific end in the Chuck E. Cheese parking lot.

(You can still see some of it there as well as down the side of Dawn's truck.)

Thank God it wasn't me that dropped it!

Daisy took the whole thing so well, I decided to whip up another one.

So here's the Daisy Cake II. I literally threw this thing together in about an hour. Not as pretty as the first, but what can I say . . .

But even without a cake, everyone seemed to have lots of fun.

And as always, some of us may have had more fun than necessary.

Surprisingly enough, Chloe still agreed to be photographed with me.

Rewind a few days and here we are celebrating our 4th of July.
We started out BBQing at Dave and Brandy's (you'll need to hop over to their blog to see some cute pics of the kids) . Then we settled in at our corner to watch the fireworks.

The kids enjoyed playing with a few poppers and sparklers we had left over from Uncle Gary's past spending sprees

But But the real show was our neighbors. They spent over $2000. and it really was spectacular.

We even had a few people drive over from other neighborhoods just to watch.
And of course the kids had fun, just running around like hooligans in the dark.

One thing missing was that Trent wasn't here this year.

We sure missed him!

Chloe, Sophie and I are heading to Splash Town again tomorrow while Logan is at Dinosaur Camp with his friend A.J. Here's to another great week!

A day in the life . . .

Craig doing double duty as lawn boy and babysitter A surprise visitor due to the massive rain that just hit.

Craig called the 'snake guy' in our area who confirmed the little guy wasn't poisonous.
So everyone (except me) had to say hello before Craig set him free.

And one more cake I did for a 50th birthday party this weekend.

And that's it for us.

We hope your 4th is a happy one.

14 LOOOOOHUNNG Years!

Well, after 14 years, I'd like to think we've got it pretty together. But that wasn't always the case,

We started out as two very stupid kids in love.

And through some pretty bad hair styles

(me, not him)

and years of necessary training

(him, not me)

But slowly we seem to figure it out.

And through all the laughter and tears

I wouldn't change a thing . . .

well, maybe one or two.

But I would do it all again, a million times over.

Should I be worried?

yes, I thought so!

A Titanic undertaking . . .

So here's my latest. I did it mainly just to see if I could. Well, that and because some one paid me. It's a full fondant cake with rice krispy treats for the smoke stacks. The fondant was such a pain, practically melting in my hands due to the humidity. I had to work on it for a few minutes, then put it in the fridge, work for a few minutes, then put it in the fridge.
The design is pretty basic. I did try to put in a few little elements though. I put on life boats with little oars in them. I made a rope and pulley for the bow. (I'm not sure what for, but I just feel every boat needs a rope and pulley!) And I put 1911 on each life preserver.
I am proud that a person can pretty much tell it's the Titanic, even before they see the words Titanic on it. Speaking of which . . . Funny story (A story of which my better judgement tells me NOT to admit . . .then I remember I don't have a better judgement so I'll share it)

After I finished the cake, I took my pictures and uploaded them to the blog. After writing all my comments, I ran spell check. Well, I'll be damned if I wasn't spelling Titanic wrong.
So, you're probably wondering . . . .Did she really????

You bet your sweet pa-tootie I did!
I know I really should burn the evidence instead of blogging about it right!
Well, hell. If you can't laugh at yourself, who are you gonna laugh at, right?
(I mean besides Kate Gosslin)
Needless to say, Thank God for this blog.

Okay, you can stop laughing now and go back to appreciating my mad cake skills!

Daddy

HEY, DAD I JUST WANTED TO SAY HAPPY FATHERS DAY AND THAT ILOVE YOU BEACUSE YOU ARE HANDSOME.
CHLOE


I love you Daddy and you're the best Dad in the whole wide world because you tickle me and play with me and because you swim with us.
Logan

Sadie showing off the latest in summer swimwear. Chloe, just being her beautiful self.
Chloe and Sophie, all dolled up to go to see Big Chloe's (Sophie's sister) ballet performance.

The kids torturing Roger. Although he really doesn't mind.

And one final picture.
The squash and potatoes are from our garden. Grilled to perfection and seasoned with Salt Grass 7. A very special man would have appreciated this, but he was taken from this world way too early.

We're thinking of you Donnie!

A special anniversary celebration

So I'm just wondering . . .

Would it be wrong to ask Craig to celebrate our 14 year anniversary by taking me to see my fantasy man?

Yes, I'll admit it. While I'm having trouble getting past those horrendous wigs they've put on Jasper and Alice, I'm still chomping at the bit to see Eclipse.

The painter's palette

Here's my latest. This makes three cakes so far for June. My favorite part of this cake is the "wood" handles on the brushes. I think they turned out pretty good. And I'm actually proud that you can't see the chocolate cake under the frosting. Getting a crumb free frost on a chocolate cake has been virtually impossible for me, so I happy to see my skills are improving. I have another cake on order for the end of the month. And this one is a doozie. If I can actually pull it off I'll consider myself a real cake decorator. If I don't . . .well, let's just say my future as a cake designer will be sunk.

Craig's birthday dinner at Crabby Daddy's.

Not too shabby for an old guy!

Happy Birthday to the man I love!

Happy Birthday to a man of many talents!
He's a mamma's boy who is a great babysitter,
(although a bit of a klutz!)

He's uber talented,

with skills far beyond measure!

He's a man who likes to be in control!

He's Super Dad! A lover a animals!

and my very own live McDreamy Doll!

Happy Birthday Babe.

A couple more cakes

I'm hoping to start making a few more cakes each month over the summer. I'm off to a pretty good start. Here are two I made last week.

For a graduate of The Woodlands High School. The hats are all fondant.

Yes, I'm sure some of you were wondering when I'd make a Twilight themed cake. This one was for A.J. 's sister Melanie, who is Team Jacob all the way. I had no idea what to do, so this is what I came up with.
Yes, I'll be sure to avoid any further cakes that take any amount of artistic ability.
I did three wolves. This one was the best. The other two resembled ferrets more than they did wolves. Luckily, Melanie didn't look much past the picture at the top of the cake. So as far as she was concerned, it was great.