Cakes

Been playing around in the kitchen alot this summer....  I made this for a 3-year-old Princess.  It was the only the second cake I had made for someone other than "family", so needless to say, I was a little nervous.  

 I made this cake for a friend's daughter in June.  Her theme was a flip-flop party, so I made her a flip-flop cake.  The flowers and flip-flops were made of gumpaste and the entire cake was covered in buttercream and a layer of fondant.

Another friend asked me to make a baby shower cake.  That was uncharted territory for me.  Up to this point, I had only done birthday cakes.  I had a picture of one I was dying to try, but didn't think it was actually possible for me to make it.  I was happy with how mine turned out, but I'll tell you...about two hours into it, I was kicking myself for agreeing to do it!!  The "belly" was made out of a half-ball pan and the "boobs" were made out of rice krispy treats.  It was covered with buttercream and a layer of marshmallow fondant.

Anna's birthday is August 1, but she will be in Peru.  When she gets back, she has planned a party with her best friend. They have a zebra and cheetah print cake picked out for me to try...it should be a challenge.  Thanks for stopping by.  

Bye for now....

Summer on the Hill

It has been a fast and HOT summer here in Arkansas.  We are on, I believe, our 23rd or 24th CONSECUTIVE day of temperatures at or above 100 degrees.  To make matters worse, we have had virtually NO rain.  Today there is a 50% chance, so we will hope the weatherman is right.

So much has been going on this summer that I don't even know where to begin.  Anna went on her mission trip to Port Arthur, Texas, right after school was out and had a blast.  She said that the one week wasn't nearly enough for the work that she wanted to do there.  She met a little 3 year old girl that stole her heart...

Jake graduated from 6th grade. 

Anna and Jake, outside the Fine Arts building on the CHS campus

Jake went to church camp for his first time this year.  He seemed to be okay with it since Anna would be there also.  I, on the other hand, wasn't so sure he could do it.  He surprised me by making it ALL week!!  As for me and Joe..it was the quietest week we have had in over 12 or 13 years!!!!  I guess that was a test for us, as well.  

We DID get to work in a quick vacation this summer.  I wasn't sure we could find time, but Joe got on the internet one night and booked us a room at Universal Studios in Florida.  

 

We stayed at the Portofino Bay Hotel

It was actually on Universal's property, so we got to use an Express Pass for the rides and we got early admission to the parks.  The kids LOVED that they could get into a separate line for rides and practically walk right on to the rides without a wait.  Don't know if we would have paid the $87 or so dollars for the pass if it had not been included in our room charge.  

This is "The Rocket" as Anna and Jake call it.  The actual name is Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit.

Islands of Adventure

Outside of Emeril's Tchoup Chop

 

I have a lot more to share, but it will have to wait until another day.  Anna and Joe are packing for a medical mission trip to Peru.  They leave at 3 am tomorrow.  This will be Joe's second trip Peru, but Anna's first.  She will celebrate her 15th birthday in another country and I know God will be blessing her with a joy in which no presents can compare.  If you are reading this, please pray for their safety and for the work that they will do while there.


Bye for now.....

Almost Summer

Edit:  This post was written in May, but finally published in July.....

Each day when I would think about blogging, it seemed, well, a little overwhelming.  I thought about all the stuff we have done since March 4th and I though to myself, "There is NO WAY I can possible cover all of that in a post!"  So, obviously, I would decide the task was too overwhelming and would choose not to post. 

So why did I decide to post today?  Well, I decided that better to post something, than nothing.  So today, I'm not going to worry about the stuff I haven't posted over the last 2 months and just post! 

That all being said....we are all as busy as we can be!  With the end of school fastly approaching, our days are filled with party planning, graduation (from 6th grade), class registration for next year, planning summer camps, etc.  The kids are going to stay busy this summer, that is for sure.  Anna has a mission trip to Texas, church camp, tennis camp x 2, a medical mission trip with Joe, and I believe that is all.  Jake has basketball practice, football camp, church camp, and I believe that is all.  Me, I will be taxi driver, as usual. 

We went on a cruise to Belize, Costa Maya, Cozumel, and Isla Roatan, Honduras, during spring break.  It was a lot of fun.  We swam with dolphins, zipped through the rainforest on a zipline, road jet skiis, and relaxed!!  Here are a few pictures...

Thanks for stopping by!

Bye for now....