Ahoy!!

Last tuesday was our Young WOmen In Excellence evening. It was great, themed as talents to treasure, with a pirate theme. The evening went great, and I made this cute cake for dessert.

Pirate ships complete with torn sails and cannonballs.

And swedish fish swimming in the icing ocean. (suttons idea.)

Just don't ask how long it took. I have made 7 layer wedding cakes in less time.

38 days!

38 DAYS!! until the holiday. You know the one. The one with the decorations and the food, and the trees. The one that you look forward to for half the year, and dread for the other half. The one that just wouldn't be the same with out your kids to get excited, and ask for everything in the world.
In celebration of the upcoming holiday I am doing a few things. I am finishing projects. Yep. Don't laugh.
You know the pile of fabric in the sewing/dining room? Yeah. That one.
And the scrapbook paper in the laundry room?
And the cut out placemats on the sewing machine?
And the knitting in the baskets?( including the gloves I made for myself-all but two fingers. )why?
Because not one thing is coming into this house before organization rules.

So get out the list. Check it twice.
Put on some music.
And settle in for the long haul.


I just realized that the way my boys wrestle on the floor in an apparent attempt to squeeze the life from one another is normal.
Sutton can have wrestling matches with his stuffed animals.
And sometimes the animals win.

And by the way. Whoever replaced my children with Aliens who do not complain about practicing the piano, and actually get up at 7:30 am to do it, (instead of watching curious george)
you can keep the originals. Really.

AAAAAAHHH!

It is past eleven here at my house, on Sunday night. And sunday at my house means chaos. Whomever (look at that proper grammar! ) said that Sunday was the day of rest had never been at my house on a sunday!

We attended Church, and my kids had a giggle fest. I remember this as a child. I also remember the LOOK of DEATH that would be aimed our way every time we would smother a giggle in our hands. Who knew I would have the need to master the Look of Death for myself? It was one of those Sundays when you are sure the entire congregation is staring at your pew, and heaven only knows what they are thinking! And after church we had choir, (1 hour) and meetings, (2) and visits to young women, (2) and dinner guests, (also 2), and loud children, (4) and a sick dog, (1).

So as I sit here at a little after eleven, (which is really a little after twelve, which is the way I keep time for a good two weeks after the time change. As in, we need to be there at ten, which is really like eleven, so I have plenty of time! Ha Ha.), as I sit here and the quiet breathes around me, I am reminding myself of the things I love about motherhood.

1. Fairies. Who doesn't love a good fairy now and then?

2. Princesses. See #1 above.

3. A strong hero on standby. (Just look at those muscles!!)

4. Someone who's always ready to protect you.

5. Beauty everyday.

6. People to enjoy it with.

SO goodnight. I am now going to bed, at 11:30, which is really 12:30. And when I wake up my children will politely ask me if I would like breakfast in bed, and what (matching)socks they should wear with the neatly pressed clothes I laid out for them. Daisies will bloom, and bluebirds will sing. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

Smile.

Ponies, pinatas, and pumpkins, Oh My!

Sutton Turns 5!!!!!

When people ask me about our kids, I start with, :well, our oldest is 10, and the baby is almost 5", and they ask, "So you have just the two then?" And my reply,

" We have four wonderful, amazing kids. Four kids in Five years. And yes, life is nuts. And yes, I love it. " And now my "baby" is 5.

Too old to be carried around, too old to call the baby, too old to stay at home with Mom all day. But as he threw his arms around me yesterday and laid a big old smooch on my cheek I thought, definitely not too old for some snuggling in the morning, never too old for bedtime stories, and heaven help me if he ever gets too old to be my little boy!

But in celebration of this landmark event, (no more diapers at our house, Hooray!)

We threw a carnival shindig of epic proportions.

One pony, one pinata, seventeen pumpkins, 32 hot dogs, 2 cans of hot chocolate mix, 22 kids, and lots and lots of fun! Painting pumpkins, punting pinatas,
and Playing with ponies!!

Ride em cowboy!!
All the other kids got into the action, including the older "kids" of all ages in our neighborhood.
Lots of fantastic friends, and memories for when they really are all grown up!

Self Portraits al la van gogh!

This is what happens when your daughter figures out that the viewfinder rotates backwards on the digital camera.
YAAAAAWWWWNNNNN!!!
Imagine my surprise when I downloaded pictures this weekend. There are about 32 of these charmers!
Is this her librarian look?

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did.

Serendipity! (Or why gossip is BAD!)

Last friday I had a wedding cake for Dawn. Dawn was a cute girl, who called me because I had done a cheesecake wedding cake for her cousin Kathy. And in conversation it came out that she was Evie's teacher's roommate until August. (Ms. Hackworth we love you.) This is one of the reason's I never gossip about anyone in Utah. EVERYONE knows someone who knows you. It is like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon, only WORSE!

Dawn had a very definite idea of what she wanted.

Hatboxes.

Now, I normally don't do hatbox wedding cakes. To me a little bit of fluff and flowery victoriana goes a LONG way. But these sounded neat.

So I sketched out three contrasting hatboxes, with antique gold accents, and cabbage roses on top.

This is how it turned out. What do you think? I love the gold braid handles. (not real fondant, I cheated and went to the fabric store. ) And the gold touched scrollwork.
And the stripes. The stripes were cool. Dawn and Jon's names were done in gold scrollwork around the top band, with brown and pink accents. It all went really nicely with her centerpieces, which were actual hatboxes, and gold runners.

Just don't ask me about the pink food.

MotherHood

Last weekend I made a cake for a very good friend of Ron and I's. It was a beautiful autumn themed wedding in a backyard in Orem. It was a lovely day. and although I had to rush through some of the week to get it done, it was a beautiful cake. Four small bottom layers, a larger second layer, glass pillars and a small top layer. All were done in a dusty pink, with white crown borders, and brown ribbon accents.
The flowers were red zinnias, gerbera daisies, alstromeria, white mini zinnias, and some awesome brown, red, and green foilage I purloined from someone's overgrown shrub. (Thanks, it was just what I needed!)
It was all balanced on a plexiglass square, on four glass vases, filled with red petals. It did turn out quite well, and I was pleased. I knew I wanted to take pictures, so I took the girls with me, set up, and the boys came later to wish them well. (Congratulations Noelani!)

While I was there, in a beautiful setting, with my four kids, all reasonably mess free, camara dangling from my shoulder I thought, "hey, why don't I take some pictures of the kids?" As I look at these pictures now, I wonder why I wait for some special event to take pictures. Aren't the every day events just as special? (If a little more messy) My kids are growing up faster than I would like, and I would like to freeze them all, just an hour, and sit down. Forget cakes, and lessons, and homework, and just laugh, and treasure the little moments we have together.
"Author Anna Quindlen reminds us not to rush past the fleeting moments. She said: “The biggest mistake I made [as a parent] is the one that most of us make. . . . I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of [my three children] sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summer day, ages six, four, and one. And I wish I could remember what we ate, and what we talked about, and how they sounded, and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less”
So this is my goal. Play with the toys, don't just pick them up. Laugh with my kids everyday. Let them help, even if it makes a mess. Let them be themselves. Make time just for time. And hope they don't grow up too fast. I love you guys!

Birthday Party Fun!!

Evie's birthday party for friends was this last weekend, and she wanted to have a fairy bash. Right now she is into anything tinkerbell.
Her birthday cake was a fairy world, with tinkerbell on the top. (she got to keep tink, of course)Her friends all came, we colored fairy pictures, had a fairy treasure hunt, and ate pizza and fairy cake. Then they decorated picture frames, which we sent home with a picture of each girl with evie. (I love digital camaras!!!)
But by far the biggest hit of the afternoon was the "wrap sutton in tiolet paper" game. By the time they were done the family room resembled a blizzard. All the tinkerbell theme was fun, and it got me thinking about disney, and how successful they have been.

Walt Disney once said that " Age old entertainment based on the classic fairy tale knows no young, no old." That is certainly true. While looking for cake ideas for the party I found these pictures, a series done by Annie Leibovitz for a disney promotion this year. The entire series can be found on the disney blog, here. But these are two I especially loved.

Beckham as Prince Charming. I mean, how cliche. But a great picture. You can just imagine the dragon just out of the frame.

And this Cinderella is fantastic. If you check out more, look at Beyonce as Alice in Wonderland.

I can tell it is just about time for another Disneyland vacation. Sutton does not remember going, (he was only 18 months old the last time we went) and he is just at the age where it is so fun to see them enjoying themselves.

On another front, check out this game. Quiddler.

It has become one of our favorites. A combination of scrabble and gin rummy, you play seven hands, trying to make words out of the letters you have been dealt. Try it, you will like it!

Skating through Life!

Fall is in the air . . . the smell of leaves, the cool, crisp morning air, the sound of skates swooshing across the ice. WHAAAAAT? Skates?
Yes, I have taken up the time honored olympic sport of figure skating. As a "non-traditional" student at BYU I am mere inches away from my Bachelor's degree. The only classes I have left to take are biology, an exercise class, and my senior lecture.
SO, I signed up for . . . Ice Skating!
Yes, just like anyone raised in North Dakota I skated my way through the winters. I have regaled the kids with stories of how they used to flood the soccer field at my elementary school, and we skated for P.E.
But that was 15 years, four kids, and a few pounds ago.
Yesterday was the first day of class, and after two hours on the ice I am happy to note that unlike others in the class, I DID NOT fall down. Hooray.
Now just 14 classes to go.

What a Party!!!

Today was Evie's ninth birthday. Convenient that it was Labor Day, so she got to do the thing she loves the most-SLEEP IN!!!

We had a great time today. We went to Borders, where she got to pick out a CD and book.

Her book pick was this one, about a mermaid. (just knew it was mermaids or fairies!)
And her CD was the new Cheetah Girl's One World Soundtrack.

Afterwards we went to Mamma Mia!!!! (OK, this was for me, but it's not all about you on your birthday, is it?)

If you haven't seen it, do!! Such a relief to come out of the theatre smiling and happy, singing and dancing, rather than dreary and depressing.

We had the fam over for dinner, Grandma and Grandpa Spotts, Grandma and Grandpa Baxter, Nana, Papa, Lauren, and Britt. Evie got to pick the meal, so of course it was pasta with cheese, but she has upgraded from good old kraft mac an cheese, to pasta alfredo.

Grandma Spotts made a coconut cake, and everyone else chipped in too.

Evie is determined to make her birthday last all week, so Saturday is her friends birthday party.

I better get out those balloons!

Have a great week everybody!

Back To School

DO you remember the first day of school? Do you remember the nervous butterflies, the excited anticipation, the dread? Do you remember seeing old friends again, and making new ones? Packing a school lunch, and getting up an hour earlier than you needed to? Mom fixing a great breakfast, when the rest of the year you eat cold cereal?
As I watch my kids get ready to go back to school all of these old feelings come back, along with new ones. Will they be okay? Will they be loved and cherished as I can love them? Will they be permanently scarred?:) No one warned me that being a mother was so full of emotional pitfalls, or that I would be going through elementary school four more times. (like the first time wasn't bad enough) But it is an exciting time.

Channing and Evie planned their wardrobe VERY carefully. Channing and her best friend were chic in Black and white, (always one of my favorites) while Evie was stylish in Red.
Ryder was excited to see Spencer and Cassie. (of course he has played with Spencer everyday all summer long.)
And I never can get them to all smile at the same time. (thank you Evie!)

And here is a little line that made me smile. Don't forget your apple for the teacher!

School
A little girl had just finished her first week of school.
"I'm just wasting my time," she said to her mother.
"I can't read, I can't write and they won't let me talk!"
~ Author Unknown ~