Good old days

I just got Sage down for a nap, Jaxon is watching a movie in my room and my house is SILENT!!! Sweet wonderful bliss. So what do I choose to do? Blog of course. This one is for Kelsey. I apologize for making you see mutant Rhodes Rolls for so long.

So I am working on a little project for my friends for Christmas, and have some fantastic pictures that I just am dying to show the world. I've been friends with these ladies for a really long time, and I just feel so blessed to have been in such an amazing group of friends. Yes, I'm talking about you: Kelsey, Sarah, Melissa, Lisa, Lacey and Tashina. So enjoy this little blast from the past. I love you all! Now, please forgive me for the embarrassing pictures you're about to view.

I'll start with me, it's only fair. This is in 6th grade (I think)

Me and Mel....one crazy night at Wendy's

Here is the 7 of us. It's the only picture with us all in it. We need to change that ladies.

One of the earliest pictures of me and Kelsey. Gosh, it's been a long time huh?

Tashina...she's honestly probably the most beautiful person I know. That's why I feel 100% okay about posting this picture.

I think we were trying to be funny. We sure had fun back then huh Lis?

Lacey was probably the funnest roommate I could have ever hoped to have had in college. This picture just tells it all.Here's the gang at my 15th birthday party...nearly 11 years ago. It was a murder mystery, hence the cosumes.Well, there are so many more, but I'll leave you with that. Thanks for all the memories. I can't wait to keep making more!

This is what a bag of Rhodes Rolls looks like when it's been left out overnight. I thought it was pretty interesting.

This wasn't even a full bag!

Thats all.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a fantastic Thanksgiving yesterday. It started when Jaxon and Sage joined Jake and I in bed. I love mornings like that. When we asked Jaxon what he was thankful for, the list went as follows:

1. Nice seamonsters (who's not thankful for that!)
2. Scuba Divers
3. Nice sharks
Then, after some prodding,
4. Jesus
5. Mom and Dad
6. Baby Sage


I then had to start on my list of food items I was in charge of for dinner. One of which was an eight layer jello, which takes forever to make. I was in the best mood all day. I LOVE HOLIDAY'S! Jake and Jaxon went fishing, and Sage took a nap, so I was able to get all my cooking done without interruptions, which was really nice. Finally around 3:00 we headed off to Heidi's house, with my jello, green bean casserole, and tomato mozzarella salad. After waiting for everyone to arrive, we ate at 5:00. Dinner was delicious! Thanks to my dad for being one of the top shoppers at Fred Meyer, and winning us a huge Turkey. I guess our Thanksgiving was pretty typical, but if you ask me, there's nothing better than a typical Thanksgiving.

Here's our beautiful table

Jake and I, not so patiently waiting

The dinner party, just add Dad

Sage was stealing Holly's toy.

Mom and baby Sage

Sage is WALKING!!

Well, my baby is officially walking. She's not too proficient at it yet, but she's been practicing more and more lately. And, she's only 9 months old! Why is it my kids are so anxious to be all over the place? I guess God thinks I'm up for any challenge!

Wedding Cake #1

Here are some photos of the first wedding cake I made. My brother just sent me an email with these pictures and told me that I should add them to my blog! How cool is it that my big brother reads my blog! Love ya Bud!

So the story of the cake goes something like this. My brother, Mark, and his finace (Mikalann), came to Oregon for Christmas last year. We were doing wedding dress shopping and there was lot's of wedding talk, so I just threw out the suggestion that I should make the cake. Mikalann didn't seem so keen on the idea at first, but said that they would think about it. After I offered my services, I quickly regreted it. I didn't know how to make a wedding cake! Surly I would destroy anything I tried to make. Well, I few weeks later Mikalann called and said that she would love if I made the cake. Oh great! So I proceeded to make a practice cake, which turned out not so bad, and then the big day came, and.....here it is! The flowers really are what made the cake, and I didn't do that part, but the finished result was awesome. I was so proud. And it even tasted good. YEAH!! So here are the pictures. Thanks for the chance expand my talent Mark and Mikalann!

I Love Tuesday's!

Let me tell you about Tuesdays.

Tuesday is a special day.

For the past year I have spent my Tuesday evenings dining at my sister Heather's house. Sounds fantastic right? Let me continue.....

I eat dinner at her house only after she has taken my kid, sometimes kids, for a few hours beforehand. Sounds even better? Well,

I always come home after dinner to a clean house, and extremely tired children, who practically put themselves to bed. AND THEN, (yes, there's more),

Dancing with the Stars elimination is on at 9:00! YEAH FOR TUESDAY'S!

And a big thanks to my big sister for making it all possible. Love ya Hed!

Heather and the kids

Delicious dinner

This is one of the kids Tuesday activities. My sister had them put on a little play, costumes and all, on a little stage they found by a park. It was so cute. What a cool aunt.

Jaxon and Emily all dressed up for the play

Wedding Picture

I found this picture today and I wanted to post it and share. It's always good to remember your wedding day from time to time.

Cinderella

Last night I spent the evening is pure bliss as I listened to the beauty that is opera. My sweet father bought us both tickets to go see Rossini's Cinderella at the Keller Auditorium, and it was unbelievable! Because I studied so much opera in college is really is a passion for me, and I am hardly ever exposed to it so I literally sat on the edge of my seat most of the night just enthralled by the voices, the language, the orchestra, and every little bit of the whole experience. The best part was my dad's little stories about the different opera's he'd seen in his life and what they were like. He saw the Barber of Seville in Germany with an outstanding cast. I feel so blessed to have a father who wants to go to the opera with his daughter. And he kept telling me how happy he was that I would go with him! I think this might have to become a little tradition of ours. What do you say dad? Thanks for the amazing night!

Finished Product!

When I dropped the cake off, and I told the bride not to look to close because it wasn't perfect she said, "Imperfections are perfect!" It was exactly what I needed to hear to put my mind at ease. So here it is! And here is a link to the last wedding cake I made.

Well, I did it! Wedding cake #3 is complete, and it even looks pretty good! It will have red roses on the top, as well as under the base. I think it will look really elegant. This is my first wedding cake with buttercream, and it's hard for me because it's just not possible to get it completely smooth, and that's what I want, but I'm still happy with it. It's such a great feeling finishing a cake. I just sit and stare at it. It's a little bit like having a baby! Okay, that's an exaggeration, but you get the idea....

And here is the not so glamorous aspect of the cake business....the MESS!! It's 11:09pm, and I've conquered about half of the kitchen. I had to take a little break and blog a bit.

I'll get some pictures of the finished cake with the flowers and all and post them.

AHHH! The spider is gone. He doesn't seem quite so friendly now that I don't know where it is!

Walking baby

Here is baby Sage using her new walker. She is so sweet!

The day that wouldn't end

I have to tell you about my day yesterday.....please, indulge me!

Yesterday was a particularly trying day with my children. It started when Sage woke up before 7:00am. I don't care if it's 6:59, I DO NOT like being awake before 7:00. Then Jaxon was a little angel until about 8:30am when he decided to melt down and cry about every little thing he could possibly think of.

I had music group at 9:30, which would have been great if it hadn't been for Jaxon's crying, and pushing, and bothering everyone within a 10 foot radius of him, and Sage destroying all of the things I had out for music group. AHHH! Finally it was over and the day had already managed to stretch on forever, and it was only 11:00.

I then needed to spend some time working on my wedding cake I'm making for Saturday, and Sage felt it necessary to stay right by my feet and cry the whole time, which is bad enough when I'm not totally stressed to make a perfect cake.
Finally it was 12:00, and I decided I needed to do some shopping. I had a $10 Kohls cash that needed to be spent! I clearly explained to Jaxon that we would not be buying any toys, and he seemed fine with it before we walked into the store. But sure enough he found a shark toy, and when I took it away from him he threw a huge tantrum, laying on the ground screaming, which all the kind (said sarcastically) fellow shoppers looked at with disgust. So I had to do the whole -carry a screaming wriggling toddler while pushing a stroller- thing, which is never good for the whole patience thing. So we get home and it's only 1:30.....will this day never end?!?!

Let me make a side note here that Jake had not seen his kids since Sunday, which means I'd been husbandless for 2 day (he get's home around 9:00)

So I give Jaxon our little Nintendo and take a moment to relax at the computer, but that only lasts so long because Sage contines to cry at me regardless of whether or not I want to relax. (She has a double ear infection and is teething, so I'm not kidding when I say she cries a lot)

Anyway....on and on, we try and keep ourselves busy, which is just making me more and more cranky. Finally I give myself a time out on my bed, which doesn't last to long because of loud banging sounds and crying babies. Then Sage takes a nap...a 3 hour nap, which I think yesterday was the first time it had ever happened. Normally I would be thrilled about this, but today I had to get to the post office before it closed, and Jaxon was just getting more and more wound up the longer he was cooped up inside. And by this I mean talking a thousand words a minute in a exceptionally loud voice while using me for a bridge for all his toys.

Sage wakes up around 5:00 (only 1 1/2 hours until Jake get's home) and I am trying desperately to gain the motivation to make dinner, which is the absolute last thing I want to do at this moment. Well, I had procrastinated this trip to the post office, because I didn't think I could handle getting two kids out of the car again, and wait it a line at the post office without completely losing it. So I call up my sister Heidi and let her know that she has no option but to take my kids for a while so I can run errands. Good thing for sisters.

So I drop off Jaxon around 5:45 and head off to the post office, library, and grocery store. I shed a few tears somewhere around this time. I called Jake and told him to pick up Jaxon from Heidi's house for me, which would make life so much easier. It's funny how little things like that can literally make life so much easier. I picked up everything I needed for an easy dinner (by the way, my house was dirty all day, which I can't stand!) came home and made it while Sage sat quietly eating some Zwieback toast, then when Jake took a long time to come home, I called and he said he had just stopped at the store real quick.

A few minutes later Jake and Jaxon showed up at the door with a dozen white roses (my favorite) and Jaxon exclaimed "Mom! We bought you flowers!" Awwwwwwe!

The funny thing was, all day long I just was hoping that someone would magically know that I needed a boost, and there ya go! My sweet husband pulls through. Then, as a family, we all played on the floor, Sage laughing at everything, Jaxon being his cute crazy self, and my amazing husband loving us all. It was so perfect. He then proceeded to get the kids ready for bed while I sat down (finally) on the couch, and readied myself for some quality television watching. I desperately needed some down time. He joined me on the couch after the kids were asleep and we laughed and talked and made fun of all the people on the Country Music Awards. It was heaven. Around 11:00 I curled up in bed where I read my book for awhile and drifted off to sleep.

I share this story more for myself than anyone else. I thought for sure that my terrible day would somehow last forever, and that the rest of my life was doomed to screaming children and zero patience, but in no time at all my day had turned completely around. I loved my children more than I had ever before, my husband had become my knight in shining armor once again, and today is a new day and I feel great! I also share this in hopes that I am a normal mom, and I'm not the only one who has had this sort of day. So please let me know if you've had those days that never seem to end. I really hope I'm not alone!

Our Little Fisherman!

Hair Cut!

Well, I've been letting Jaxon's hair grow out for awhile now, and decided that the time had come for a hair cut. It was a much easier decision than I thought it would be-given his gorgeous blong curls.

He was really good during the hair cut, which makes the whole process so much easier

And TA DA! What handsome boys! And just look at those eyes. Anyway, that's our fun Sunday night activity. It sure got dark early with daylight savings. I guess that's probably the real reason he got a haircut....we were bored!

Our Halloween

Halloween Fun!! Our Halloween was so much fun. Jake and I absolutly love holidays, and Halloween is in the top 3....maybe 2! The day started with a Halloween themed music group, a was followed immediatley by a quick trip to the Children's Museum with cousin Emily. All the kids were in costume and it was decorated cute. We then went home and I attempted to get Jaxon to take a nap. Finally around 1:00 he fell asleep, and slept until 4:00 (which is probably the reason he was up until after midnight!!!!)

We then had to quickly carve our pumpkins, which hadn't happened yet because we kept waiting for Jake to join us, but with 12 or something tests in the past week and a half, he never quite made it. I never knew I was capable of carving 2 pumpkins in a half an hour. We then headed off to Heidi's house for a delicious dinner and then...... Trick or Treat!
Jake was a dentist....I know, so clever, and I was a cowgirl. Jaxon had so much fun knocking on doors and saying trick or treat. It sure makes holidays a lot more fun having a 3 year old around. After we were finished we came home and Jake and I proceeded to organize all of Jaxon's candy, which thankfully, was not too much.
So all in all, we had a full, fun day. And the best part is, I don't have to do it again for another year! Happy Halloween!