Birthday fun!

We got to go to an awesome birthday party for Maryn on Saturday. It was a blast!! We ate delicious food and got to ride horses. Thanks for the fun!

Here's the cake I made for the party. It all came together sort of last minute, but it turned out pretty cute.

Jaxon had a blast on the horse. He was so cute bumping along.

Sage found someones cake and dove right in.

Twinners

We didn't even plan this one!

My life

I really love my life right now. I love having my sisters so close that I can hang out with them whenever I want. (and brother-in-law...)I love my little kiddos and the age they are at. We sure do a lot of hanging out, and they are always making me laugh. Jaxon is into asking all sorts of random questions. Like, "mom, if you see a snowman does that mean you will be a snowman?" Or, "does flower mean syrup?" The answer he gets from me more often than not is, I don't know!!! I love my husband, and how hard he works in school. We just got invited to a dinner to recognize him as the top student in his class, for the second year in a row. AWESOME! He's great. I love that I have a friend to trade kids with so we can go running in the mornings. I love watching Jaxon's swimming lessons with Sagie by my side. I love having absolutely nothing I need to do more often than not. I know that someday it won't be that way, and I'll be busy with a hundred different things, but for now, I love just hanging out. I need to remember these days for when those days come. Life is good, and I am grateful to live the happy life that I do, when I know that there are so many in the world who do not. I am very blessed, and although my patience often wears thin, I am very happy!

AMERICAN IDOL!!!!!

It's okay to have a teeny tiny crush on someone if you're married right? Eensy weensy teeny tiny little bitty crush! WHOO HOO DAVID COOK!

"Here comes trouble"

Snohomish

We spent last weekend with Jake's family in Snohomish. It's always fun to visit there because it means.....

cousins!!!

It's great having both of our kids so close in age. It always makes for fun trips. And I love that picture of Mya and Jaxon. They look like they could be twins!

These two on the other hand seem so different to me. Sagie is SO tall next to Mackenzie. Either that or Mackenzie is just short! : )

Here's my pathetic excuse for a cake...and don't try and tell me otherwise. It was a disaster. It only looks okay because of the distance and angle of the picture. Just trust me! The cupcakes, on the other hand, were beautiful and delicious, as demonstrated by my hubby!

This picture represents the two of them a little better than the first. It's a bit more realistic than two happy smiling kids.

Here Jess with the birthday girl. We had a great time, even though most of us were sick, and can't wait to visit again soon!

And for your viewing pleasure, a random picture of Holly. I think she looks stunning in it, so I just had to post it. If only it were a bit less blurry. Oh well.

A tribute to my big brother Mark on his 30th Birthday

I have a terrible memory. I have lost or suppressed so many of my childhood memories that I feel like I don't have any. But as I pondered on what memories I have with Mark, I was amazed at how easily they came. So here are 30 memories, or things you've taught me, and/or what I love about you Bud.

(I love how awkward we look in this picture. It's almost painful.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

1. He taught me to appreciate, although not enjoy, the musical stylings of Jethro Tull, The Grateful Dead, and later, Dave Matthews (him I enjoy!) The playlist has been created especially for today!

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2. He taught me to play Ultima, and LOVE it!

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3. He instilled in me a deep love of St. Patrick's Day by teaching me how to catch a leprechaun. We would find the perfect spot in the canal behind our house and dig a hole deep enough and camouflage it so that when I leprechaun fell in, he would have to leave his bag of candy in order to get out. And then he would leave a note that went something like-

"O' ye laddie, ye caught me again!! Next year I'll be smarter and look out for your trap"

I still, to this day, believe in leprechauns.

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4. He taught me that if you swallow a watermelon seed, a watermelon will grow inside of you. I believed that way longer than I care to admit.

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5. I used to love to watch him draw. I would often sneak into his room and look at his sketchbooks.

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6. He taught me to love reading. If Mark liked a book, then I wanted to like it too. Case in point: The Sword of Shanarah series. I'll always have a special place in my heart for fantasy.

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7. One time, late at night, we watched Pocahontas and just laughed through the whole thing. He probably doesn't remember it, but it's a memory that I cherish.

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8. He loved sneaking into my room at night and crawling next to my bed until he could reach out and grab my leg. I would always scream.

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9. He told me that there were evil people that lived in a certain part of the mountains by our home that would come down and get me. I was terrified.

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10. I LOVED his long curly hair that he had in High School. I was sure I had the coolest brother ever!

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11. I feel like he taught me how to mow the lawn, and we'd always race on the paths that the freshly mowed lawn made.

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12. Okay, this one almost made me cry when I thought of it....he taught me how to make freakin' AWESOME sand villages in our sandbox complete with rivers and lakes filled by our garden hose. We could spend hours out there.

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13. Until I married a Marniers fan, I remained a fan of the Oakland A's for the sole reason that it was Mark's little league team.

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14. When Mark had his first girlfriend, I loved to spy on them in hopes to catch them making out! I think I did once.

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15. He let me know, frequently, that my bangs were atrocious and looked like a mouth that was going to eat him. I think that's what he called them, "the mouth". It made me sooooo mad.

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16. Mark is the reason I grew out my bangs.

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17. He taught me how to play around the world ping-pong, and I felt like we were kids again.

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18. My college friends had crushes on him. I thought that was so cool.

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19. I love his teeth more than anyone else's, because they are exactly like mine!

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20. He let me make his wedding cake! Or I guess I should say, Mikalann let me make their wedding cake.

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21. I drove his car to my wedding. I don't know why, but that holds a lot of significance for me.

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22. He was the first to nickname my son "Action-Jaxon" and it melted my heart to see him love his little nephew on our trip to Yellowstone.

23. I love whenever he pulls a "Bud"

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24. He always made my play goalie in our backyard so he could practice soccer and make me feel like I was awesome at it.

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25. He has the greatest laugh, and shares it often. He also had the greatest sense of humor and shares that often as well. He's hilarious

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26. He taught me to love pink lozengers, even though now when I taste them, they are terrible!

And while we're talking about food, he likes my scotcharoos more than anyones!

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27. I always called him Marcus Peconius

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28. He taught me how NOT to drive on an icy mountain pass

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29. He taught me how to play Texas Hold'em, and also how to loose money at Texas Hold'em

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30. He is far and above the best big brother our there and I love him so much.

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Happy 30th Mark!!

Love your little sis, Stephanie

Happy Birthday Stacie!

I love my sister-in-law Stacie oh so very much, that I am willing to post a somewhat embarrasing video to wish her a happy birthday! We all love you Stacie, and are SO glad that you 'settled' : ) for our brother!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

Blast from the past

I have a very, very special place in my heart for this fictional character, and this video brought back a world of emotion. I just had to share for any other fans out there! And Mark, I know you'll appreciate it!

The process of making the cake

I've been wanting to do a post like this for a long time, and I finally remembered to take the pictures as I went along. I must preface by saying that I am NOT a professional, and NOT a perfectionist, so whether or not my cakes turn out is a gamble. Today is my nephew Connor's birthday, and when he told me he wanted a Yoda cake, I was a little nervous. But, how can I tell the kid no?! So here is my attempt at a Yoda birthday cake.

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I started by baking a cake in a glass bowl to create a round shape for the head, and then trimmed around it to get the right shape for Yoda's head

Here is the picture that I will be referring to, and hope to create a resemblance of some sort to it
You have to start with LOTS of frosting in order to not pull up any crumbs. This is especially important when you are using a cake you've cut, like I did.
I used cardboard to make the ears, I didn't even want to try cake, and then frosted them green! I've also outlined Yoda's face with a toothpick
Here is an attempt at making wispy hair with frosting. Also I've filled in the outlines I made with frosting
Now I've added more detail to the eye, added more wrinkles with a toothpick, and smoothed out my outlines. I've also place it on top of a Costco chocolate cake!

I LOVE THAT CAKEHere's my, oh-so-clever idea-that-I-didn't-come-up-with-myself title for the birthday cake. Get it, because Yoda talks backwards. Oh, and I added an s after say. And here is the finished product. Not bad eh? It's a good thing I've got kids in my life that will challenge me to make Yoda cakes, because seriously, when would I EVER do this?Happy Birthday Connor and Rick! Love ya both!

Listen up!

I'm just too excited to keep it to myself anymore! There are samples from the CD that I got to be part of online. Click here to listen!!! You should listen to all of it, but if you're interested in just hearing yours truly, then find Bountiful or A Love So Born in the drop down menu. Pretty cool!