I've been unfaithful.

I am an Oregonian!
I am green. I am a Nike fan. I like water. I don't mind the rain. I enjoy the ocean and the mountains. And, I went to the adidas campus (yeah... that's right. Their North American headquarters are here too)! I know, this is nearly sacrelig since Nike IS Oregon.
Dare I say that we had a good time too?

Observation Book

To keep Trenton busy a few weeks ago, I decided to cure his need for hunting with this....

...this is his "Observation Book". He picks leaves and flowers from everywhere and we tape them inside along with a small picture so he can remember where he found his treasure.

This has been running smoothly until recently when I found leaves (yet to be taped in) all over the house, car, table, bags, etc.
So, I came up with something new.
I told him we could go somewhere special and instead of picking the leaves and flowers we could take pictures of them to put in our book.

This turned out to be my super mom moment. We went to the most special, non-flower-picking place I could think of, the temple.

It was so sweet to see them loving the beautiful grounds, the flowers, the leaves, and it was fun for me being with my slightly irreverent boys. They are my treasure and these moments make me remember that there is nothing better in this world than them! They are at such a fun age and I'm so glad this moment is captured in pictures forever.

While I am quite proud of myself, this idea of really doing something adventurous and somewhat educational is a new to me. I'm much better at sitting in my lawn chair watching them run in the sprinkler. We'll have to try this more often, it was fun!!!

Grand Finale cake

This is the last cake for a little while. My class ended, and I'm not sure when or if I'll do another. I need a break! My oven needs a break! My mixer is begging for me to let it rest for bit. Nothing like a big bed of sugar flowers, butterflies and a classy basket-weave to feel like I've aged. My teacher is a few GENERATIONS older than us... so this is what we ended up with.

Happy 30th Birthday

Emile had his birthday, and it was a BIG one! Not only did he turn 30, but we decided to go on a small trip to celebrate. It was our first time leaving BOTH boys, so we didn't go far or long, but what a WONDERFUL time we had, and I really couldn't be more excited to celebrate someones birthday!

We sang and ate cake!

I even made this cake for the day before his big day! (Yes... we ate the chocolate cake above AND this one too!)

and he punished the pinyata with a golf club!

But none of this was before our mini vaca....

These are the feet that took us ALL over San Francisco!

Thanks Nance for the GREAT suggestion of riding bikes over the Golden Gate to Sausalito!

Thank goodness for this sign...

I know it was his birthday, but it almost felt like a honeymoon.
I would marry him all over again without question!
Happy Birthday!

mmmm... yum.

We had a BBQ!
Wanna come over? We had leftovers.

A good laugh

I'm not usually one to post these things, but this new Minute Maid commercial has me laughing EVERY time. If you haven't seen it, I hope you smile...

Before Mother's Day it was....

...National Train Day! Did you know?

Trenton's imagination is really busy these days. But the most fun thing for us is showing him that his miniature trains and his imagination can be part of the big world. This train just about put his brain into meltdown! He was shaking with excitement and little boy adrenaline when the steam engine blew its horn.

(this picture is just before the horn blew)

(this picture is just before his brain fried)

(Thank goodness Simon can't process any of it yet)

(He is sitting in the caboose and about to find out that we had to get off... not pretty)

Just as we were leaving... we even got to see this.
He slept the whole way home!

Simon was getting in on the act.... he started saying "All Aboard!"
We were almost in disbelief when we heard this...

Drumroll please....

Thank you everyone for playing along with my cake giveaway.
Trenton was really excited about pulling names from his cowboy hat.

And the winner is....

Stay tuned for more great give aways.

A contest?

I LOVE MY CAKE CLASSES!!!!

I finished this mega cake last night. This was the grand finale to my course. I started another one though, so don't worry... my cakes won't end here. :D


After last night I ended up with this cake that tastes delicious and we've been pigging out on the bottom layer all day (and all night!) So heres the contest. You have 24 hours from right now to respond to this post. Tomorrow at this time (Thursday, May 7th), I will enter your names into a hat that Trenton will pull from, and you will have a cake delivered shortly thereafter. No strings... nothing. I just don't need two cakes.. and I thought this would be a fun way to give the cake away. :D

So, again... tomorrow at 4 o'clock we will have a drawing. All posts must be before that time. And... oh yeah, you can't live out of the state.

One last thing, the cake is a Sour Cream chocolate cake in 3 layers. It is covered and layered in a white chocolate butter cream (apparently made Italian style... appropriate huh?), and layered with a white fondant. It is the top layer to the pictured cake.

By the way, if you are privileged enough to win this great prize, don't look too close at the flaws... I'm still learning.

Good luck and thanks for playing along.

Taco Bell: Mid 80's to 2009 - R.I.P.

My beloved Taco Bell,

I can't believe this is "goodbye". I first met you in my teens and have fallen in love with your adorable pinkish bell. Your delicious food and nutritious meat has kept me coming back for more. Really, where else did 69 cents get me a lunch in high school? I couldn't have been more thrilled when our new home was located so close to you. I used you as a landmark, a comfort food, a break from my walks to the nearby mall, a diet coke stop, and most of all for my fourth meal! Thank you, Taco Bell for creating that ever important fourth meal. See, my husband and I used to call it a "bed lunch", but thanks to you, I now have a real name for that late night craving. Even more, you offered supurb late night service. Common, not everyone is as dedicated as you were. It seems like just yesterday when your fourth meal saved me when I was pregnant. Your saucy refried beans were just what my developing babies needed. For years I could always count on you to come up with an endless menu using the same 6 ingredients. Genius!
TB, I will miss you. It was pain staking to watch this horrible creature of a tractor destroy you. Although I wouldn't have missed this chance to say our farewells.
R.I.P.

Spring fever.

I promise I haven't given up on blogging. The sun has been out! When the sun is out... I'm not in front of the computer. Instead I am chasing Trenton with his new bike and dinosaur helmet around.

and laughing at Simon with his Elmo helmet on..

Trenton had his first preschool field trip the other day, and he was FAR more excited to ride the bus than he was to go to the zoo.

and... I sat in front of him and his adorable buddy on the way there, and he was so fun to listen to. He is apparently a babbler, and the sweetest thing is that this buddy just listens and encourages him. See, after awhile... I sadly tune him out.. not her! She is SO good to him!!!
We LOVE preschool.

Oh yeah... I had a GREAT birthday!!!

And... Easter was wonderful. With all the egg hunts, church, and special meaning behind this holiday, I managed to snap a picture with my boys and their Great-Grandma. She is so cool!!!

My new cake class started. This cake isn't too fantastic, but it was exciting to make. Our next cake is a tiered cake. Hopefully it won't topple over before I can get some pictures.

Easter Best!

This is what Shonda did! The first photo with my boys TOGETHER... and the first picture with the cousins together.
I LOVE THEM ALL!