****SIGH***** it is finally done

a weeks worth of sugar, marshmallow, big messes and lots of painting is over

and it resulted in what I believe is the best cake HEATHER and I have made together

*A quick story on the couple, they both work with James out at Hanford....it was very much a Jim/Pam relationship from the office (He liked her, she had a boyfriend, break up from boyfriend, date for a few years and then they get engaged)...and now they are finally married. It was out on their property, it was a beautiful wedding with great food, and the bride was the prettiest I think I have seen her (but then again, I don't think I have ever seen her out of her camo work clothes!)

Congrats Dustin and Katie!

It got there safe!! Probably the bumpiest rides of my life. And right when we left the house as we were getting onto the free way, a truck RIGHT IN FRONT OF US blew its tire! Talk about stressful

The back of the cake

Ahhhh, we are done....good job Heather!

***ON ANOTHER NOTE***

James and I were able to stay for the wedding since he is friends with the bride and groom. They had a roast pig with ribs, chicken, potato salad, IT WAS VERY TASTY

James and I are big fans of the Travel channel's Bizarre foods, James always talks about sucking the marrow out of the bones when we eat chicken wings since "but that's what the guy would do off of bizarre foods"

So once James saw that roast pig......there was a glimmer in his eye.....he had to eat the EAR. I tried to talk him out of it....his coworkers were behind him all the way.

Here is the pig ear eating adventure in pictures

**Look! he is so excited to have gotten the pig ear. I haven't seen a smile that big for a long time**

(There is earwax looking stuff in the middle there, and some hair)

**MMM That is a big bite James! Uhhh, I think he just ate the part with the earwax.....**

**Not as good as he thought it would be.....he didn't take another bite**

I love my husband...I love that he loves to try new things....even if it is a pigs ear, he makes me laugh everyday

The end

I will be back next week

But here is what we have been up to for the past five weeks that has been keeping me away from the beloved "Blog World"

Lots of new recipes ** will post them next week**

(Dark Chocolate muffins...and they are healthy...no oil, sugar and uses whole wheat flour and 60% dark chocolate chips)

James had his surgery on his neck...a 3 inch incision across his neck, 1 dented Adams apple...and a cyst that was 98% fluid, so we are happy.

**here are the boys playing "doctor" on James the night after his surgery**

Lots of picnics (and yes, Gabe is eating mustard with his chicken...he eats it on anything...ketchup grosses his out)

Lots of family visiting...This is me with my Grandma Lita, she is 91 years old and such an awesome woman, I look up to her in so many ways and hope to be half as strong as she is...what an inspiration!

Lots and lots and lots of golf! Gabe starts golf lessons next week!!Fun trips to the park
And some not so fun trips to the park

More new recipes **will post them next week**

(Chocolate Coconut cake...tastes JUST LIKE a hostess snoball)

Trips to walk around the temple and admire its beauty

Fort making, popcorn eating movie watching extravaganzas

and a Preschool graduation!! I can't believe I have a child who is in kindergarten!!

Gabe enjoyed this past year so much...he learned so much and had AMAZING teachers...he is already asking when he can go back
So....5 weeks in a nutshell.......

This next week is going to be very very busy as well. Heather and I have a wedding cake to do and we are making 70ish handmade sugar flowers **picture below** to go on a 4 tier cake for this upcoming Saturday. Wish us luck!! woohoo!!

See you next week!!! :)

I have a request

I have a best friend who means a whole lot to me named Tara. She is the one who introduced me to the church and has been by my side since day one. Tara and her husband are such special people and deserve only the best. They love each other so much, and James and I are lucky to have them as friends.


Tara and Jason have been trying to conceive for 6 years now to no avail. They have done everything and gone through all the hoops and now they are ready to adopt! Tara is going to be the best mom ever, she just needs that child so she can share all her love. She is amazing with kids....sometimes I think my kids would rather hang out with "aunt Tara" than me :)



So what am I asking??

Well, I have no idea actually how many people read my blog or not, but I am hoping that maybe just one person will see this and keep it in the back of their heads in case they know of someone who is looking put their baby up for adoption to a loving family. Who knows, maybe in a few weeks or months, someone may come in contact or know someone who knows someone who is putting their baby up for adoption, and you will remember this post. If you could please just keep Tara and Jason in your prayers and keep them in your minds and tell anyone/everyone you know :) The LDS adoption agency said that peoples best bet sometimes was through "word of mouth" or in this case "word of blog" . Please check out their blog to read more and learn more about Tara and Jason. Here is their profile at LDS adoption services.

My little golfer

My dad got Gabe a set of golf clubs for Christmas this year. He was ready right away to go out but obviously he had to wait.
It is now his favorite thing to do.

Tiga Tiga woods yall!

wow, what a natural

hmmm....maybe not :) just needs a bit of practice and then look out!

Nolan taking his turn

I love my little golfers

peeps

I know easter was like soooo last week, but I have one question.

How many bites does it take to eat a marshmallow peep?.......

Should be one or maybe two, but for Gabe it is a whole lot.

I love this video, I have no idea why, but he was totally into eating his peep. And the way he ate it just makes me laugh. ** He has no idea he is being video taped**

fyi:this may NOT be as funny to anyone else as James and I think it is :)

I counted 16 bites :)

While we are on the whole easter subject. Here are our Easter pictures :)

I promise I am here and the best cookie ever

I am so busy here. I swear. I want to blog. I have plenty to blog about....just no time.

Quick run down of the past 3 weeks

-James put up a jungle gym out back

-I broke a sprinkler pipe out back while digging up over grown herbs in the garden

-I am working on something secret....I would write about it but I can't mostly because I don't want to jinx myself....I will post it another time

-Nolan sprained his ankle

-Easter festivities with family (pictures later)

-James got a cyst on his adamsapple the size of a golf ball....he will have surgery to remove it next Tuesday or early May. Please keep him in your prayers. I think I am more worried than he is!! He is actually looking forward to have a cool scar, lol.

Here is a video of a "trick" he can do with his cyst. It pops from one side to the other....watch at your own risk! lol.

-de-grouting and re-grouting around counters

-Gabe is starting to read

-walking to lose some weight

-we were without a computer for a whole week (darn power cord!)

-finding family though family search

-spring cleaning the house

Things seem to be slowing down a bit. Somewhat

On another note. I made some of the best cookies on the earth:

When I am feeling stressed/crabby....I crave these babies:

Well I couldn't go to the store to buy them....plus, I hate buying them because they are so expensive for so little. So the cheap person I am, I set on a quest to find a good milano cookie recipe. The results?? :)

Ta da!! So easy to make, and taste very very much like the real deal!

So here is the recipe with a few changes of my own. I found the recipe on Foodnetwork.com by Gale Gand.

Cookies:

3/4 cup butter, softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
6 egg whites (I used egg beaters egg whites) 2 tablespoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, then add powdered sugar. Pour in egg whites slowly till combined. Pour in vanilla and lemon zest and beat till combined. Add flour and stir till incorporated. Pour in pastry bag or gallon ziplock bag and cut a whole in the corner about 1/4 inch. Pipe in 1 inch lines on parchment paper about 2-3 inches apart. They spread big time!! Bake at 300 degrees for 6-7 minutes or until edges begin to get golden brown. Let cool on sheet before removing.

Filling:

2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Either melt over double boiler and pour a little chocolate on each cookie and find a close match for it. Or do what I did and put chocolate chips in a gallon ziplock bag and melt in microwave for 15 seconds a time until completely melted...altogether it was about a minute. Cut the corner tip and pipe onto a cookie and find a match and press together and put onto wax paper to cool.

They were crunchy, chewy, chocolaty, and wonderful.

**also, tomorrow will be 8 years since I joined the church...I think I am the only one who celebrates it like its a birthday!lol. Best decision I ever made, I am truly blessed **

1st birthday cupcakes

I was lucky to be asked to make cupcakes for one of the sweetest baby girls ever. Teagan's 1st birthday is definitely something amazing to celebrate. Read her story here. Teagan and her family are such strong people. Teagan is such a special girl, I am looking forward to see how she grows and becomes stronger. Happy Birthday Teagan! Thanks Susie!