Cake decorating!

I guess anyone who knows me is now aware that I have become a little obsessed with cakes. I just finished my first cake decorating class and this picture shows my final cake. I have to say that although we were only doing the basics that I had a lot of fun. I don't usually think of myself as a creative person. But making cakes helps me feel like I could be. If I can just get past worrying about messing up. My teacher in the class had to keep encouraging me not to worry about getting it wrong. She would basically tell me not to be afraid of it--its only icing.

Courtney turns 7!

Happy Birthday Courtney! She has been counting down the days to her birthday for weeks. We started things off early by bringing a treat to her class on Friday and her whole class sang to her. Saturday was the official day and we had a great day. First she got to take Leanne and Chantel with her to see "Alice in Wonderland." Grandma Haycock and Great-Grandma Leder were able to join us at the movie as well. The girls all loved the movie. I was a little worried when the Jabberwocky came out that they might get scared, but they had no problem. Then we came back to the house where they got to decorate some paper dolls, while I cooked up some pizza. Then the rest of the family showed up. We had a houseful and it was fun. I let Courtney pick out what cake she wanted and she picked a castle. It was quite an adventure to make and put together, but I gotta say that it was so much fun too! Of course now that I have done it once I know exactly how I would do it better, but oh well. We were so glad that all went smoothly and hope that everyone who came had a great time. Many thanks for all the gifts.

Paige turns 2!

Happy Birthday to Paige! We let her take a long nap right before the party, because I was hard at work on the cake and I wanted her to be nice and cheerful. Well, I guess we let her sleep a little too long because we could hardly wake her up. She still looks a little sleepy in the pictures. Oh well, we still had fun. She still hasn't figured out the candles and needed help blowing them out. But she perked up when it was time to open presents and LOVED the cake and ice cream. Our little house was bursting with cousins and grandparents etc. It was great to have everyone there to help us celebrate. We sure are lucky to live so close to family.

Paige is really developing her personality. She is taking after her big sister in wanting to dress up in pretty dresses as much as possible. I often find her jeans thrown aside in favor of some play dress she dug out of the laundry or dress-up box. She may be little, but she is determined and she knows her mind. Paige often insists on trying to do things herself. "I do it" she tells me. She is a great little helper in whatever I may be doing from laundry to dishes or cooking. She never wants to be left out.