This is my latest sugar project: "sweet peas" for a welcome sweet pea baby shower. By far, hands down my favorite project so far. They were so fun and Cassia did a GREAT job taking photos. I'm amazed at her talent! And....I am in love with cupcakes. Super fun!!
We had Carson's birthday party yesterday. It was a lot of fun. First of all, I was sooooo burnt out on cakes that I just couldn't pull off my plan for his birthday cake. I had wanted to do a track with some molded race cars and this whole thing. So I had him pick out a simple Wilton pan and I did the best I could. Sorry...butter cream just isn't my thing. It's so hard to work with and It just isn't the same. BUT it tasted delicious. Just a tip for anyone out there who cares...next time you're making a cake from a mix...add milk instead of the water. It will be moister and a little richer, too. Anyway, I am mad that I didn't get a picture of it, but we had this really fun ice cream sundae bar with like 15 toppings and the kids all made their own sundae. It was a lot of fun and I'm so glad that we have such wonderful friends who could share this day with us.
We took the kids bowling last week at the new bowling alley on base. It's so nice and the kids had a great time. We had the bumpers up, but just let them roll the ball on thier own. Tatum bowled a 100! I was amazed. Way to go, guys!
Just in case you were wondering what the best pizza on Whidbey Island looks like...
Of course, the best part of Halloween is the "dumpout" of the candy. The kids made this cute road out of thier candy. I was impressed with the attention to detail!
For the past year,,,the kids have been turning off all the lights in the house and calling it "spooky and dark". So I decided that for Halloween, we should have a spooky and dark party. We made rootbeer and it was seriously SO FUN. I apologize but my pictures are kind of out of order. We made the rootbeer syrup and then added the dry ice and the kids were going CRAZY watching it. They were so excited! So I had to call my friend who lives next door so that she could bring her girls to watch it, too. We had another family stop by to try it and at the end of the night we delivered the extras to some friends. It was so fun and a great memory for the kids.
This is the kids doing thier best "spooky and dark" pose.
I forgot to post this picture along with our other family pictures. By far, my favorite picture of her EVER. Such a love.
Well it's that time of year again to visit our favorite little pumpkin patch on Whidbey Island. I was amazed to think about last year's visit to the pumpkin farm. We had no idea that baby Raegan was on her way to joining our family. It's been a crazy year for us but the end result was sweet Raegan... giving us all a million reasons to smile everyday. Honestly, I wouldn't change any of it. Tatum and Carson had a great time picking our thier pumpkins and we will soon be carving them! Below are so posts from our Utah trip...I know they are out of order. Sorry!
Our first weekend in Utah, Ned and I left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and went to Park City. It was AMAZING! We stayed at the Stein Ericksen Lodge and it was 5 star treatment and accommodations. There was a hot tub on our private deck, two fireplaces, a full kitchen. It was awesome and we really needed to time away just for us. It's been a crazy year! I meant to have this first picture be the last, but we were in Albertson's in Park City and saw this cake for $398.00. Can you say...rip off? If you click on the picture and look closer at it, you'll see what I mean. 
Raegan got really acquainted with her Aunts, Uncles and cousins. I think the general opinion of her was....she's 100% adorable!
Uncle Brent was being crazy. Sorry but I had to post it...
While in Utah, we celebrated our "birthday week" with Ned's birthday, my birthday and Tatum's birthday. We had a big party for her with almost all of her cousins on the James side and all of her cousins on the Neilson side. It was so fun and I'm pretty sure she had a great time, too.
Of course the whole reason for the Utah trip was for Matt and Lydia's wedding. Here are a few shots from the day...
Cutting the cake! Proof that all the work and effort of making cakes is worth it...
Jake and Alisa (Ned's brother and his wife...) adopted a sweet little girl Zowie! She was soooo fun to be around. She was such a cutie who loved to give hugs to everyone. We were so glad we could finally meet her! We love you, Zowie!
I know, I know what you're thinking. Way too much time on my hands. But really, I just love my baby girl (who's 5 now) and I love cake. It's a winning combination.
Here's some pictures of the wedding cake all done. I'm happy with the way it turned out!
Yesterday I found out that a dear friend I've had for 17 years is having a baby! I'm so happy for her I can hardly stand it! I was reflecting upon my own journey through motherhood that I'm taking right now. I remember snuggling with my sweet, sweet baby girl Tatum and if only I knew in five short years....
I'd be getting this look....
Ned and I had originally planned to take the kids to California for a few days. We even purchased airfare. We realized this wasn't really going to work out with a newborn and a few other scheduling factors. So we thought about it...and decided to leave the kiddos with Grandma and Grandpa James and jet to Vegas for a 2 night getaway. The other night, we were adding up the cost and realized this little 2 night getaway was going to be more money than it was worth for such a short time. So we changed our plans (for the 3rd time...) to a hotel stay in downtown SLC for a night with some shopping and a nice dinner. Well one thing led to another and we ended up getting an AMAZING DEAL at the Stein Ericksen Lodge in Park City, UT. I can't wait to go and spend some time with Ned! I am a tiny bit nervous about leaving the baby, but I'm sure she will be fine. She takes a bottle pretty well. So on our 4th attempt, hopefully this will be a great weekend!!
They have their own chocolatier. I'm soooooo there.
I love pictures. What IS IT about family pictures...seriously. We have a great photographer lined up to do our new updated family photos with baby Raegan while we're in Utah next week. I'm hoping they turn out. So I had some Place Cash from The Children's Place. If you have not heard of Place Cash...go to their website and check it out. It is seriously awesome. I had 3 coupons for $20 off a purchase of $40. So I went in there and spend 60 bucks and got $120 worth of merchandise. Not to mention the store I shop at is an outlet store and way below normal cost in the first place. I got Tatum a much needed winter coat for 24.99 that was tagged at $60. Can't beat that. I found these cute outfits and got them all FREE. Yes...FREE. Well, technically I had to spend $60 to get these free, but I had to get a coat for Tatum anyway and some new shoes and a hat...so yes I guess you could say these were FREE. What do you think for family pics? I know they are super "matchy-matchy" but that's totally my style. I might add...I didn't get the hat or the shoes for the baby that is in the picture. I thought the hat just didn't look that cute on Raegan and she already has black shoes. Anyway I hope they look good in the pictures. I know they are a bit loud, but I like them. Ned and I will just be in grey or cream or black. Haven't gotten that far...
Don't you just L-O-V-E this headband??? I think it's so cute.
