Happy Birthday!

So, Yesterday was Thaddeus' birthday! (this post is a day late, my bad!) And I thought I would share one reason the kids and I are blessed to have him!!

That reason would be, his fun factor... I know all of you probably figured I was the fun one (thick sarcasm), but really most of our laughs come from him!

On Labor day, we were all enjoying a snack around the table (crackers and peanut butter) when Thaddeus asks the boys if they want to learn to shave!? Gunnar runs away, not wanting to get messy... but Conrad steps up with a big smile and says that he wants to!

So, Thaddeus proceeds to put peanut butter on Conrad's face and "shave" it off with a cracker!

Con couldn't stop laughing!

So serious... you have to get the right angle!

Love this picture!

See my freshly peanut butter shaved face?!

We love you Thaddeus! You make our lives fun and full of laughter!

Birthday Madness!

Last Saturday we celebrated Gunnar turning 5 and Bennett turning 2 years old! We had a packed house, to say the least (close to 50 friends and family)!! Thank you to those who came and helped make Gunnar and Bennett's birthdays memorable!

Here are some of the kids enjoying some tasty food! Thank's to our family for helping to make/serve food !!

After food we opened present's! Bennett had Dana's help unwrapping... I didn't get too many pictures as present time was very chaotic!! Gunnar and Bennett sat on the floor and we handed them presents to open as they were surrounded by all the kids (12 total)!

Then it was time to sing happy birthday and eat cake!! I forgot to take a picture of Gunnar's cake (it was a dirt/worm cake in a planter) so this is the only one I have!

I also made cupcakes w/ worms and flowers. Instead of cutting cake we just gave all the kids cupcakes and it was way easier....

And Bennett's flower cake... Ashley (our roommate/live in nanny/all around awesome girl) Helped me cut out all the flowers and leaves... could not have done it without her!

We also had a fun birthday surprise.... we gave the kids 2 new puppies!! I'll introduce them in a post later this week!

Again, thank you to everyone who came and made this day so fun/special!!

Birthday Cake Help!!

I'm in need of some input, so all you followers out there leave a comment and give me some ideas!!

Conrad's 3rd birthday is in 2 weeks and I am having a hard time deciding what kind of birthday cake to make for him. He loves just about any character, we have cable so we watch a large variety of cartoons... he also likes animals, mainly ones that roar! I want to make a cake using fondant, so I think that's why I'm having such a hard time deciding... it's much more complicated using fondant, but I love how they turn out!

So, I'm going to leave it up to my commentors... you decide for me! Throw out your ideas and I'll pick the easiest/one that fits Conrad best!!

Here are the cakes I have already made for previous birthdays, so these are off limits!

A few months later... Spongebob!

Back in May Gunnar turned 4, and I made him a Spongebob Squarepants birthday cake using fondant! Here are some pictures and instructions if you are feeling creative and want to try making a cake with fondant!

The first step is to bake the cake and cut the shape that you need... for spobgebob I used a 9X13 pan and then cut it down to size. Before cutting, I placed the cake in the freezer after it cooled to make it easier to cut. Then you frost the cake so the fondant has something to stick to. Then you are ready to start placing your fondant on the cake... the picture below shows spongebobs brown squarepants.

In order to place the fondant on the cake you have to roll it out to the size and thickness you desire. (also if using white fondant you must dye it your desired color. For this cake I used store bought already colored fondant... it is more expensive but saved me a ton of time!)

Pictured below is my yellow fondant rolled out... you can use a regular rolling pin or a special fondant rolling pin, but either way, you need lots of powdered sugar to keep it from sticking to surfaces.

Spongebob's arms and legs are shaped from fondant and stuck to the cake using water.

Just a few more touches before he's ready!

I used round fondant tools to make the bubbles on spongebob's body.

The hands were pretty tricky! They turned out okay and I loved that he was holding the candles!

And here is the birthday boy enjoying his cake... he loved it and that made the 4 hours of work so worth it!

The Birthday Party!

Gunnar and Bennett's birthday party was almost 2 weeks ago and I'm just now blogging about it... I will do better soon!! Here are some pictures from the party! I made Gunnar a sweet Sponge Bob cake! I'll post more pics of this later! Gunnar scored some sweet Toy Story toys! Gunnar's first Bike!! Bennett with her Aunt Lindy... what a pair!! Conrad riding Gunnar's bike Bennett Opening presentsBennett and her giant cupcake birthday cake!

Happy Birthday Gunnar

Four years ago our lives changed forever... Gunnar James was born! He is definitely one crazy and fun little boy, and we have learned so much from him in these four short years! Happy birthday Gunnar, we love you so much!

Happy Birthday Bennett!

Bennett is 1 year old today! It really feels like yesterday that I was holding her in my arms for the first time!! Bennett has been a wonderful addition to our family... especially considering I was very nervous about having a girl! She's been very easy going (just like in the picture to the left!) I am so excited to watch her grow up (not too quickly though)! She has 2 older brothers that adore her and parents that love her more than she understands! We love you Bennett and Happy Birthday!!

All Over the Place

It has been awhile since I've blogged! Mainly because, like the picture below, we have been all over the place!

Just like these birds, I feel like our family has been flying around in all different directions. Things are so busy (in a great way) for Thaddeus and Rhythm Church. Our first preview service is May 30th so we are busy renovating the space we are leasing. Thaddeus is pretty much in charge... especially in the electrical and sound areas! So almost every night each week he is busy preparing and doing guy stuff at the church! We miss having him home all night every night but, like he reminds me, God has been preparing him for this time and Thaddeus has been so patiently waiting for this chance!! I have been busy with a couple baby showers I threw and with a big birthday party for Gunnar and Bennett this weekend! Gunnar has his last day of preschool/bday party on thursday! I joined a moms group recently which has gotten me out of the house with the kids... we have met some great moms and kids! And I've been taking a total body fitness class at the YMCA 3 nights a week! Hopefully after Bennett's birthday thursday and Gunnar's next Monday and their party on saturday, I will have more time to sit and share our life!

Conrad's Birthday Cake & Party!

Conrad's 2nd birthday party was on saturday! We had a great time celebrating with family and friends and Conrad got some pretty sweet presents! (thank you to everyone who generously gave him a gift... he has been very entertained all weekend!)

Here is a video of us singing to Conrad... he's pretty unsure of everything!

Conrad loves Cars so I decided to make him a Lightning McQueen cake! I found a lady who blogged about how she made one using fondant and I just had to try it... click here to see her blog. First I baked a cake, cooled it and then froze it for 1 hour. Then immediately after removing it from the freezer I carved it... I cut the cake in 1/2 and stacked it. Then I carved the shape of McQueen and using the extras that i cut off I built the cab and spoiler of the car. Then I frosted it... which is when you really begin to see McQueen! The frosting helps everything stick together.

Then it was time to work with the fondant. I bought a $6 already made package at Wal-Mart... so all I had to do was dye it. The Wilton concentrate colors work best, and for the red I used a whole container (they're really small jars). Before you start make sure you have gloves b/c the dye will stain your hands! So you just add the dye to the white fondant and work it in by pulling, kneading and twisting until it is the color you want. Then using powdered sugar and a rolling pin you roll it out to the size and thickness you want. You then wrap it around your rolling pin and place it over your cake.Then using your hands you smooth it around your cake. I was able to shape the spoiler a little better at that time too. Using a knife or scissors you cut the extra fondant off. The powdered sugar will absorb into the fondant. Then using a picture of the Radiator Springs Lightning McQueen I began to add all of the details. I just used a knife to cut the fondant into the shape I wanted and then wet the back with water and placed it on the cake. For the wheels I used hostess chocolate donuts and covered them in black fondant... then i cut wheel wells into the cake so the wheels didn't stick out too much. For all the lettering I dyed vanilla icing and used Wilton bags and tips... they work great and really aren't hard to use or clean (it was my first time for all of this!) The finished product! It probably took 4-5 hours to do everything, but was well worth my time! Conrad loved it and I had fun trying something new! I was nervous at first, but fondant is not too hard to work with... if I can do it then anybody can! I will definitly be using fondant again!