We've been pretty busy the last two months. Here's a short recap of what we've done "other" than stuff concerned with moving.
Andrew had his sixth birthday the day that we arrived in Phoenix. We had a small dinner and Jon went to the store and bought a cake. We did our own little family celebration that night, then we did another one on Saturday with my mom, and another one a week later with Jon's brother and his family, and Jon's sister and her family. It was so nice to see all of our family here within a week or two! The above cake is one of the two that I made for the get together with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. The second cake was only a single layer, but was decorated the same.
During the next few weeks we looked for a house. And, in case you missed that drama, click here.
Near the end of March we made the 12 hour trek to Utah for my older sister's wedding dinner. She was married the week before, and then had a small dinner for her immediate family and close friends at a restaurant. But, despite the fact that this was her second marriage and a very low-key celebration, she still wanted a wedding cake. So, I teamed up with my younger sister, Kristina, to decorate my older sister's wedding cake. We'd spent months emailing pictures to each other and talking about what she wanted the cake to look like.
In the end, my sister, Anna, ordered the cakes made and iced at Reams, I brought the stuff to make the fondant and covered the cakes with fondant, then Kristina and I piped on the decorations. My younger sister drove us to the restaurant while I held the cake on my lap. And, as she was pulling out of her driveway, the entire cake almost fell off my knees into my stomach. Um, yeah, I totally felt like I was on an episode of "Cake Boss."
When we got to the restaurant, I placed the fresh flowers and ribbon on the cake and Kristina made the bow. Anyway, for my first wedding cake I am really pleased with how it turned out. Thankfully, I only had to do the dots ... Kristina did the scroll work on the top tier, she's a much better artist than I.
The first weekend of April was Easter, and we got to spend the Saturday before with my brother-in-law at his in-laws' house. They invited us and our children to their house for an Easter egg hunt. I LOVED how they organized this hunt. So much better than others that I've been to in which there are multiple families. The parents (probably just the moms) had either written their children's names on their eggs, or placed specific stickers on their eggs. That way, they left with the exact same eggs they arrived with. It was great!
Maryanne got to participate for her first time, and she was so adorable. She'd find an egg and pick it up, place it in her little bag (which, btw, I made because we didn't have any baskets; but, I had fabric and my sewing machine; yes, I know, I'm either obsessed or cheap), then she'd start clapping. It was so cute. My brother-in-law's in-laws have a fantasic yard (it's HUGE!) and has a bunch of orange trees in their backyard. I'm actually surprised Maryanne didn't confuse the oranges on the ground with the eggs!
The most recent thing we've done is a hike. It's been a long time since we've gone on a hike together .... a mountainous hike. And, we probably set out a little bit too late. We now know to get everything ready the night before and leave first thing in the morning. We only finished half of the hike before the three children we had with us were too tired and hot to keep going. (Eliza was spending the day with her Nana for her birthday).
Anyway, that's a quick recap, and hopefully I'll keep up on things a little bit at a time instead of everything all at once!
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