SPECIAL MOMENTS: A LIFETIME OF MEMORIES

Jaxon Has Arrived

2011-11-25T08:49:00.002-07:00

Mommy arrives at the hospital and checks in on November 18, 2011 at 7:00am. Contractions get going and I go into distress. This is going to be a long day. Dang I just can't figure out what is happening to me and my mommy. Mommy spend some time talking with my daddy on Skype because he is in the Air Force and has been deployed to Afgahanistan and can't be here in person. But I can hear his voice and feel his love. Boy this is getting harder. The day progresses and I go into stress 2 more times and I hear the Doctor say, "Three strikes and your out." So they tell my mommy that she is going to have a C Section and they loose my daddy. Nana goes with mommy and me to the operating room where

I make my appearance. Boy this is annoying. Someone is putting cream in my eyes, wiping me down with a wet cloth, putting something very cold on my chest. Hay, where is my mommy? Anyway, this light is nice and warm.

I think I'll show them all the faces I can do. Maybe they will be so impress they will leave me alone and find my mommy. After all this happened to me I got to meet my daddy. He was up on Skype again thanks to my aunt Sabrina. My daddy was so happy to meet me. He called me his "little man." He said he can't wait to hold me in his arms. I am so proud of my daddy for serving his county. But I can't wait to have him hold me in his arms.

Oh no, here we go again. Someone is putting something sticky on my feet and then pressing them onto paper. I hear them saying I have the cutest little feet.

Look I found my mommy. This is more like it. She is so loving. Where have you been mommy?

Not again. Someone is taking me away from my mommy. I guess this is called getting weighed, 6lbs 7oz, and a bath. Not to sure if I like this. But being wrapped up is so warm. They say I am 20 inches long and my head measures 13 1/2 inches. It must be good because everyone seems happy.

Yah, I get to go back to mommy. Now this is the life.

Hay I hear daddy again. He is inside this strange box. His voice is so soothing. He even read me a story.

Boy I really like being wrapped in my miracle blanket. It is so nice and warm. Kind of reminds me when I was inside mommy.

This one-on-one time with mommy is great.

I could stay here all day.

My cousins and papa came for a visit. They loved holding me. I hear Aiden say he was unsure about me. But Nana reassured him that he was her baby too and that she loved all of us very much. Guess he was okay with that because he decided to hold me. Oh ya, what's this about pointed ears. You would have them too if you got stuck while trying to come out. Give them a chance and they will look like everyone elses'. Anyway, I hear uncle Aaron's was pointed too at birth. Must not be bad if my uncle had them.

Today, I am 4 days old and we get to go home. This thing they a putting me is isn't bad. When someone picks it up I get to swing and move. One step closer to home.

We stay for a few days at Nana's and Papa's house. I love it when mommy reads to me. She did this the whole time I was in her.

Nana takes me and mommy to our house so I can finally see my room. This is nice. I believe I will be very happy here.

I guess I am a little yellow. Not a bad thing since I got to have some sun time, this is really warm, and be vibrated, mommy says it like a massage, and have a manicure. Now this is the life!!

Mommy got lots of pretty flowers. The daisy basket is from daddy. It came with a really nice note for my mommy. He is such a great guy. Mommy loves how he writes to her. My aunt Tracie and her famiy sent the vase with the purple ribbon. Thanks everyone. My mommy loves flowers.

Thought I would just share a few precious pictures of myself since everyone say how adorable I am. I like to have my picture taken.

Today is Thanksgiving. I'm figuring it is a day for being thankful. I am thankful for my daddy and my mommy. Hay daddy, I wore this shirt just for you.

Here I am with my daddy and mommy. Aren't they a nice looking couple. Right now this is how our family pictures will look. But when my daddy comes home, look out, because I am sure Nana will take lots of pictures of us together. By the way if you notice I am the important one in this family. Wow!!! what a word. I kept hearing daddy call us his family, but it really is a cool thing to be part of a family. Thanks mommy and daddy for making us a family. We will be one great one.
.
Uncle Aaron came for Thanksgiving and brought a towel with a cool dragon on it. Thanks uncle Aaron mommy says it is big enough that I can use it for a long time. I love getting all wrapped up and cozy after my bath.

I guess it is traditional to hold the baby up to the turkey for their first Thanksgiving. Not too sure what they do with this thing call a turkey but I guess I will find out. So much to learn. My head is spinning right now and I am getting tired, but wanted to say it isn't bad out here in the world. In fact all I can say is "World look out because I have arrived". I"m just going to hang out with mommy till my daddy gets back. I am sure my Nana will keep everyone posted on how I am doing. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

Happy Birhtday Tavein

2011-11-09T16:35:00.001-07:00

Tavein turned 28 yesterday. She got a new hair cut, woke up to special notes sent from Jared, went to dinner at the new Mexican restaurant with some friends, attended a scrape-booking party and came home to notes

flowers

a special video (Jared taught the Afghanistan's that he works with to sing happy birthday)

presents from us

which included a special blanket and hat that I made for Jaxon.Then we took her out for yogurt since she can't have cake or ice cream. She had a great day. Wishing her many more wonderful days.

Cowboy Boots Cake

2011-11-05T17:33:00.001-06:00

So the cake this week was a challenge. The customer order a cowboy boot cake for her husbands birthday/retirement from the Air National Guard party. She said she really wanted a pair of boots that would stand up, but would settle for a flat cake shaped like a boot. Well I took on the challenge and made a chocolate cake that looked like a pair of western cowboy boots. The customer was so thrilled when I delivered the cake. It was just what she wanted.

Happy Birthday Taylor

2011-11-02T20:21:00.002-06:00

It is hard to believe that Taylor turned 17 today. Happy Birthday Taylor.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

2011-10-31T20:43:00.000-06:00

Halloween at our house is one of my favorite times of the fall. The kids arrive in costume for our annual party.

Taylor was running late. But showed up as Myle Cyrus.

The kids love the donut eating contest.

And of course we had to bob for apples.

We had lots of fun making ghost suckers, marshmallow suckers, caramel apples while we waited for dinner to cook.

The house is all decorated. Complete with cobwebs.

Table is set for dinner. This year we had meat drained of its blood by the vampire. Mashed brains with bats milk. Graveyard greens from spooky graves. Fingers and toes coated with dryed blood. Cobweb and spider dessert. Blood red punch. (Roast beef, mashed potatoes, candied carrots, salad, white chocolate pudding, and cranberry punch)

This is the front entrance. I got creative this year and stacked pumpkins and put lights inside and a witches hat on top.

My favorite decoration this year are the pumpkins on the front street lights.

Happy Halloween to all!!!

Cow Cake

2011-10-15T09:51:00.000-06:00

I got an order the other day asking for a cake that looked like a cow for a lady's 40th birthday who is in love with anything that is cow related. Her friends are giving her a surprise party at the country club and wanted this cake to be the centerpiece. I must say she is cute. She even has earrings and curls.

A Baby Shower For Tavein

2011-10-12T15:42:00.001-06:00

Tracie and Sabrina gave Tavein a baby shower. I decided to get creative. I made a diaper cake with over 100 diapers, a wreath made of 96 diapers, a chocolate cake with chocolate fondant, and the simplest center pieces.

We pitched a canapy in the backyard and hung decorations. Tracie and Sabrina was in charge of games. They were very creative in their selection and all had fun playing.

There were many presents and we used a bassinet to hold them. Emma was a great help by giving Tavein the presents to open. There was a homemade quilt, gift certificates for a massage, baby cloths, stuffed animals, books. But the hit of the gifts was two dolls of Jared. One by Tracie and the other sent from Terry. They both have a place of honor in Jaxon's crib since his daddy is away in Afghanistan for the next 7 months. Tavein says that when Jaxon comes one doll will be his and the other will be hers.

Tavein enjoyed her diaper cake. It had a penguin on the back. Jaxon's grandma Judy painted two wonderful pictures of penguins for his room. I'll post these when I post the new nursery at the new house. The diaper cake represented play time and the diaper wreath contained items for bath time and eating time.

Thanks Tracie and Sabrina for giving her a wonderful shower. It made her feel so special. I sure am lucky to have three great daughters.

School Pictures

2011-10-12T15:05:00.001-06:00

The boys brought home their school pictures. They look so grown up. My how time flies. It just seems like yesterday that Aiden came home from the hospital and Riley was attending Pre-school.

Baby Bump Pictures

2011-09-24T20:44:00.000-06:00

Tavein and Jared wanted some professional pictures together with the baby bump. I guess this is getting to be the thing to do. With so little time before Jared leaves they had to settle for pictures by me. These are my favorites.

Pumpkin Carving

2011-09-21T23:22:00.000-06:00

Tonight Jared and Tavein came over to carve pumpkins with family. They called Jared's mom and dad on Skype so everyone could enjoy watching them carve their pumpkins. This ritual may seem early but they are trying to do as much as they can because Jared leaves for Afghanistan on Sunday.

As you can see they are very into cleaning their pumpkins. First they had to cut off the tops.

Then came the taking out of the seeds. Tavein is going to roast these. She calls them a carb free snack. Since she was diagnosed with gestational diabetes she has to watch her carbohydrate intake.

They had a lot of fun cleaning those pumpkins.

Even Jaxon got into the act.

Now for the design.

As you can see Jared shaved his head and Tavein enjoys giving him a bad time about it. His dad said it was blinding to look at.

Tavein chose a leaf design for her pumpkin.

Jared complimented her by carving a tree on his. Here they show off their pumpkins to Jared's parents.

The finished pumpkins.

They are very proud of their pumpkins.

Jaxon and the pumpkins.

Jared carefully carries the pumpkins to the car.

On the way out they pause for a Halloween picture.

Happy Birthday Tanealya

2011-09-15T20:58:00.000-06:00

20 years ago a little girl came into our lives. She not only is making an impression on our lives but on the world. She is such a special young lady and has captured everyone's heart. She was a fighter when she was born and has proven that she will leave her mark on the world. Happy Birthday Tanealya. We love you.

First Day of School

2011-08-31T18:48:00.000-06:00

Today is the first day of school. It is so hard to believe that Aiden is in Kindergarten. All these years we have been walking down to the school to pick up Riley and today Aiden was picked up by Riley and they walked home together. Of course I followed in the van to make sure they were alright. For the next two days I will follow them and make sure they have their routine down. My how the year fly. Riley is now a 5th grader. I remember talking him to kindergarten. It only seems like yesterday. Despite the cold weather though, the year seems to have gotten off to a good start. Both boys love their teachers and school. Riley is all excited because he gets to study the Civil War this year. Aiden thinks three recess is one day is pretty great. He also said he got to sing today and he loves music. Here
is wishing all a great school year.

A BABY SHOWER

2011-08-29T14:28:00.000-06:00

Tavein gave a friend from work a baby shower on Saturday.

Tavein's gift was diapers. I made a diaper cake and diaper wreath for her to give instead of wrapping them. The favors were baby booties made from Styrofoam cups and tulle circles filled with mints. And of course you can't have a baby shower without on of my famous "one of a kind cakes".

The menu was Chicken Salad, Spinach-Strawberry Salad, Rolls with Honey Butter, Strawberries and Fruit Dip, Watermelon Slices, Lemonade and Ice Tea, and Chocolate Cake.

Tavein did a great job playing hostess. She has now officially learned how to give a baby shower. I am sure she will give many more.

Jared Leaves

2011-08-13T15:30:00.001-06:00

So the life of a military wife brought a new duty to Tavein. She is now a deployed military member's wife. She went to the airport this morning to see Jared off as he left for New Jersey for training before heading to Afghanistan. He will return in September for two weeks and then off to Afghanistan for about 7 months.

She really wasn't as bright and chipper as usually. Not because she was up a 3:00am, but because it hit her that she was saying good-bye to her husband.

As usual our Jared is upbeat. Trying to stay strong for Tavein.

Spouses saying good-bye at the airport is really common these days. I'm sure there will be many of these days in her life. Being a military wife isn't easy. One day you have a partner to share all the ends and outs of a marriage and family and the next you are a single mom trying to keep the home-fires burning while your spouse is off fighting for the counties freedom.

Visiting with others who are leaving. Tavein did her part well trying to be strong and give support.

A final hug and kiss as she bids Jared farewell. Our love and prayers go with you Jared. And our support and love for Tavein will remain constant as we help her get through this.

Dinner for Tavein and Jared

2011-08-12T18:47:00.017-06:00

Tonight is Tavein and Jared's last night together because he leaves tomorrow for training before he goes to Afghanistan. I decided to surprise them with a special dinner. It came complete with candle light and cheese cake.

The Menu was

Salad

Veggie Salad with Italian Dressing

Entree

Grilled Pepper Lemon Chicken

Asparagus

Wild Rice

Baby Red Potatoes

Dessert

New York Cheese Cake covered in chocolate and raspberries

Beverage

Sparkling Cider

Mango Tea

A Party to Celebrate Tavein and Jared

2011-08-07T20:44:00.001-06:00

Tavein and Jared returned from a week in Pennsylvania on the 31st of July. We gave them a small party with their friends to celebrate their wedding.

Jared is holding his godson.

There were even some presents.

Jared's new look until he returns to work.

Blue Angels Come to Great Falls

2011-07-31T19:52:00.002-06:00

Friday The Blue Angels hosted the Special Olympic Kids at the air show. We got to sit in one of the open flight bays right on the runway
.

Tanealya and Taylor took some time to say hello to friends.

This is the Blue Angel's transport.

Riley posses with the planes in the background.

These are some of the planes that performed while we waited for the Blue Angels.

One of the Blue Angel plans with crewmen.

The Blue Angel pilots.

They walk in formation and one by one the pilot falls out at his plane.

A pilot getting in his plane.

Taxing down the runway

The show begins.

Then they land.

Today dad and Sabrina took the kids back to the air show. The posed with plans,

got to climb on large equipment,

and sit in the border patrol helicopter.

It was quite a weekend here in Great Falls.

Happy 6th Birthday Aiden

2011-07-24T20:24:00.004-06:00

Today is Aiden's 6th Birthday. For months he has been searching for a Power Ranger Cake so I would have an example of what he wanted. When I showed up with his cake he was so excited.

I even found the pink Power Ranger that he has been searching for for the last few months. He started with opening his presents.

Riley helped out by reading his cards.

As you can see, Aiden was very happy to see that he got money.

Then came cake time.

Mom light the candles.

We sang happy birthday.

Aiden blew out his candles.

He enjoyed his cake. Of course it was chocolate.

Happy 6th Birthday Aiden.

A Very Very Busy Week

2011-07-23T11:49:00.003-06:00

I did three wedding cakes, one groom's cake, and a wedding this week. I still have Aiden's birthday cake to make for tomorrow. Got the kids to the airport, finished decorating these cakes for delivery, will decorate Aiden's cake tonight, and after his party I think I'll go to bed early and get some rest before next week begins. Anyway, here are two of the wedding cakes. Don't you just love the red shoes on the bride. That is what Katie is wearing. So the shoes got painted to match. My favorite is the space shuttle cake. This was its last voyage into space. I'm a NASA nut so it was cool to be able to make this cake. The groom called me a week ago, but I just couldn't say no.

Tavein and Jared got on a plane this morning to go back to Pennsylvania to visit his parents.

Jared says this is their first trip and a family. Sorry about the blurry picture. But it was 5:00am and I went to bed a 1:00am. So my focus wasn't that great. Here is wishing them a great trip with lots of moments for making those special memories.

A Wedding to Celebrate

2011-07-22T15:08:00.021-06:00

Once upon a time there was a prince and a princess. They came together and life would never be the same. A dress, some flowers, a bride and a groom. A wedding is about to happen. A new life is about to begin. He will proudly defend our country and she will take on the role of a military wife. Their life will be filled with love, respect, adventure, dreams, and hopes.
And so on this day it begins as they pledge their love and accept their rings. She will become his wife and he will be come her husband for life.

A flower girl and a best man.

The bride was glittered and the groom soon found he wore glitter also.

Friends come to the wedding.

Time with dad.

Time with mom.

The wedding begins with words of wisdom.

Their love is the most important aspect.

They are told to share all their dreams and hopes.

And pledge to love each other eternally.

They say their vows. I Jared Edward Bobic take you Tavein Noel Traxinger to be my wife,

I Tavein Noel Traxinger take you Jared Edward Bobic to be my husband.

They give each other their rings.

And are pronounced Mr. and Mrs. Jared Bobic.

And seal it with a kiss.

Welcome to the family Jared.

Jared's mom and dad had to listen to the ceremony because Skype wouldn't work.

Jared talking with his parents who gave the couple a big clap.

They sign the marriage certificate.

Posing with the Best Man.

Visiting with guests.

Heading out of the court house arm in arm. We went to the Milwaukee Depot for some pictures.

And them to Giant Springs for more pictures.

The kick means true love. Yes her prince has come.

The groom in his dress uniform.

Of course we had to go to Lions Park where Tavein spent lots of time playing as a little girl.

Posing with the Flag.

She found the perfect roses in the exact color that she wanted and I was able to find ribbon to match to wrap around them.

Back to the house for, guess what, more pictures.

Usually the bride changes, Jared put on a suit to join us for a celebration dinner at Dante's.

Tavein ran into Mr. Biscup. She has known him and his wife since she was 4 years old.

Of course you have to share cake. They had cheese cake for theirs.

Back to Milwaukee Depot to take some more pictures.

The day comes to an end. The prince and princess walk into their life together. To share many adventures, dreams and hopes for the future.

A hug from dad. So now our baby is a wife and we wish her the best in her new life. After a trip to visit Jared's family they will return and Jared will be leaving for Afghanistan for 8 months while Tavein makes a home for the two of them. Next year they will celebrate their first anniversary with the big church wedding they were dreaming of with all family member and friends.

HEAVENLY CAKE

2011-07-12T14:55:00.002-06:00

If you are looking for a light cake recipe to pair with summer strawberries, give this angel food cake a try. It is really more simple than you would think and very good on those hot summer nights.

Angel Food Cake Recipe

· 1 cup sifted cake flour (I did use cake flour)

· 1 1/4 cups sugar, divided

· 10 large egg whites

· 1 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

How to make angel food cake

· Preheat oven to 350°

· To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and 1/4 cup sugar; set aside.

· Beat egg whites with a mixer at high speed until foamy. Add cream of tartar and salt; beat until soft peaks form. Add remaining sugar, 2 tablespoons at a time, beating until stiff peaks form.

· Sift 1/4 cup flour mixture over egg white mixture; fold in. Repeat with remaining flour mixture, 1/4 cup at a time. Fold in vanilla.

· Spoon the batter into an ungreased 10-inch tube pan, spreading evenly. Break air pockets by cutting through the batter with a knife. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Invert pan; cool completely. Loosen cake from sides of pan using a narrow metal spatula. Invert the cake onto a plate.

· Serve with fresh strawberries and a dollop of whip cream. YUM!!

Tanealya's Trip to Greece

2011-07-11T16:08:00.004-06:00

Tanealya writes: WOW!!!! Now that I am back home after 2 wonderful weeks in Athens at the 2011 World Summer Games and Global Youth Summit I can't believe how awesome it all was! My favorite memories and experiences were meeting athletes from 33 countries and sharing our stories and ideas. We are all from different countries but we care about the same stuff! It was really fun to interview athletes from all over the world as part of our GYAS experience. One time, Jordan Shubert, an athlete from Illinois, translated for us other athletes when we interviewed athletes from Venezuela. That was so cool to have an athlete translating for us other athletes.

We got to meet Apollo Ono when he came to our breakfast about Youth Empowerment. What a great guy. His main promise was that he would do his best to get more media coverage about Special Olympics and us athletes. He talked about never failing and being better each day than you were the day before. I will use that in my work with Spread the Word to End the Word.

We had super fun sessions on fundraising and cool ways to promote the Red Laces. Our GYAS came up with lots of fun ways to wear the laces and promote the laces.

Team Mattel came to bowling night and gave us lots of fun time with bowling and great food. Team Mattel also helped make a great Young Athletes Program by supporting Opening Ceremonies and a demonstration that was really cool and fun to watch. I am going to do the same thing at my state summer games in 2012 for my state. That is my big project from the GYAS....making a really good Young Athletes Program at our state summer games.

GYAS was awesome and I am glad I got to go and be a facilitator and be part of all the events. Thanks everyone!

Highlights of her trip:

Tanealya Hueth Presents SOI Board Member Ray Lane with a Summit Shirt

It was kind of nice to meet the government people from the Philippines and get interviewed by them and that just made my day go better. I was kind of glad to be interviewed by their government and tell them my story and how I got involved in Special Olympics and what kind of sports I am in doing in my home town. As a Special Olympics athlete it makes me feel honored to have world government leaders and important business people take interest in our youth summit and what youth care about. We all felt important when the Shriver’s all came to see what we were doing.

Meeting Maria Shriver!

Kevin Farr, CFO Mattel and Bob Norbie, CEO Special Olympics Montana Welcome Tanealya to Athens

Greetings from Greece! On behalf of Team Oregon we are having an amazing time! Skyler said today that it seems like we have been here forever! Ever since the moment we arrived we have been welcomed by people from all over the world! It is refreshing to be in a place where nothing matters except the fact that we are all human and have a common goal, unity! Last night we had the amazing opportunity to attend Opening Ceremonies! Chris sums up the experience, when asked how it felt to walk in opening ceremonies he said, “I felt famous!” The ceremony was four energizing, inspiring hours with words from celebrities and most importantly athletes! After much suspense the torch was lit and that is just the beginning, the games have begun. The games will continue as we work with and learn from people all over the world about global activation to make our world more unified! It is inspiring to see how even though we have all just met, everyone is welcomed, supported and respected! Hope to keep you posted with all the exiting events!

Chris and Tanealya at opening ceremonies!

Global youth in Greece.

Global Youth Share Ideas!

Posted on June 24, 2011 by tanealya

So today everyone here at the gyas is sharing ideas about special olympics international about clubs and how they get involved and how they are going to try to get it in their schools.Youth from all over the world are sharing ideas about how to revolutionize their schools so that all schools are unified. It is all about dignity!!!!

Tim Shriver Visits GYASThe 2011 Special Olympics Global Youth Activation Summit has officially begun! Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver joined 67 youth leaders from around the world to help kick off 10 days of discussions and strategy development sessions to activate youth in creating communities of social change. Tim Shriver gave words of advice to youth who joined the “Dignity Revolution” and become leaders today.

Plus, in talking with the youth, Tim charged the leaders with a lofty task of playing unified to live unified and bringing unified programs to the world. “I think you should be the historic youth summit that would set the goal of having a unified program in every school in the world.”

Posted on June 24, 2011 by tanealya

Tanealya Hueth with Tim Shriver and Soren Palumbo

Temple of the Wingless Victory!Alli, Tanealya, Jordan and Kim at the Parthenon.

COMMENTS TO TANEALYA FROM HOME:

Wow Tanealya~

This sounds amazing. I can’t wait to read more. I am so grateful for all you do to further Project Unify not only here in Montana but also in the world. You are a gift.

Thanks for sharing your journey here!

Hugs,
Dawn

Tanealya, YOU ARE ROCKIN’ OVER THERE IN GREECE! You seem to be in EVERY picture on this blog, and you are meeting so many cool people. All of that coupled with the fact that you handle it like a superstar, wow! Way to go and way to represent Montana!

Nolan at SOMT

Hi Tanealya – You did an amazing job on this blog! Way to go! You are meeting so many interesting people. Nice job! JoJo

Other Pictures from Greece.

Photo of Global Youth Activation Summit in the Greek Parliament this morning for a formal recognition ceremony. All the heads of state were in attendance...the President of Greece, His Holiness of the Greek Orthodox Church, the Prime Minister, the Secretary of Education/Labor and Human Services, the President of the Games, SOI CEO Tim Shriver, and Mathew Williams, chair of the Global Athletes Congress.

The attached photo shows GYAS athletes and chaperones on the floor of the parliament. In the middle of the photo, if you look closely, you will see Tanealya Hueth and Tammy Peterson (both from Great Falls, MT) waving at the camera. Truly a historic event which His Holiness said in his remarks, reflects the "sacredness of the human face!" Look at the middle of the picture and you can see Tanealya waving.

Tanealya Hueth with other GYAS (Global Youth Activation Summit) leaders and Olympic Gold medalist short track speed skater Apollo Anton Ono.

We are so proud of our Tanealya. Way to go girl. You are a rock star!!!!!!!

Tanealya Returns Home

2011-07-11T13:25:00.001-06:00

Tanealya got a great oppotunity to go to Athens, Greece for 14 days. She returned July 5th and we made banners for her and her companion. The girls did a great job decorating them.

When we arrived at the airport the girls gave Tanealya and Tammy their posters.

Welcome home Tanealya. She is getting to be quite the world traveler.

Trip to Fort Benton

2011-07-11T12:55:00.002-06:00

On Tuesday we went to Frt Benton. The kids liked Sheep, a dog that waited by the railstation durning World Was II wainting for his master to return home. The master never returned and Sheep died at the railstation. He is kind of the town's local icon.

At the local fire station the kids got to press pennies.

The town also has a great iron bridge.

A perfect picture moment.

Lewis, Clark, and Sacagowa statue over looking the river.

The girls rest for a while.

We found a great playground where the kids took some time to play.

We picked through the fence at the fort and saw TeePees. This was a really fun trip.

Fire Works

2011-07-11T12:12:00.004-06:00

After Dinner we went to Sabrina's for their annual fireworks display.

Sabrina helps Aiden light his fireworks.

Riley was in charge of most of the fireworks.

Aiden shares poppers with Olivia.

The poppers spieled so the kids decided a little popper dance worked well to make them pop.

Everyone enjoyed the sparklers.

Jared brought his motorcycle and Marcus decided to try on the helmet.

Jared and Tavein enjoyed watching the kids. It won't be too long and they will have a little one to share fireworks with.

Watching the fireworks from a safe location.

Aiden shows off the last, big fireworks. It was very pretty when fired.

After this we were on our way to Terry and Bruce's hotel to watch the big city fireworks.

It was a great weekend. Lots of food, friends, family, and fun.

Giant Springs

2011-07-11T11:56:00.005-06:00

Another trip was to Giant Springs We visited the fish hatchery were the kid got to feet the rainbow trout.

We took a picture with Taylor, Marcus, Olivia, and Emma.

Tracie and Marc pose on the bridge that over looks the Springs

Papa and Popi come back from exporing.

The kids took some time to play on the play equipment.

Trip to Ryan Dam

2011-07-11T11:45:00.007-06:00

We took Terry and Bruce to Ryan Dam. The dam is open fully because of all the rain that we have been getting and now that tie weather has warmed up we are getting run off from the melting snow.

To get to the island you have to cross a bridge.

Taylor and Tavein pose for a picture with the dam in the background.

This is what Lewis and Clark saw when the passed through here on their way to the Pacific Ocean. There are a total of five of these dams.

Taylor and Olivia pose on the rocks along the trail going to the dam.

The day was hot and Olivia found a way to cool off.

Back across the bridge and on to another dam.

This is the Black Eagle Dam.

4th Week End Continues

2011-07-11T11:40:00.002-06:00

Family gatherings would not be complete without gathering around the table. At one point we had 16 around the table. I think the table must have measured 18 feet in length. What a great time we have sharing meals.

Riley even provided us with music.

Tracie and the kids even found time to sunbath and play in the pool. When they weren't in the pool the kids joined their dad in the hot tub.

4th of July Parade

2011-07-11T10:55:00.008-06:00

On the 4th of July we went downtown to the annual parade. Jerry and Marc went ahead and set up a place for the whole family. We had a pretty good spot for viewing the parade. Someone even had the great idea of creating our own shade by tying an umbrella to a parking meter.

Before the parade someone passed out flags and the kids made good use of them by waving them. The kids were dressed in red, white and blue so they looked very patriotic.

Tracie, Marc, Olivia, Marcus, and Emma pose for a picture.

Everyone enjoyed watching the parade. This was Jared's and Tavein's little guys first parade. But he really didn't have much of a view.

Terry and I take time to poise with Marcus. This doesn't happen very often because he is allways moving.

I don't know if you can find him, but Jared marched in the parade

and then he joined us to watch the rest.

Things got a little loud when Lewis and Clark fired off their guns. Marcus had to cover his ears.

Taylor sits with Marc and Marcus to watch the parade. She looks very patriotic in her striped shirt.

Lots of candy for all. Here is Marcus picking up some. They just keep throwing it at him.

He gathered quite a lot. Needless to say he didn't get to eat it. In fact, its all hidden in my pantry.

Marc's mom and dad joined us for the weekend. It was great having them and we hope they come back again.

Taylor taking care of Marcus. The kids sure like their cousin Taylor. They relate her to Taylor Swift. But Marcus told her that she has the same name as Taylor Swift, but she is just Taylor.

The kids ran out into the parade to hug the squire. Olivia came back very excited that she got to do this.

Riley shows us a tootsie roll that had a red, white, and blue cover. He was very impressed by this.

The parade was enjoyed by all.

It's A ????

2011-07-09T17:06:00.000-06:00

Tavein and Jared went to find out the babies sex on June 30th. They decided to announce it to the family on July 3 with a cake. If a girl the cake would be colored pink, a boy the cake would be colored blue. It's a boy:) Now they need to find a name. I think the girl cousins were disappointed, but the boy cousins are thrilled.

We Got One Also

2011-06-26T18:55:00.001-06:00

Okay, so everyone is talking about Trader Joe's. Well we have one here in Great Falls. I would guess it is the original Trader Joe's and I'll lay odds that it doesn't carry what yours does. Honestly when delivering a cake on Saturday we drove by this place and I had to take a picture for Terry. I don't think I will be shopping here much. Really I just couldn't resist posting this.

Four Cakes

2011-06-26T13:14:00.000-06:00

Three More Cakes

2011-06-16T08:48:00.000-06:00

Tavein and Jared

2011-06-14T22:42:00.002-06:00

What a nice looking couple. Take note of Tavein's dress and shoes. Jared took her shopping and picked them out for her. He even gave her a gift certificate so she could go and get her hair done. What a guy. I think he is a keeper!! The pictures were taken after a military affair that they attended together tonight. They are so darn cute.

Busy Week

2011-06-12T18:17:00.008-06:00

Emma would of loved this week. It was like a Cake Boss Week. This was a very busy week. I had 1 wedding which I did the centerpieces and the cake. Plus I had a graduation, birthday, and christening. The christening cake has the best story to go with it. A year ago a little girl by the name of Sidney died from aides. A few months after Sidney's death a dragon fly flew into the kitchen and settled on the mother's shoulder for a while. Then flew back out the door. That night the mom had a dream where Sidney had come to her and told her she was going to have a little girl and her name was going to be Valentina. Valentina is now two weeks old. The parents are convinced that Sidney is a dragonfly and will look over Valentina.

The wedding cake. A night mare. The flowers for this cake was suppose to be real. But when I pick them up from the florist they were awful. I couldn't put the flowers on the cake. So I ran to Joanne's in hopes of finding flowers. I had bought all the Calla Lilies in town to make the center pieces. In fact, I even called Tracie to see if she could find some in Spokane.Which she couldn't. Thanks Tracie for trying. But I was lucky they had just enough of the materials that I needed to make the flowers for the cake. With only three hours before delivery, a sheet cake still to frost and 2 other deliveries I must say the cake is beautiful. The bride was blown away when she saw her cake.

The lady bug cake was a hit. The mom said it was better than what she had envisioned. The graduation cake was for Dawn's brother who graduated from Kalispell and the family was celebrating it here. It was a busy, busy week.

Happy Birthday Tracie

2011-06-09T22:05:00.003-06:00

Sending you balloons and a cake for your birthday!!!!!!

Wish we were there to help you celebrate your 38th Birthday. What a special gift you are. You are a wonderful daughter, great mother, awesome wife. Someone we are truly proud of. Hope you have a great day and a super great year. Love mom and dad.

Cake Delivery

2011-05-15T19:32:00.006-06:00

Today Jerry and I delivered a graduation cake to Historic Fort Benton. While we were there we took a tour of the town.

Lewis and Clark stopped here to map out their route.

Lewis and Clark's boat.

Some of the historic buildings downtown.

An old bridge that is now a walking bridge.

The Grand Union. I have a wedding cake this summer to be delivered here.

The 1888 fire house.

Statue of Shep. A dog that became famous because he stayed at the railroad station waiting for his master to return from war. His master never came back. But Shep waited until he died.

The cake we delivered was shaped like a tennis racked. The young lady the cake was for is a tennis player and has a full ride scholarship to college because of her tennis playing. This cake was chocolate and everything is eatable. This was a replica of her racket.

Happy National Apple Pie Day

2011-05-13T11:44:00.005-06:00

Today is National Apple Pie Day

Here is a super simple way to celebrate!

Rustic Apple Pie Recipe

It is also called and Apple Crostata. It might not be so pretty, but it is extra delicious and quick!

I adapted the recipe from one of my favorite cooks, Ina Garten. My apples were extremely tart and I felt they needed to be tossed in sugar but I didn't want to lose Ina's yummy topping on her apple crostata........ so I did both.

Make or purchase a pie crust. If you are making yours Ina's version includes a recipe.Flour a rolling pin and roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer it to a parchment lined or sprayed baking sheet.

The Filling for the Apple Crostata

about 6 cups thinly sliced apples

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

For the filling, peel, core, and slice the apples. Toss the slices with the mixture. Cover the dough with the apples leaving a 2 inch border.

The Topping for the Apple Crostata

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup granulated or superfine sugar

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon ground allspice

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, and allspice in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture is crumbly. Pour into a bowl and rub it with your fingers until it starts holding together. Sprinkle evenly on the apples. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 30 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Happy National Pie Day!

Class Picture

2011-05-10T17:15:00.001-06:00

Mother's Day

2011-05-07T22:19:00.002-06:00

I just wanted to wish all the wonderful mother's a

Three Cakes

2011-05-07T12:30:00.001-06:00

Each of these pictures has their own story.

The first cake was made for a bridal shower. The bride is from Idaho, but her family lives here. The maid of honor and two of her friends gave the shower. The first shower was originally planned for March and was to be a black, red, and white moulin rouge theme. But, Bridezilla, as her maid of honor has called her cancelled. So the next date was set for April. Again the Bridezilla cancelled. So the next day was May 6th and the Bridzilla changed the theme. So, two weeks before the 6th the maid of honor calls and asks is I had May 20 open. I had to tell her no and she hung up on me. Ten minutes later she called back, apologized and told me she was so excited about telling the Bridezilla that she couldn't change the date of the shower. So the shower was set and a new theme was decided upon. When I delivered the cake after everyone oohed and awed over the cake, one of the friends, she was blonde, asked what happened to the red, white, and black theme while she was placing pink,blue and purple napkins on the table. The maid of honor gave her a strange look and said lets not go there. I feel sorry for the maid of honor because the bride is her husband's sister.

The next two cakes are going to the same party. The cupcake cake is a graduation cake for a young lady graduating from UGF this weekend. She loves cupcakes so the topper is, you quested it, a cupcake. The other cake is for her dad who is turning 40. Her mom already turned 40 and this cake is pay back for her surprise party that he threw. Needless to say, the cake will be a surprise because he thinks they are renting the VFW to celebrate his daughter. The hall will be divided, on one side will be the graduation party and on the other side his 40th birthday party. If you haven't guessed, he is a fowl hunter. Sounds like it will be a fun night.

100 days

2011-05-05T19:49:00.002-06:00

Today was Aiden's 100th day of school. He was so excited when he got out of school because they all got a $100 bill. Fake of course he told me.

Piper's Cake

2011-04-30T10:33:00.001-06:00

Hannah's Cake

2011-04-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

Hannah is a senior at CMR. She is doing a senior project and she picked food. What she wanted to do was to learn how to decorate cakes with fondant, so I have been mentoring her. This is her first fondant cake. She did such a great job. Next cake will be a square one.

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T16:59:00.010-06:00

I was a little worried that we were not going to have our traditional Easter Celebration with the egg dying party on Saturday and Brunch, baskets, and egg hunt on Sunday with Aiden not feeling well because of his tonsils and adenoids being removed on Monday. But he is such a little trooper that all went as scheduled.

Saturday the kids came over and we dyed Easter Eggs. Even Jared and Tavein joined us. We tried something new this year. First we did the original dying of the eggs, let them dry and then added oil to the dye and re-dipped the eggs. We got some very interesting marbling on our eggs.

Aiden then went in the living room to visit Taylor and it wasn't very long before he was sound asleep. He doesn't last more than an hour.

This morning I got a call at 8:00 from Aiden telling me the Easter Bunny had come and wondered if he could come over.

When they arrived Aiden found that the Easter Bunny had gone all the way to England to get him a toy that he has been asking for for the last 6 months. Fireman Sam, his fire station and a fire truck. Yes it really did come all the way from England. We ever had a friend exchange our money for pounds so we could pay for it. Jerry's new bookkeeper has a sister in England and she found the toys for us. They are not available in the US.

After Brunch everyone else headed for their baskets.

Tavein looked in hers and only found a card and some eggs. One of the eggs had a message in it that lead her and the kids on a scanvanger hunt to find her gift.

At the end of the hunt she found a small gas barbecue.

Then it was the kids turn to find eggs. This year I did something different because of all the snow we still had made it hard to put candy in the eggs. So each of the kids had to find an egg with their name on it. These eggs contained a dollar bill and a quarter. There was also a golden egg that contained $5.00. Taylor found the golden egg. There were 120 eggs to find and Aiden found the most, 44.

Dad even got to go on a scavenger hunt and found a drill that he has been wanting in the dryer.

After that they all went outside to play with the boy's popguns.

Then we took a group picture.

Hope everyone had a great Easter. Despite snow on the ground it turned out to be a beautiful day here.

Amazing what kids will say.

2011-04-18T22:28:00.001-06:00

There is no picture to go with this story. The story was too cute not to blog. Aiden got his tonsils removed today and did very well. He is home and resting. Taylor came to visit tonight and told this cute story. She told Aiden that she loved him and he replied, "I love you to the moon and back." Taylor said to him, "I love you to Jupiter." He replied back, "I love you to the moon." Taylor said, "I love you to heaven." Then Aiden replied, "I love you to hell." Taylor said she was so shocked that her mouth fell open. Leave it to our Aiden.

I guess before the operation Aiden told his mom that she needed to cancel. When he returned to the room and woke in recovery he said, "You were suppose to cancel" and then wouldn't talk to anyone. It may be a long week.

Amazing what kids will say.

Cupcake Tree

2011-04-17T18:49:00.002-06:00

I made two cake last week. One was a cupcake tree. I got my first cupcake order about a month ago for a baby shower. I discovered since that you can't buy a desent cupcake stand that will hold 30 cupcakes. So, I designed this one and Jerry made it for me. It can hold 30+ cupcakes. I put the ribbon around each layer that says "it's a girl". These are jumbo cupcakes, they measure 2x2x2. I wanted them to be pretty, but discover that they don't make jumbo cupcake wraps. So, I made a pattern, got some black paper and a paper punch and made my own. The cupcakes were my famous chocolate cupcakes and white vanilla bean died pink. The tops are frosted with buttercream and them a fondant cap was placed on top. I found out that this was way more work than doing a regular cake. I must say though when it was all done it was really pretty. The gal that ordered it even gave me a $10.00 tip when I delivered them.

Here is the other baby shower cake I also made last week. This cake was for the sister of a former student of mine. She was also a coworker of Sabrina's at Maurice. Her mom is now Tanealya's boss at the pre-school that she works at. Any way, I donated a cake certificate to Special Olympic's fundraiser in February and Stephanie won it and used it for her baby shower. She wanted a jungle cake but hats monkeys. She also wanted a lion on top with palm trees. So, this is the cake she got. The top layer is white vanilla bean, second layer is lemon with huckleberry filling, and the third layer is my famous chocolate cake with fudge filling.

Happy Birthday Sabrina

2011-04-01T22:15:00.003-06:00

This is not an April Fool's joke. Sabrina really did turn 40 today. Wow how time flies. It just seems like yesterday that she was turning one. Happy Birthday Sabrina!!
Sabrina's 40th Birthday cake.

A CINDERELLA STORY

2011-03-28T20:52:00.012-06:00

Even though the post shows Prom 2011 pictures it all started as a Cinderella story on March 15. I was getting Tanealya ready for her Bosses Dinner (she got the employee of the year award at this event) when she asked me if I had seen Taylor's Dress. She said Taylor was so pretty in her dress and that she was going to the Prom. Then she told me she wished she could have gone to a Prom. It broke my heart, so I told her mom. Her mom suggested she ask Trevor if he wanted to go to a Prom with her. He said yes. Since Trevor's family has no money for him for this event he needed a fairy godmother. Abracadabra one fairy godmother appeared. I took them Saturday to the tux rental place. Before we arrived, I called and told the clerk what was happening and he was not to be given a bill. When Trevor tried on the shirt, he said, "I look like a waiter at Bories". But when he put the entire outfit on he smiled and replied, "Nice." Tanealya said he looked so nice that she wanted to cry. Now for a dress-Abracadabra, I just happen to have a blue dress that fit Tanealya like it was made for her. Okay off to the jewelery store for bling. Flowers came next. Despite the fact that the fairy godmother got a third degree burn, magically she waved her wand and 4 corsages and one boutonniere appeared. Now how do we get the couple to the dance. Abracadabra, a driver appears. Taylor and her friends decided to take them to the prom. What great girls! They didn't have to do this but they did. Okay now just about everything is taken care of. Oh, a carriage is needed. Abracadabra, Nana's white van appears. But Taylor is warned that at midnight it will turn into a pumpkin. Now dinner and a place to have it. Abracadabra a wave of the wand and the dinning room magically turns into a very elegant restaurant. And a fancy dinner appears complete with a maitre d', server, chief, photographer appear. I fix Tanealya's hair, do her nails, help her get dressed. Jerry picks up the Tux and gets it to Trevor. Then at 5:45, picks him up and gets him to our house. Everything is set for their big night. And so the magical night begins.

PROM 2011

The menus, ticket, and place card all to match the theme, "Old Hollywood".

Tanealya and Trevor get their pictures taken while they wait for the other to arrive.

The girls arrive. Time for a group photo.

The girls are escorted into the waiting area where they are presented with their flowers

On to dinner. The room is decorated with lights, candle, china, special centerpieces, menus and place markers. Note in the next few pictures the girls dresses turn white. Why? They used their napkins as bibs and the table cloth as napkins. Clever girls.

Next the maitre d' served wine (sparkling cider), the chef even helped serve.

They were served by course. Appetizer: shrimp cocktail, mozzarella sticks. Salad: House salad with vinegerette dressing and bread sticks. Entree: Tim the chef prepared a seafood medley, chicken and pasta with Alfredo sauce, green beans, and garlic toast. Dessert: I made New York Cheese Cake with strawberries and chocolate sauce.

They all retired to the living room stuffed.

They then pose for more pictures. I just love the shoe for the evening, flipflops, boots, tennis shoes. Riley and Aiden joined the party after a movie with Tavein.

This picture isn't real clear, but I had to include it. Taylor called it her airbag

So off to the prom. Taylor said that when she picked up Trevor and Tanealya after the prom he was a true prince, he put his coat around her so she wouldn't get cold. This truly was a night that fairy tales are written about. I'm so glad we could make it happen for them. A night to remember.

Three Cakes

2011-03-19T08:57:00.001-06:00

What a week!! This week I had three cake orders. I normally only do one, two at the most but the stories made it impossible to turn down the last two cakes. Lily's cake was the first one ordered. The grandmother wanted her daughter to have a baby shower and a cake to match the nursery. This is her first grandchild. The next cake was for a woman who was turning 78. Her daughter told me that they didn't know how long she was going to be around because she was fighting cancer. When she asked her mother what kind of cake she wanted she said, " Just get me a white cake from Albertson's." Her daughter wanted a special cake for her. So she called me. Next, came a call from Florida. It was from a mother who's son had just been stationed at Malmstrom and they were having her first grandchild. They are having a SKYE (over the internet) baby shower for them and she wanted a surpise baby shower cake delivered to them. Thus, the baby bootie cake. Kow here is the odd part, all three were girls and all three had purple in them. What are the odd's.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T09:11:00.001-06:00

Hope everyone has a great day:) Here is a fun recipe to make for/with the kids today.

Leprechaun Pie

A fun pie for St Patrick's day or ANY day!

INGREDIENTS
1 reduced fat graham cracker crust
8 oz tub fat free whipped topping, thawed
1 box fat free pistachio pudding (if you don't like pistachio pudding us vanilla and add a drop or two of green food coloring.)
20 oz can crushed pineapple in own juice

DIRECTIONS
Mix thoroughly the whipped topping, pudding powder and drained pineapple, pile into crust, chill and enjoy!

Cut into 6 or 8 servings
Number of Servings: 8

What happens to Rainbows

2011-03-11T09:43:00.001-07:00

So, yesterday I pick Aiden up from school and off to Walmart we went to shop. When we came out of the store he spotted a puddle and for once didn't jump in it. He just stood there, pointed and said pretty. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he was looking at a rainbow. Then he told me what had happened. You see the puddle with the gas in it makes a rainbow of colors, but according to Aiden, the puddle was created because a rainbow fell from the sky and melted. On the way home he was quite concerned that there would be no more rainbows, because like the snow that is finally melting here, so are the rainbows. I reassured him that a rainbow only melts when it gets very old. Aiden then asked, does that mean winter is old and is going away. He so wants summer to come. I just love the innocents of children.

Happy Birthday Aaron

2011-03-02T22:28:00.000-07:00

This picture showed up at my front door. It was found in Jerry Labenetz's things after she died. I thought it captured Aaron very well. Hope you had a great day. Happy Birthday.

Riley Turns 10 Part 2

2011-02-14T17:02:00.000-07:00

February is Riley's official birthday. But, because he shares it with a friend from school, who alway has her party the weekend closest to theitr birthday Riley has to have his later. This year Riley got to have a swimming party. He also got the big cake like everyone else gets. He wanted a castle with a dragon and his playmobil knight. The cake even had a gate, drawbridge and mot. They had a blast and he and his friends loved the cake. Again, HAPPY BIRTHDAY RILEY!!

Valentine's Day 2011

2011-02-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

The kids came over to the house after school today to celebrate Valentine's with me. They start asking about this party right after Christmas. It has become a tradition with them.They shared with me what they got at school and from friends for Valentines and then began the party. I made cookies, brownies, chocolate covered strawberries and chocolate candy. There was a special table setting with decorations waiting for them when they got home. They got to drink their punch from crystal stemware which they think is special. Each of them got a small gift from Papa and me. They had blast. Hope everyone's day was great and full of LOVE!! Happy Valentine's Day.

Riley is 10

2011-02-05T20:18:00.001-07:00

Riley has reached the double didgets. He turned 10 today. He and Aiden came over to the house this morning and we went shopping at Amazing Toys for his birthday present and then we had lunch together. Tonight we celebrated with a birthday dinner at Boston Pizza and then went home to cake and presents. Riley's best gift was a new bike. Next week we will celebrate with a fancy cake that Riley picked out and will help make and a swim party with friends. Happy Birthday Riley.

Sabrina Graduates

2010-12-17T13:17:00.001-07:00

Today Sabrina graduated from MSU-Northern with her RN degree. Way to go Sabrina!!! We are so proud of you and your accomplishment.

BANANA SNOWMAN

2010-12-17T10:18:00.006-07:00

Aiden had his Christmas party at school Thursday and I was in charge of a healthy snack.

I wanted it to be not only healthy but fun. So I made banana snowmen.

The ingredients:

bananas, carrot, mini chocolate chips, apple, grapes, pretzel sticks, bamboo skewers (or just assemble on a plate, this way the kids can build their own.)

For each snowman, cut the banana into 3 3inch pieces.

Put on skewers or plate and decorate with mini chips (eyes and buttons).

Cut small piece of carrot and add for nose. To make this easy, put hole in banana with skewer. Then place carrot into hole.

Cut apple into small wedge and cut off top to form hat.

Place hat on top of banana head.

Put grape on top of apple wedge to finish hat.and place pretzels (one pretzel broken in half) into sides of center banana for arms.
Now you have a snowman that's ready to eat.

This was fun to make and the kids at school loved them. Even the little boy who is a picky eater eat all of his and asked for another.

To make this even more fun, add a pile of white yogurt to the bottom to resemble snow.

Hope you and your kids have fun with this project.

Happy Birthday Taylor

2010-11-02T21:53:00.005-06:00

Taylor turned 16 today. She ordered her cake a month ago. She wanted a cake that matched her homecoming dress.

Aiden got into the act by lighting the candles on Taylor's cake.

Taylor blew out all her candles.

Aiden was a big help when it came time to open presents.

Happy 16th Birthday Taylor.

Happy Halloween

2010-10-31T21:29:00.001-06:00

The house is decorated inside with cobwebs, spiders, and mice all over the house.

And outside with all the lights, scarecrow, bats, spiderwebs, and pumpkins.

The kids arrive for our traditional Halloween Party. The party begins with games and crafts. Riley won the doughnut eating contest as well as the apple dunking contest. Aiden gave the apple dunking a try but decided that he didn't want to get his nose wet. Then we made punch and of course it had to have dry ice in it so they could blow the smoke. Then on to making all the goodies.

They made chocolate ghosts and pumpkin suckers, Carmel apples, cupcakes, spiders and witches hats. Aiden made a puppy on his cupcake all by himself. My cake decorating techniques must be rubbing off on him.

Then we sat down for our traditional dinner together. The kids choose worms with eyeballs (spaghetti and meat balls) fingers (carrot sticks with almond for fingernails) garden greens, mud pie with worms(pudding and gummy worms and Oreo cookies) and bats blood to drink (cranberry punch). It was a great meal and a great party. We had lots of fun. Aiden had so much fun that he wanted to start all over.

WISHING EVERYONE

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Papa even joined us for this photo. He is the sheet in the back wearing the witches hat.

The end of a great Halloween.

Look Who Is Famous

2010-10-28T16:08:00.000-06:00

Our Tanealya got to attend a reception at the Vice President and Dr Biden's home October 22, 2010. Who would of dreamed out girl would be hobnobing with these people.

Invitation

2010-10-19T08:25:00.000-06:00

Again Tanealya is headed to D.C. on Wednesday. Yesterday Tanealya received an invitation to the Vice President's house for a reception on Friday night. She and another young man will be representing Special Olympics Youth Activation Committee. They will be escorted by Tim Shriver and his assistant. This is such a neat opportunity for her. She will get to meet Maria Shriver and her husband Arnold Swartzenager, Governer of California, along with lots of other dignitaries. Did you ever think this could happen?
Way to go girl. You rock.

Scare Crow Display

2010-09-27T13:43:00.002-06:00

I saw this at Michael's and thought it would be fun to have. The original price was $119.00. Then it went on sale for $71.99. I just couldn't justify spending that much money on a decoration that would only be on display for two months. So.....

by waiting for everything to go on sale and using 40% and 50% coupons, I managed to buy all the items needed to make the display and only spent $35.00. I must say I like my version better than their's. It looks so cute in my kitchen.

A Dora Cake for Tatiana

2010-09-18T16:36:00.002-06:00

Tatiana is the daughter of one of my brides and grooms. She turned 3 today and she is crazy about Dora.

Is That White I See?

2010-09-17T22:02:00.004-06:00

Today is September 17th. Yes. what you see is snow. This is the earliest it has snowed that I can remember.

Aiden was so excited when he saw the snow. He found gardening gloves and his red hat. So I got him dressed and wouldn't you know it, he has to go to the bathroom. I can remember getting all the kids dressed and of course someone would have to use the bathroom. Well I got him redressed and outside he ventured. The first thing he asked was how do you catch snow. I told him to stick out his tongue.

He really did catch some snow. But he figured it was easier to get a taste of snow by just eating it. The garden gloves are stained but clean so he got clean snow. The first snowfall is the tastiest.

This is the patio table. I couldn't resist writing in the snow. The snow was quite unexpected. It lasted most of the day.

Even though I hate to see snow so early, I really was expecting an Indian Summer, Aiden and I enjoyed the first snow fall of the year. What ever happened to global warming? I feel more like we are entering an Ice Age.

Happy Birthday Tanealya

2010-09-15T20:44:00.002-06:00

Tanealya turned 19 today. It is so hard to believe she is that old. We were truely blessed when she came into our lives.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TANEALYA!!!!!

Mckenzie and Doug's Wedding

2010-09-02T20:48:00.005-06:00

This wedding was the son of one of Jerry's installers. The wedding took place at Fairmont Hotsprings. What a great place to have a wedding. We were invited to the wedding and I cut the cake. It was fun to be at the wedding and see the bride and groom's expression when they saw the cake.
This is the top of the cake. When Mckenzie and I talked she told me her colors and I told her I would make a flower topper for her cake. When we arrived at the wedding I saw the bridemaids' flowers and they were almost identical. The only difference was that they had a few white daisies among the puple and green flowers.

This is Mckenzie and Doug cutting their cake. I had to tell Mckenzie that it was okay to cut the cake because she said if she cut it she would ruin it. Well she cut into it and all went well. They each did the traditional feeding of the cake to each other.

Cake on receiption table.
The wedding was great and we had a relaxing weekend.Drove to Bozeman and visited with Aaron and went and saw the giant elephant made of tires.

I even got a picture of the sleeping giant on the way home.

A Yellow Wedding Cake

2010-08-15T17:06:00.001-06:00

This was the wedding of a young couple from Chicago. Elleanore is from here. She grew up in Vallier and went to school in Bozeman. She is the marketing director for Phillidelphia Cream Cheese. Leif, the groom is from Sweden and works in Chicago also. They meet on a blind date that her friend's had arranged. She laughts now because she said when she heard his name she wasn't sure about meeting him. She said it was love at first meeting.
Elleanore booked this wedding back in December. She was the most organized bride I have meet to date. Every detail was planned out. She made one trip home in April to meet with everyong to finallize all the details. She then came home the week of the wedding to get all the last minute details completed. While she and her sisters got everything done. Leif and the groom's men went camping in Glacier.
The cake top was designed just for the couple by an artist in Chicago.

The wedding cake was lemon with huckleberry filling.

The groom is an avid reader. Thus, Elleanore choose books for the groom's cake. The titles are his three favorite books. The groom's cake was also a lemon cake. I'm not sure if she choose lemon because it was the groom's favorite flavor or if it was because the cake was yellow.

The reception was at the Charlie Russell Museum. It was suppose to be an outside affair under tents. This didn't happen because we had had rain on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. The ground was too wet to put the tents up. So the reception was moved indoors. The is a picture of the cake table. The five plates on the side are Cream Cheese Mints made from, you guess it, Phillidelpia Cream Cheese. Taylor an I made 900 of these mints.

A little side note. We drove by the church on the way home from setting up the cake and got to see the bride and groom. They were riding to the reception in a yellow convertable. Have you guessed it yet. Her main color was yellow. The groom's tie was yellow, along with the vests that the groom and groom's men wore. Her brides maids wore navy blue. Elleanore made the blue and yellow table runners and napkins as favors for her guests. This was such an organized bride that she even had a seating chart. So the guests could find their table each guest was given a letter of the alphabet and all the tables were in alphabetic order. The museum was beautiful and I'm sure it was the wedding of her dreams.