Birthdays and Water Balloon Fights

Here are a few pics of our summer fun.  Our little Rosebud turned 4 years old!  Such a big girl, and getting sweeter every day (really!  finally, thank the Lord!).  Also, a water balloon fight at my sister's on the Fourth of July.

Everyone waiting in line while my mother and sister fill up more balloons

Of course, Jason was always FIRST in line

Here he is reaching through, into the bathroom window waiting on balloons

And here he is, right after my mother returned a  few prank favors from over the past  18 years LOL (she threw a cup of water at him)

 

We all had a great time!

My Rosebud Turned 3!

She's growing up so fast...

She's driving now!

And I learned that I can still jog 5 MPH when I have to. Yay me!

And then we topped the day off with Little Bear. She loved it!

Deep Sea Cake

My children think they can just name a theme, and their mom can bake a cake that tastes good and looks just like whatever they imagine. It's a tall order, but I have fun trying. Some turn out better than others! This year, Seth didn't just want an ocean cake (I've done one of those before for him), but he wanted a deep sea ocean cake with a scuba diver!

I actually had high hopes for this cake, and was going to do a lot more with it...until Summer woke me up by bringing me my glasses...

Migraine + blurred vision = mediocre cake, but Seth liked it so that's all that matters.

The Big Mermaid

Summer loves to watch Little Bear and is so taken with Little Bear's mermaid friend, so this is what I made for her birthday cake.

Poor thing is a little fatter than I intended, but Rosebud will love her. I never did like The Little Mermaid anyway! (The little mermaid with the big bust who was glorified for rebelling against her father.......I know, I'm extreme, blah blah blah)

- Posted using my iPhone

He had a ball!

We had a great time Wednesday morning with Bubbie and his mustache. He stood and stared into the mirror for a few seconds before nervously saying, "Mom, it's not a real mustache.......is it?" He's so funny.

Being a young man with a broad range of interests, he wanted a Davy Crockett cake and a spider man suit for his birthday. I'm afraid Davy kind of looks like he's wearing a Jedi robe, but once again, I delivered! He asks for the hardest cakes! In fact, when I showed him the finished product, he said, "But I wanted him on a horse shooting his gun!" Oh well, this is all I could come up with:

Spidey

This morning, Bub came and sat in the chair and said first thing, "Man, I loved that birthday!" I had let him and Seth "sleep together" last night (a treat on a week night for them) and he said, "Mama, me and Bubba had a ball last night. You know what's a ball? Bubba said a ball is when you do lots of fun things and don't get in trouble for it." I just love little boys!!

Deer Camp Cake

Here are some pics of a cake I did for a friend of ours:

Fellowship and Dirt Cake

We had a great time fellowshipping after church last night. Rosebud is never lacking for someone to hold and play with her.

Jason only cooks outside or away from home! (?)

Here's Bub with his best friend "Brudder Damie"

These are the Bible Baptist Church cooks. They are actually very good cooks; UNfortunately, however, they sing while they cook!

And here's the recipe for Dirt Cake everyone was asking about. Love you guys!

DIRT CAKE

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/2 stick butter, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Mix together with mixer.

1 small instant vanilla pudding

1 small instant chocolate pudding

4 c. milk

Prepare as directed.

12 oz. Cool Whip

In LARGE mixing bowl, thoroughly mix cream cheese mixture, pudding mixture, and Cool Whip.

1 large package Oreos, crushed

(I use a plastic bag and rolling pin)

Layer pudding and cookie mixtures as follows: 1/3 cookie mixture, 1/2 pudding mixture, repeat, and top with remaining cookie mixture.

For fun, add gummy worms, and serve in a pail with a shovel. (great for boy baby showers)

Refrigerate for 6 hours.

Simply Delicious Chocolate Cake

Cake decorating is a hobby of mine. I don't do it for money, just for enjoyment. With 5 kids, I get plenty of practice throughout the year with birthday cakes alone! I always try for my cakes to taste as good as they look; however, sometimes, for the sake of art, you have to sacrifice. An example of this is chocolate. Chocolate decorator frosting tastes horrible! (I usually just use brown vanilla frosting.) So, occasionally, I just like to throw "art" aside, and make a simply delicious cake from scratch. Today, I'll share my recipe for yellow cake with creamy chocolate frosting. You probably have all the ingredients on hand! Enjoy!

Yellow cake:

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. butter, softened

1 3/4 c. sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 c. milk

Greast and flour 2 9-in. round cake pans (I use Wilton Cake Release).

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in small bowl. Set aside.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add vanilla.

Add flour to creamed mixture, alternately with milk, beating well after each.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in pan. Then dump and cool completely, covered with a cloth, on a wire rack.

Chocolate Frosting:

1 c. butter, softened

1/2 c. cocoa

4 c. powdered sugar

6 Tbsp. half and half

1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter and cocoa. Slowly work in sugar and half and half. Add vanilla. Store in refrigerator.

My Pretty Little Doodlebug

Today Madelyn turns 9 years old. I was just thanking the Lord for her, and thinking of all the fun we've had with her through the years, so I thought I'd post a few of my favorite pictures of her. Coon hunting...it's true that my pretty little Doodlebug usually smells like a boy

Age 6 ...I love her golden hair

She'll kill me for posting this, but this is her at age 5...always right behind KK in whatever he's playing. She is actually wearing an Indian costume that my mother made for me when I was her age


Age 4, painting Jason's toenails when he was in one of his comas (a.k.a. "naps")



Age 5, with her best buddy

Age 2 1/2, with her best buddy

Age 2, Sis and Doodle helping me make biscuits

Happy Birthday to my sweet little Sis! I love you!

My Peanut is 4 years old!

Happy Birthday to my Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Superman, Batman, Sam the Hobbit, Robin Hood, Crusader Knight, Scuba Diver, Buck Deer Hunter, Farmer, boy. This little gun slinging, sword wielding, hymn singing, dirt tracking, hat wearing, mess making fellow makes sure he doesn't miss any fun in this life.

He makes his rounds with everyone in the house daily. "I wub you, Mom." "I wub you, Dad." "I wub you, KK." "I wub you, Sis." "I wub you, Bubba." [Stop. Insert: "Mama, Bubba didn't say I wub you Bubbie to me!!"] And finally, "I wub you, Wosebud."

He's such a sweetheart (well, one of those mean as a snake sweethearts), and has been such a delightful and hilarious addition to our family.

Happy Birthday, Bubbie!

Party!

With Seth and Caleb's birthdays only a week apart, we always combine a birthday party for them each year. The Lord has blessed us with a small circle of family and friends that come to help us celebrate.

Caleb with his best buddy

Sis dressed as "Arwen" for Seth

Frodo and Sam

Of course I did a cake for each of them

PawPaw with Rosebud

From the looks of her face, Jenna liked the Confederate flag cake best

Thanks to all our family and friends who helped us celebrate. It was a wonderful evening for our boys