To celebrate my little girl turning four we had a mini party at school, a Build-a-Bear Party with friends, and a small weekend trip to Great Wolf Lodge with the four of us.  She had a blast!!!!  The best of all and the most talked about was her pirate themed party’s and the endless swimming and “diving” she did at GWL.  She LOVED the water-as we expected.  She and her daddy went on all the slides, the wave pool, and the most time was spent in the “kiddie” area.  She felt that she could conquer the slides and waterfalls there without any help.  My youngest hesitated a bit more when it came to the water.  After about two hours she felt more comfortable with putting her face gently in the water.  We have heard about GWL almost daily since the trip.  The girls had such a great time with the celebrations that they have already begun to plan my youngest turning three this July.  So far it will be in Michigan and the cake will be green according to the conversations the two of them have been having.

Pre-school party

Bed time story and GWL

My littlest did not like the character at all

My new four year old diving in the falls

We got her pink snorkel gear (as seen above) and a pink guitar-she loved them both

The Fondant Pirate Cake

The journey of learning how to make rolled fondant frosting was a bumpy one.  So it all started with that post a few weeks back with pirate birthday cake inspirations.  My birthday girl saw the images and was ecstatic about a pirate birthday cake.  She enjoyed "the green one".  The image with the pirate cake with a green hat.  And so the journey began.  Researching the internet for recipes for rolled fondant and watching those oh-so-helpful YouTube demonstrations took much of my time this past week in preparation for "The Pirate Cake".  When I suggested cupcakes, or cake-pops my little girl turned her nose and exclaimed "No mommy...a BIG cake, a big, big green Pirate cake!!!!!!!!"  The research continued.  Grocery list-check. Several hours allotted to pick up groceries, "just in-case"-check.  Then it happened...the great search of Northern Virginia for the cute little ingredient-Glycerin.  It's spoken of in the videos as if you can just pick it up nearly anywhere.  You know, glycerin.  Well, the only glycerin stocked in our grocery store was the suppository form.  Lovely.  The craft store was all out.  The only trace was the bar code on the shelf with no bottles behind it.  After 7 interactions with stores via phone or in person I found it.  Glycerin.  Oh, by the way, the recipe only called for a tablespoon of this stuff-Really??? Really??  Hours of scouring the city for a tablespoon. Yes.
I proceed to make the fondant meticulously just as the video showed.  I ended up with a sticky mess and still 6 out of 8 more cups of powdered sugar to add.  I recruited "muscle" to help to kneed this impossible mess.  45 minutes to an hour later the mixture was ready thanks to my husband and his strength-I surely could not have done it alone. 
The assembling of the cake.  Rolling the fondant wasn't too difficult after letting it warm up from being in the fridge for about an hour, and kneading in small portions for another 20 minutes.  Let's just say it is NOT as straight forward as the videos show.  The smoothing process was a joke.  Cutting around the edge at the bottom after you drape it over the cake was a joke.  The fun part was turning it into the pirate.
When my little girl woke this morning (and me barely being able to crack an eye open since we were up into the wee hours of the night creating the cake) she loved it! 

I made these cupcakes in addition to the cake.  It took about 20 minutes to frost and decorate all the cupcakes.  Sounds like a nice quick idea for next year :)

My mother turned 60 and we were able to head back to the Mid-west to celebrate.  It was a great day of celebration with family and friends.  The food was Mexican inspired dishes with turquoise and purple cupcakes for dessert.  It was very snowy that week which made the outdoor scenery beautiful!

The Birthday girl

The Hostesses: Sisters

Grandpa keeping kids busy during party

Turning 29 Again Isn't So Bad

My husband has been truly amazing!!!  He planned a family get-away at a nearby resort.  He packed everything and arranged for the dog to stay with a friend.  He pretty much took care of the girls and even took them swimming this morning without me so that I could enjoy coffee in silence...what??!!!!  Wow, thank you.  Although my husband was truly perfect, I could not say that for our girls.  My youngest daughter slept with me.  Between her torpedo-like sleep habits and her intermittent wails from 1-5 am averaging every 20 minutes-let's just say I did NOT sleep. Then, this morning was a series of one tantrum after another-go figure she didn't sleep.  Instead of enjoying lunch at the Harbor we picked up Chipotle on the way home due the extremely gentle state our children were in.  My oldest daughter did learn to swim under water without any flotation devices at the resort.  This was very exciting!!!!  My husband did the dreaded unpacking when we got home too.  Still wow!  Still thank you!  I will end the night in a free "Happy Birthday" yoga class at a nearby studio.  I look forward to Savasana.  Turning 29 again isn't so bad.

My Baby turns turns 2!!!

We traveled back to the mid-west to celebrate my daughter turning two.  We enjoyed time at the lake, the farm and both of our hometowns.  We were able to see many grandparents, great-grandparents, aunts, and uncle, and many of the girl's cousins.  It was a whirlwind!  Although after returning, as the parents juggling everything, we feel as if we need a vacation from our vacation. Still, it was worth it.  The flights went well, and both kids stayed healthy while away.  The day after returning the birthday girl became febrile simultaneously with the AC unit breaking at home.  All is good today and I must say we have fully recovered from the travels.  The house is clean, laundry caught up, my daughter is afebrile, the AC is working, and the girls are coloring quietly at the kitchen table.  We are ready for the weekend and our guest to arrive on Sunday! (I only have photos from my phone.  The rest need to be downloaded from the g-parents camera's since our camera was missing for the trip)

My First Born Turns Three

We had a lovely time with both sets of grandparents here to celebrate M. turning three.  We actually started celebrating the weekend before when Great Aunt visited.  The theme was Fish/Swim.  We kicked it off the morning of her third birthday by having a live Beta fish greet her for breakfast.  She loves her new pet and has been feeding it every night before going to bed.She was able to attend her first "kids only" story time at the library since she turned "3".  She wore a homemade button that said "Today is my Third Birthday" so everyone would know she was a rookie and be kind to her...it worked.  She loved all of the unexpected birthday greetings from other moms and the staff.  She enjoyed the Ocean Exhibit at the Natural History Smithsonian Museum with both sets of grand parents and daddy.  We got pedicures in Old Town before swimming at the boutique hotel my parents stayed at.   She got a new bike and camera which she enjoyed after her party on Saturday.  I think she is getting the idea now that Birthday means cake and ice cream and she is lovin' it!  We celebrated with an orange frosted fish shaped cake.  Having a three year old feels a lot different than a two year old.  She seems so much older.  It has been fun watching her grow and we look forward to another year with our little girl.

My Baby Turns One on the Beach!

We traveled back home to celebrate our second daughter turning one.  It was an adventure!  We flew after Nathan got off work Friday night.  Greeted by both sets of Grandparents, then off to bed for the girls and party planning for us.  We were up late that Friday making very special celebratory cupcakes for our little one.  The morning of her birthday was cool and rainy.  We were determined to have the day go well, and we had no back up plan.  Rainy and cool on July 31st?  Who would have thought.  As we set up the party tent sipping on our hot Starbuck's we hoped and wished for the rain to go away and come again some other day.  Because of the gloomy weather, this allowed all of our guests to have front and center parking and a wide open beach for the games and other festivities.  It warmed up nicely and everyone had a wonderful time.  The weather actually worked in our favor :)  We enjoyed grilling out, beach games, a dip in the lake, and of course cupcakes!!