7.28.2011

The Cake…

I had a few people comment on wanting to know how I made the cake.  I had seen it done on the internet before, so when Maddie mentioned a rainbow party I knew I had to attempt the cake. 
The first thing I did was buy the "good" food coloring at Michael’s.  That stuff really works!  I bought a white cake and followed the directions on the box, making sure you don’t put in the yolk.  Then you separate the batter into six bowls, or however many colors you want to do.  Using the food coloring, color the batter adding more food coloring to get the color the way you like it.  Then you start layering the batter.  Begin with the color you want on the bottom and pour it in the middle of the pan, then pour the next color on top of that, etc…until you have the colors layered on top of each other.  The weight of each layer of batter will spread.  Your cakes will look like this:
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Then you bake them.  I made them the night before the party, I put them in the freezer over night, I think that makes them taste better too.  I used whipped cream frosting.  Maddie had also requested a “peace sign” on her cake, so I used skittles to make the peace sign.  I had seen oreo cookies used on a cake before, so I just put those on for added décor.  I was pretty happy with the result…and it tasted yummy too!
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Sorry about the blurry picture…I was in a hurry to get it, there were 8 little girls dying to get a piece, and I only got this shot. Dang it, it wasn’t focused right…oh well, you get the idea!
If you feel like you need more instruction, you can probably find a video on you tube too.
And to answer Colby’s questions…
They colored a Mural to add to the others up in the play room and they made necklaces and bracelets.  They also painted on their own canvas bags that we put candy and art supplies in to take home.


I hope you all try this cake, it was a lot of fun to make.

7.27.2011

The Party…

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I’m finally getting around to posting the pictures

from Maddie’s Birthday Party.

We had such a fun time…

painting

coloring

beading

posing for the photo booth

singing and dancing karaoke

and playing with the puppy!


(that part wasn’t on the agenda, but she seemed to be the hit of the party!)
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It was a big success! 

We were so lucky to have our friends from Oklahoma here to celebrate with us…

not to mention all the help Elisabeth was helping me get everything ready!

I think Maddie is pretty excited to be 6, she likes to remind us everyday!

Happy Birthday Maddie Cakes!

7.18.2011

It's Someone's Birthday Today~

Has it really been 6 years since we were blessed with this little bundle of Joy?

We have a big "Rainbow Art Party" planned for later today...we'll let you know how it goes...

I took her out for some quick Birthday pictures in her Rainbow Birthday dress.
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Maddie's loves:
~coloring
~reading
~singing
~swimming
~playing with her puppy Phoebe (and her friends)
When you ask her what her favorite color is, she says a different color every time...it makes me smile every time!
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We love to see her art work, and have it proudly displayed.
We love to hear her read her books with so much emotion.
When she sings, we smile :)
Her puppy has brought a lot of happiness into our home.
We love our "Maddie Girl"
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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDIE!!!

7.11.2011

Summer.Summer.Summer!

Some of our favorite people came for a visit from D.C. We love hanging with our friends the Warnocks...there is always fun to be had when these kids are around!

Our first day was spent at the pool...what is a summer day without hours at the pool?

After the pool, this summer day would not be complete without running to the local farmer for some corn on the cob...then home to grill some hamburgers and hot dogs!  Oh, can't forget the watermelon...we had that too!!!

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Maddie had to get every single piece of silk off those corn cobs!
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Then to finish off the perfect summer meal...we had to make some dessert...

and since we didn't have a fire...we improvised with the gas grill and made S'mores!
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The next day we headed for the beach, I love that we can jump in the car and be to the beach within an hour.

We decided to go to a beach on Ft. Monroe, one the many military bases in the area.  It took of couple stops to get to a beach that would allow pets (since I decided to bring the pup), but we finally made it to "Dog Beach" and got our "camp" set up...

The rest of the afternoon was spent swimming, building a sandcastle, playing catch, and just relaxing on the beach!
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These 2  cuties are 2 of my favorite girls!  I can't believe how big they are getting, I'm so glad we have been lucky enough to live close enough to see them on a semi-regular basis!
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Phoebe and I had to sneak into this photo...love these 2 boys too!  They are growing up too fast!  Has it really been 5 years since our Dumosa days? (Cole, you were such a teeny tiny baby!!!)
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I am amazed at how fast this baby of mine has grown up...I love her smile...that is one of the things I noticed first about this picture...her "big girl" smile!
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Phoebe loved the beach, especially that fact that she could run around and meet new friends...
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Thankfully, our favorite friends are staying in D.C. for 3 more years...so there will be many more visits.  In fact, Colby just informed me that Cafe Rio is opening in a few weeks up there...so we will be making another get together sooner then later!!!

Love summer time. Love spending time with these friends. Love my family.

The end!
at least for now...

7.06.2011

Our quick trip to NC.

My brother and his family just moved to North Carolina from Houston, TX. When I say "just" I mean...like the day before we came to visit! We were invited though, we were actually recruited to help with the (6)kids while the movers where unloading and unpacking. Thankfully they had an awesome clubhouse that we just moved into for the day. It was perfect, it had a huge kitchen and big flat screen. We spent the day swimming and watching movies and eating. I think the kids had a blast. It was a fast trip, but we had to get back to Virginia so Kendra could catch her flight back to Las Vegas. The kids were so glad to see their cousins and their Poppy. My Dad was also recruited to drive the long haul with my brother, nephew and the dogs...the girls got to fly.

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They have 5 girls, 3 of which are triplets.
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Me and my Daddio!
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Having them only 4 hours away means there will be many more quick trips! I love having family "sort of" close.

I was sad to put Kendra and Casen on the plane, we loved having them here.

But all good things must come to an end...

Dang it!!!

7.05.2011

Yorktown~Williamsburg

Our next day of site seeing was Yorktown.  I had heard it had a nice "little beach"  little was right, but it was nice.  I loved watching the sail boats and ships out in the distance.  It was also a lot easier to keep our eyes on the kids, since the waves were much smaller then Virginia Beach.  Taylor technically wasn't supposed to get his stitches wet, but that didn't last long...

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I got a lot of shots of Taylor's backside...he drives me cRaZy!!!
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I posted this one, since Dale didn't even want to cooperate for a picture...Boys!!!
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Ha...Gotcha :-)
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Casen is an absolute character!  That kid says the funniest things all the time!  And the look on his face here..pretty much sums him up!!!
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Williamsburg~
We decided to take the ferry across the James River to get to Williamsburg this time.  It was a lot of fun, the kids thought it was so cool to drive our car on the ferry.  We also took Phoebe along for the day.
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We didn't know until we got there, that they were re-enacting the time before the Revolutionary war ended and the British had occupied Williamsburg.  It was so fun to imagine what it was really like then.
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I loved how this little girl was just sitting in the dirt playing...
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Maddie and Casen did not like the guns and canons...it was too loud for them.
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Taylor and Casen gave up on the real way you are supposed to play the this game...
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Hula hooping seemed easier!

It was another great day in Williamsburg!

The rest of Kendra's trip consisted of a quick trip down to North Carolina to see our brother and his family who just moved there. We are so excited to have him only 4 hours away!

7.02.2011

Kendra and her WiLd ChiLd~part 1

My youngest sister Kendra brought her little guy Casen to visit for a week.  I was so excited to have them come and see us.  It was our first official week of summer, so it was a great way to start it off!!!

Taylor was at cub scout day camp, so Maddie and I took them to do a little site-seeing.
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We started off in Smithfield.  It's a quaint little town just up the road from us.  Have you seen the Smithfield Ham commercials with Paula Dean?  That's the Smithfield we're talking about.  It has the cutest downtown area, with antique shops, cafe's, and beautiful historic homes.
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After our visit to Smithfield, we picked Taylor up from camp and headed to the pool to cool off before dinner.  When the kids were getting out the car, Taylor and Casen were playing around and somehow Taylor hit his knee on something (either a booster seat or something?) and literally split it wide open about 2 1/2 inches...it was bad!  After some scrambling for towels and realizing I didn't know which ER to take him too...we were on our way to the hospital.  I will spare you the gory cell phone pictures, but he ended up with 7 stitches...Awesome way to start off the summer!  He was a trooper though, and even finished his week at day camp!

While Taylor was off to his last day of camp, Kendra and I sneaked off to the beach...
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I went exploring to find a less populated beach...we found the perfect place.  It was a little farther, but worth it!
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It was a perfect day, and the kids loved it!
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On our way home, there were a few farmer's market's with home grown fruits and veggies...I had to stop, especially since it's corn on the cob season!  They also were selling fresh blue crabs!  They let the kids pick them and hold them, they thought that was pretty cool!
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2 days down...4 to go...