Happy 90th Birthday!

Kevin has the most wonderful Grandma ever. We lived with his Grandparents for two years while he finished school and I became pretty close to both of them. We celebrated Grandma's 90th birthday yesterday. I can't believe she is 90! She doesn't seem old enough to be 90. Here are my reasons why;
... most 90 year olds (even younger) start to lose their mind, not Grandma. She is up to date on the stock market, her politics, and even the Lakers (she has to be with Kevin and Aaron as grandsons). Not only is she up to date, she will argue with Kevin over topics such as politics and Kobe Bryant. Grandma HATES Kobe.
... she makes fresh squeezed orange juice every day... and strains the pulp
... doesn't need a cane or any walking assistance, or perhaps she is just too stubborn to use it.
... She gives GOOD advice, we have asked her her opinon on a various range of topics and in the end I always end up saying, "Grandma is always right!"

(Hannah always has to help blow out other people's candles)

I made this icecream cake. My layers aren't perfect, but it tasted RRRRREALLY good. I used to boxes of chocolate cake mix, 1/2 gallon of chocolate chip, 1/2 gallon of mint n' chip, and made chocolate frosting (without creamcheese, for Aaron and Kevin).

Family Fun Day

We had one of the busiest Saturdays we've had in a long time. I was out the door by 9am with the kids. Kevin got home really late from his hockey game the night before so we let him sleep in.
I trained my client and taught my class. Kevin met us at the gym with the kids bathing suits. We surprised Hannah and Gavin by taking them swimming because it was such a beautiful day.
After swimming we ate lunch and then Hannah and Gavin rode their bike/trike for about an hour. We went to a BBQ and I made these cute cupcakes with my friends. Stacy baked the cupcakes, I decorated them, and Leslie brought the corn on the cob holders. We sprinkled them with black and white sprinkles for the salt and pepper. I loved them, but they were missing the chunk of butter (a yellow starburst).
We met Aaron and Rachel at Glacial Gardens in Anaheim.
This is where Kevin and Aaron learned how to skate... and now Hannah and Gavin.

Their first time on ice (with skates)

I am so happy that Aaron and Rachel were there, because I can not skate at all. I had such a hard time trying to help Hannah. It was like the blind leading the blind. Thanks for helping so much with the kids

My hockey boys...

Gavin just loved every second of it.
Daddy sure liked showing off by spraying us with ice and taking the kids on fast rides around the ice rink. Kevin is such a great ice skater.


Gavin had a lot of help from Aaron too...



Hannah really started to get the hang of it. I was so proud of her!


Since my feet hurt so badly from those nasty rentals I quit skating about half way though. My poor ankles were dying. Kevin and Aaron were the last ones off the ice. I don't know if I'm much of a skater. We'll have to see about next time.

Birthday Party!

This year I decided to go BIG! I combined Hannah and Gavin's birthday parties into one big event. We rented out the Gymnastics Center at the YMCA and had a blast!Hannah and her best friend Zoe.Hannah and her boyfriend Jake.
Gavin loved the foam pit.

My whole family came... we haven't all been together since February 2006. I don't know how I did it, but I got everyone in the same place at the same time.

Even my grandparents from Oregon, Aunt Debbie, and Mark made it to the party.
Michael drove up from San Diego with my new cousin, Allison. They had never met before and this was kind of a psuedo blind date. (Kevin's Aunt Marilyn got married and this is her new stepdaughter. She is so much fun and can totally dish it out to Kevin, a quality I like in her.

Grandma and Grandpa Brown had a good time watching Hannah and Gavin.

I'm not sure who had more fun... the adults or the kids. I witnessed my 52 year old father do a back flip on the trampoline and attempt some funky dismount on the uneven bars. I don't think I've laughed so hard. I wish I had a picture.

Hannah and Gavin scored with all their presents. Hannah had her entourage there to help her.
Gavin's favorite present was from Aunt Rachel and Uncle Aaron. The kid hasn't put down his hockey stick and puck since he opened it.It was utter mayhem and I have no idea who gave what to my kids. I still need to sort it all out.

I made a frog cupcake cake. I've never made a cupcake cake before and I really stressed out about it. When I arranged the cupcakes and asked Kevin for his opinion, it wasn't good. I needed a crafty friend. I called my friend Stacy. She came over after work to save the day. She rearranged the legs and thanks to her I was able to finish the cake.After I frosted the cake the frogs legs turned out to look more like huge buff frog arms. That was my fault, I should have frosted it a little differently. But here is the final product. It was so nice because it was a cake, but pre-cut for the little kiddos.

When we got home I was so exhausted we all went straight to bed. This is what our kitchen looks like now! Now I need to attempt to figure out who gave what to Hannah and Gavin.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is my FAVORITE holiday. I plan ahead months in advance. Every year I go up to my mom's house to make Halloween costumes. This year, Hannah was Glinda the Good Witch and Gavin was a pirate.

The day started off with a Halloween costume parade at Hannah's preschool. The kids walked around showing off their costumes and the parents fought like the paparazzi trying to get priceless pics. Check out all the parents in the background... that is how it was like all around the fence.

The kids walked along the sidewalk next. I was running around like the paparazzi getting pictures of my girl.This is her class picture. Hannah's sleeves are as big, if not bigger, than her head!We had our ward Halloween party. I signed up to make a cake for the cake walk. I think I bit off more than I could chew. I was pretty stressed all day making these dang cupcakes. I did mini chocolate cupcakes with black frosting and rolled them in black sprinkles... Then I had large cupcakes with black frosting. I used a mini marshmallow for the head and drew in the skeleton's body. I was pretty happy how they turned out.Thanks to a lot of help from my friends we were able to complete all the plates of cupcakes.
Thank you Stacy and Leslie.Poor Gavin slept through the whole party... We kept checking on him, the light was on, everyone was walking in and out of the room and he was passed out.Hannah won the award for the prettiest girl costume. I was so happy. I think it was the crown that clenched her victory... It really completed the costume. Hannah was so happy to get the award for the prettiest girl... wouldn't you?Hannah and Kevin Trick or Treated together. I made Kevin a pirate costume to match Gavin's, but he decided last minute not to wear it.Hannah and I drove around to a couple of friend's houses to show off her costume then headed home. We had a great time Trick or Treating with just Mommy and Hannah.

Grandpa's Birthday

Grandpa loves to go fishing, I thought I would make him a "fishing" birthday cake. It made me feel so good when Kevin complimented it. He said it was a great cake.

I forgot my camera so I don't have any pictures of the festivities. I'll ask Rachel to send me some of her pics.

Preschool Picnic

Today was Hannah's preschool picnic. I signed up to bring a dessert. I like to make desserts because it gives me a good opportunity to make some yummy treats. Kevin and I LOVE yellow cake batter too. I made yellow cake cup cakes. Then I made a buttercream frosting. After dividing the frosting I put a little cocoa in one to make a really light brown. I crushed gram crackers and covered the frosting. I used orange to make the start. You see... they are beach cupcakes. Don't they look like starfish in the sand?

Birthday season is coming up in my family... stay tuned for more decorated cakes!