Practice makes perfect, I hope.

Mothers day and Fathers day....are two very bitter sweet holidays in our family.

Sweet because we are a momma and a daddy. Bitter because we don't have our little one here to celebrate it with us. I can't say there wasn't tears shed on those days, because there was many. But, the tears are only temporary, we try to remember this isn't how our story ends. I find myself day dreaming a lot, when we are with our little Jason for all eternity. And all our life time of missed Mothers and Fathers days without him.....will be made up.

And that makes me completely happy.

For Mothers day, this is what Ryan got me. A pink mini IPod! Hooooo-ray!!! Last year, I kinda smashed my other one. It wasn't my fault. It was the car doors fault. I had my (old) IPod in my lap while driving, and when I got home and parked , I must of forgot my IPod was there. As I got our of the car, it fell and landed on the door frame....and I shut the door!! It smashed it. I cried about it for at least an hour! Those things aren't exactly the cheapest. So, as you can see....it was the car doors fault, not mine at all.

For Father's day, I spoiled Ryan with lots of fun gifts too. One of the gifts was a Superman T-shirt, since we love Superman so much. But other than that, he is my own personal Superman. He is the best hubby and daddy we could ever ask for. We love him.

I make lots of Goals, in hopes to better myself. Some are achieved, many I fail at.....but I keep making them anyways. I guess I can't give up on myself just yet. Well, one goal of mine is to learn how to make those cute fancy cakes! I guess this goal won't necessary better me mentally, but it will sure help make fun celebrations for my kiddos in the future! And maybe help me to enjoy cooking more? Lets hope....

So, here is my first experience with this whole cake making business. I feel like I am a pretty creative person, and in my mind, learning to make cute cakes is very possible. I can do it, it shouldn't be that hard. Lets see how I do....

I got some cake baking tools for Christmas, and it only took me six months to use them!

Katie had this goal, or project she had been working on to better her photography skills, called "My 365". She has to take 1 picture a day for a whole year, 365 days. It sounds like an easy project, but is actually quite hard we learned. But she accomplished it! For one of the last pictures, she wanted me to make a 3 tier cake, with the numbers 365 on it. Since I have been wanting to learn, I agreed to the task. But since it was my fist time, I had to have help from my dear sweet momma, who is pro at everything.
We wanted the top tier to be smaller then the size of my pan, so we improvised, and found a smaller pan. Hey, it works, even ifs the wrong type of pan.

And now we just have to wait for it to bake....

As the cakes bake, here's some of our activities while we wait....
Hugs for My Ryan! And me reading my cake decorating book. I need all the help I can get.

And cute Elles bells....taking a break too.

Sleepy daddy. Sunday naps are the best!
                                                               
                                                               Yay!Its done.....

Wow, they turned out smaller than I'd imagined. Apparently two boxes of cake mix isn't enough. I'll try to remember that for next time.

The next step, we thought obviously was to add the frosting, so the cake layers would stick together.

We quickly learned that wasn't a smart idea, and that we actually forgot an important step. We needed to cut the rounded top part off, so the cake layer would lay flat. And it would probably be easier to frost each layer separately first, then stack them later...wish I'd of thought of that then!

and off it comes......

Ha! We didn't cut the bottom layer flat, so my mom had the idea to just add the other cake pieces to the bottom, to make it taller. Frosting was going to cover it anyway, so it shouldn't matter in the long run, right!

 Lovely Pinterest told us how to make all kinds of frostings! I never knew there was so many different kinds! From what I've learned so far, it all depends on what you want the cake to look like to which frosting to use. I guess you even use a certain kind of frosting for making the little flower or leaves, one that hardens. I wanted to make fondant frosting, but we didn't have all the ingredients. It was a Sunday afternoon, so again, we improvised, and made the easiest butter cream frosting we could find.

Ellie wanted to see what was going on.

I tried to make little flowers, but my frosting wasn't the right kind, it was too goopy, and my flowers really didn't look like the pretty flowers I hoped for. They weren't so pretty.....and melted away.

So, like I said earlier, I thought making a cake couldn't be that hard.

 I was wrong.

In my head, I pictured it would look something like this:              But this is how it turned out:

Nailed it! Ha, ha! Wow, I NEED so much more practice! Cake making isn't easy! I think if I researched it more and used the right kind of frosting, I might have a shot at making a decent cake....maybe. Practice makes perfect, and I need LOTS of it! Until then, I give you permission to laugh at my first cake....cause I sure laughed my butt off while making it. Awweee....good memories!

Thanks to my mom, for all her help and for letting me dirty up her kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. Even though I'm all grown up, I still go to my mom for help. Love her and so thankful that she is always willing to teach me new things.

It's melting! The sprinkles are not evenly scattered around. Its so small and loop-sided. BUT, it tasted good. So it wasn't a total failure. Katie being such a good sister, despite how awful it looked, still used it for her 365 picture.

 I hope, soon, there will be more cake posts.....with my cute babies making big messes and stuffing their face with cake!!! Can't wait for the day.

Cali

Summer has been so crazy. SO CRAZY! Summer is always busy, (we all know this), but I swear, this year has been extra busier for our family than normal. I am having a hard time catching up! But as always, I'll keep on plugging along, trying to catch up, if that is possible.

In May, we always go on a vacation, since May is the month we celebrate our Anniversary. We decided to go visit my brother and sister-in-law, who live California. They just had a brand new baby boy in January, and I wasn't able to go down in February for his blessing! I was dying! I had to see that sweet little baby!  That was the deciding factor, we had to visit them in May!

                               And there he is! The one and only Ryker man!

Ooooohhhhh.....How I love him!!!


                                       Daddy Loves him too!!!

                                       

 DAY 1:  May 26, 2012

Best day ever. Six years ago, I married the one whom my soul loves! Happy Anniversary to us! I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have my Ryan. He is my pure happiness. Whatever trial I am facing or will face in my life, I can get through it. I know how blessed I am because I have him. I will ALWAYS have him. Forever and ever. Love him with all my heart and soul.

For our Anniversary celebration, we wanted to go somewhere fancy to eat. We ended up at a restaurant called Moon Shadow, which supposedly is famous with the stars, Mel Gibson in particular. With that in mind, I was on the look out! I'm kinda a nut when it comes to famous people. I never saw one there, but my brother did! He saw Lacey Chabert, from Mean Girls (I love that show! it was so my high school experience! ha!). How did I miss that! argh!

 Our table was out on the deck, where we could eat by the seashore. The atmosphere of the whole place was pretty cool! Like most fancy restaurants, the prices are super high and the portions are super small. But it was worth it for the experience. We made fun memories!

                                                                 

                                      DAY 2: Ventura Beach

                                    Having fun at the Beach!

                        What?!?! We're not supposed to climb on the rocks? Oops....

 

 I can't get enough of that little Ryker. 

I was on a baby high! I really can't wait to have one of my own.

        Yo-ho, Yo-ho....a pirates life for me!

                     

It was a very cute little harbor! 

Lots of fun shops and old vintage boats to look at.

DAY 3

Due to my brother, Katie and I are major movie buffs! And I was ever so lucky to marry another fellow movie buff. So when we visit California, some fun and cheap entertainment for us is to find locations where some of our favorite movies where filmed. Like last years trip, we spent a couple of days driving around searching for them. The first site we found was from ANGEL! I am a major Buffy the Vampire fan, but I really didn't get into Angel. I don't know why? Maybe cause I know Angel and Buffy never end up together and it drives me crazy....so I guess I boycotted the whole series. Well, I did watch the ones where Buffy made a guest appearance. Any who.....Vanessa loves Angel, so this location was for her! This is the apartment building where Angel lives.

No, no....we never get lost.

J

 By the UCLA campus, there is a ice cream shop, called Diddy Reese, that is absolutely delightful! I had a cookie sandwich, chocolate with peanut butter chips with peanut butter ice cream! PURE HEAVEN! My month is drooling!

Rodeo Drive! I love this place! Fashion is everywhere!!

Who's seen Pretty Women? Me, me! Over and over again. It was one of my favorite shows when I was younger. Apparently, in my youth, I didn't understand the whole hooker thing. Anyways, we found the store location where Julia Roberts says "Big Mistake. Big. Huge. I have to go shopping now!" It looks pretty different from the movie, but the GPS said that was the right address, so we took a picture in front of it!

Below, is another location from Pretty Women.

 Its the Beverly Wilshire, where Edward stayed in the movie.

      
     <-------------------
You don't see that everyday!

The next few pictures are famous clubs on sunset strip, where lots of 80's bands got their start, like Motley crew.

<----------The Viper Room, which is Johny Depp's Bar. RIP River Phoenix.

Wah-hahahaaaaaaa! 

Its the House from Nightmare on Elm street! I actually have never seen this movie (or any of the movies) all the way through, only bits and pieces of it when it airs on TV during Halloween time. Freddy Krueger scared the crap our of me growing up, I think he gave me nightmares! Look at that awful face! Who wasn't scared of him!!

Micheal Myers from Halloween, on the other hand.....isn't as scary as Freddy Krueger. He didn't keep me up at night. And because of that, during the beloved Halloween time, I find myself watching it (and LAUGHING at how cheesy it is). Gotta love classic old horror movies!

And....then there's the TAR PITS!! (seen in My Girl)
Isn't this the most depressing display ever! Poor little mammoth family.

Day 4: More movie Locations!

Okay, don't judge me. As a teen, I was a little bit more wilder than I am now (so was Ryan, I'll share some blame with him :) I think I gave my parents a few grey hairs back in the day. Anyway.... The American Pie series cracked me up, and I can't help but like them. So, we found some locations from the movie. Above is "Dog Years", which was a hot dog joint where Jim and his buddies liked to hang out. Today, it's still a restaurant, but it's called cafe Opera, and it's much more fancier than some hot dog joint.

And when you think of American Pie, there's two things you think of. 

First, apple pie (ewww!). Second, BAND CAMP!

Yes, we found the one and only band camp. In reality, it's only a park. But, when we found the area where Jim gets mistaken for Petey and has to play a trombone in front of a packed audience, we were so excited! That was the funnest part in the second movie!

My cutest Ryan

My bestest friend.

Day 5: Campfire on the beach!

Funniest idea ever! I loved it! I've sat by many campfires in my life, but never one on a beach. It was such a fun experience, one that I think everyone must try!

Me and the cute Ryker-roo! He likes beach campfires too!

I'm not a huge hot dog fan, but I guess they aren't so bad over the fire.

Who doesn't love beach pictures? Especially ones in the sunset!!

 Love my Ryan to the moon and back.

I am so happy.

                                                    

   Family is what happens when two people fall in Love

Just being silly....

Day 6: Vasquez Rock....

is a very famous rock. It's been in hundreds of movies (well, "hundreds" might be exaggerating just a bit). I do know it's in Star Trek during the worlds worst fight scene between captain Kurt and some green reptile looking alien. And most importantly (to me) it was in the WB series Roswell.

Ryan and Jepper climbed to the top. It doesn't look so high in the picture, but it's actually really steep!

While the boys climbed to the top, I got to take care of the cute little man. He is such a happy baby....even in the middle of the dessert, in 100+ degree weather! Whew.....it was SOOOO hot!

Live long and Prosper!

Due to the fact that we were sweating to death (what were we thinking of hiking a HUGE rock when it was like a thousand degrees outside!) we decided a trip to the beach was much needed.

To Zuma Beach we go!

And let me just say....it was FREEZING at the beach! Completely opposite from earlier that day! What is up with that? But at least I got this cute picture with Ryan. Oh, how I adore this picture, soooo one of my favorites ever! It's pretty nice to have a photographer for a sister.

And this is how my pictures turn out. haha! So what if she's not centered. At least she isn't out of focus.

                                
  You're never too old old to play in the waves!

  DAY 7: Last day

Photo shoot with Ryker. Katie took tons and tons of pictures of this cute little guy. These were two of my most favorites.

After, we headed downtown to the middle of LA for more site seeing.

And thats where we found Kat Von D tattoo parlor! When Ryan and I first got married, we lived in a cute little (I mean little) basement apartment. Not only was the rent dirt cheap, utilities paid for, we got FREE cable TV! Mostly, I always got stuck watching the Girls next door, but occasionally I landed on Kat Von D's "LA ink" reality show as well. So here I am, in front of the parlor!

The Muppet studio!!! I love the Muppet's! Miss piggy is the BEST!

Thank you Mr. Stan Lee for the Avengers!

And like most tourist, we went to:

THE WAX MUSEUM

This is our friend Will :)

Katie missed the memo that she was being eaten alive! She's all smiles :)

If these mannequins are actual measurements, Tom Cruise is one short dude.

Love Mr. Robert Downy Jr.
Iron Man is awesome, but I even liked him back in the 80's! One of my all time favorite shows was Only you!

------------------------------------>
Hello Sidney.....what's your favorite scary movie?

Got to have a picture with Bella and Edward.

Get that Corn out of my face!!

Ka-Pow!!!

Jeppie Powers, at your service.

Ryan LOVES Shanghai Noon!

Probably the only picture I'll ever have with Brad Pitt.

I can't help myself....I loved watching the Girls next door.

John Wayne's one tall dude!

That Hair's gotta go.....

Yay for Turtles! Michelangelo was my fav!

 

We could totally be Charlies Angles

Last, but not least (we'll visit Cali again) is the Griffith Observatory. Katie Loves this place, I think she could spend a whole day there. She was super excited to get a picture of the moon rock!


On the trip home, we saw this baby tornado. It was the first and hopefully the last tornado I'll ever see. Cali was a blast! Best of all was seeing Jeff and Vanessa, and that adorable Ryker. We love them so much and can't wait to see them again.