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Birthday Cake Making Dreams

Posted on September 19, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

This weekend, we went to visit my brother and his family. My niece, SG, turned four on Saturday, so it was time for a birthday celebration. When we arrived, her cake was sitting on the dining room table. Check this out and guess the theme:

This gorgeous cake was made by a co-worker of my sister-in-law. Here is her business card in case you happen to live out in western NY.

Not only are Molly’s Cakes delicious, her work is gorgeous. She also worked around a slight complication for my niece. SG is highly allergic to eggs. As you can probably guess, this can make baked goods complicated. We make cupcakes with no-egg substitute in them for birthdays to allow her to enjoy what everyone else is eating. Molly made SG’s top layer of the cake with no egg. It was a pumpkin cake. The bottom two layers had chocolate and vanilla with egg. Oh and the fondant was a new kind that she was testing. While I did not try any, others raved about it.

Did you guess the theme of the party? Here’s a little more decorations to help you out:

Here is a photo of the cake with the cute little toppers added right before everyone enjoyed the cake:

The birthday girl seemed very happy with her layer. Check her out with her cloud cake layer.

Of course, seeing SG’s cake made me realize how much I would still love to take a Wilton Cake Decorating class. They are given at several of the local craft stores. One of these days, I may. I think I am ready to explore with fondant, but then again – I really love my piping fun with cupcakes.

Categories:
allergies baking birthday cousins family fun interesting photos road trip weekend yummy

Learning About Niagara Falls

Posted on July 7, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

When NHL heard that we were going to visit my brother and his family, he was excited to hear that we were thinking about going to see Niagara Falls. Although he had been to the Canadian side of the falls years ago, he had no memory of this.

As the trip got closer NHL kept asking questions and telling us things about Niagara Falls. You see, at NHL’s new school, they learned about the falls. My son was like an encyclopedia of knowledge telling us one thing after another.

As we were driving toward Niagara State Park, he asked if the water we saw was the Niagara River. He was fascinated with the water under the bridge. Then, as we walked into the park, he noted how quickly the water was flowing.

First, we looked at the American Falls and he was blown away with the beauty, just standing there and taking it all in.

Of course, NHL was really interested in the Maid of the Mist boats across the water. We promised him that another time we would take him on this.

Then, it was time to head over to see the Horseshoe Falls. These really had NHL’s attention. He thought it was funny getting cold water misted by the water.

He also liked the view of the Skylon Tower. Yes, this was another item he had learned about in school. It made him so happy when TechyDad mentioned taking a photo of him with the Skylon in back. Here he is posing with Cousin SG.

Have you ever been amazed by something your child has learned at school? I would love to know.

Summer memories and learning are something I recall from my childhood. I hope to continue this tradition and Niagara Falls was just the start.

Other recent posts about Niagara Falls:

Categories:
cousins Educational family interesting milestone nhl photos road trip school summer travel weekend

The Majestic Niagara Falls

Posted on July 6, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Categories:
cousins family nhl road trip weekend Wordless Wednesday

Cherries On My Mind

Posted on July 5, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

Tuesday Tales will be on hiatus today. Right now, I have cherries on my brain. You see, we went cherry picking with my brother and his family and there were a lot of cherries to pick from.

Here are a few photos I shared via my cell phone while we were out in the amazing cherry wonderland.

We all had a really great time at Kappus Farms. The tractor ride to the sweet cherries was an extra perk for the kids. All of the cousins picked countless cherries and added them to our two large buckets of fruit.

When all was said and done those buckets seen at the top held 45.2 pounds of cherries. Yes, we have a lot of cherries that we will be sharing with others, eating, and possibly even baking with.

Have you ever gone cherry picking? If you have any good cherry recipes to share, please let us know.

Oh and if you were wondering, this was a new cherry picking record. Three years ago, we picked 22 pounds, last year 33 pounds. Hmmm… does that mean next year will be 55+ pounds?! I guess we will have to wait and see.

Categories:
cousins food glorious food fun photos road trip summer weekend yummy

Cousin Photo Quest – Summer 2011

Posted on July 3, 2011 12:00 am by TheAngelForever

As anyone with children knows, getting photos can be tricky. I can not even imagine a world without digital cameras, where you can click away and not worry about wasting money printing a roll of film with perhaps three good shots out of all of them. Of course, the more children you add into a photo quest, the more “interesting” it can get.

When we gather together with my brother and his family, we always try to get some photos of the four kids. This has become the running joke in the family because the kids are getting older and have their own agenda these days.

Trying to get all of the kids into an area can be tricky. We may snag three of the four like this:

Meanwhile, the little guy was off running around. Eventually, he figured what was going on and went to the other kids:

Then, when they finally all get into the same picture frame, it’s quick motion with everyone doing something a little different:

Here is the perfect example of everyone being together, but four different agendas at the same time. At a certain point you just realize it is not going to happen.

Of course, I can not complain when we get a beautiful photo of three of the four kids when it captures a wonderful memory of something like Niagara Falls.