(I just googled Indian summer to see why it is called Indian summer and wikipedia was no help. And just to be a downer on me enjoying Indian summer, wikipedia says this isn't Indian summer. Apparently you have to have a killer frost before the warm weather in order to make it true Indian summer. But I firmly intend to keep referring to this as Indian summer.)
We had a busy weekend with Lily's sixth birthday on Friday, Ashley's baby shower on Saturday, and then cousins, birthday cake, and puppy time on Sunday. This all entailed the baking of four cakes. It was a good weekend. Actually, as much as I love making cake, I felt pretty caked out by last night. I even threw away a few uneaten pieces of Lily's cake. Cake, lovely cake, is really something better enjoyed on a special occasion basis, despite what Marie Antoinette thought.
But puppies.... now that is another matter. Puppies, sunshine, kids, fall, birthday parties.... oh I could take a lot of those. And now that you mention it, I did take a lot of pictures of them. I do apologize about the quantity of puppy pictures. I just couldn't help it.
And now, I decided I had too many puppy pictures. They deserve their own post. Tomorrow I think.
Lily wanted caramel apples instead of cupcakes for her birthday. I was feeling quite pleased about how they turned out.....
And then I went to get Lily's birthday present out of the closet and broke my lamp. Which I loved. And was part of a matched set. Wah!!!!! But my room got sweeped and cleaned, which it had been needing....
Riding their horsies
Apple Jammies baby!
Her teeth
Kids all looking at the juice spilled on the floor.
Ashley's shower. For some reason, I always decide to take pictures when people are eating. Which is silly. Because then half the pictures turn out with people chewing and not looking their best.
Livie and Tori decorated the living room with grapevines. It was sort of county living-ish. It looked quite nice.
Purple loosestrife
This picture makes me laugh and laugh. Lily is mid-jump.
Outside
Presents
Cakes
Justin did this cake. Isn't it beautiful?
Elsie was entranced with this ribbon
The kids were avidly interested in presents
Orianna is astounded, Rilla pleased, and Gilbert is enthusing.
Gilbert is a good pal of Ashley's.
Blanket from Lucy
Wendy taking a picture of Elsie
Cristin and puppy
Correction--this is Alex, Cristin's sister.
So really, Alex and puppy.
Elsie checking out those puppies
I love sunlight on hay. And this cute girl makes it even nicer.
Tori and Alex sorting out the puppies who like to hid under the feed trough
Kids climbing on hay
When we were kids, we played on these a LOT. We would bend over them and then flip over. We called it gymnastics.
Gilbert and a puppy
Loading up the presents
Guys
This is my landslide cake.
It was intended for the baby shower. I was going to have Justin decorate it the same way he had decorated the big cake. Then there would be a Mommy cake and a Baby cake. Darling! Except I started assembling when it wasn't quite cool. And so it smooshed all out. So I left it at home. Sunday afternoon, we were planning on doing Lily's cake with everyone there. Lily had requested a candy land cake. Hmm... But I was a bit tired of cakes, so Saturday night, I pull out this mess of a cake and turn it this way and that, wondering if there was any way to correct the mess and somehow use this as Lily's birthday cake. Other people are spending days making a miniature replica of the battle scenes in the Hobbit or creating an enchanted forest with perfectly formed fondant woodland creatures, and here I am with a disaster of a cake thinking, "Hmm.....if I let it soften and then used a lot of frosting.... no, maybe if I used toothpicks? no.... Aha! it could be a landslide cake!" Because what six year old does not want a traumatic natural phenomena on their birthday cake? And suddenly it was the most hilarious thing ever. I laughed until I cried.
And then, it had to be a landslide cake. I used playmobil pieces. The buffalo just happened to be nearby and looked the right scale.
This was the leftover cake batter from the baby cake for the shower. And after I decided a landslide cake couldn't really be Lily's cake, I thought, well if I make the leftover icing green like grass, and sprinkle leftover convention smarties (Candy!) on it and put some flower fairies on it, it could be like a flowery field! Hooray! Except the playmobil fairies were having difficulties wading through the inexplicably mint colored grass and the smarties look like some kind of pastel meteor had exploded in the playmobil forest.
Lily looked at it and was excited about the fairies. And then said, "Is it chocolate frosting like I asked for?" Ummm.... So then I just made her a plain chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and poked Lollipops in the top. Yes, I do take orders.
I was partial to the landslide cake. Especially after we mixed in the danger of forest fire while the landslide was progressing.
It still makes me laugh.
And then, we had three cakes, with three birthdays near by-ish, so Dad got the landslide cake, Ashley was stuck with the mint grass/smartie one, and Lily got the lollipop one.
Thing of beauty!
All the boys had to come help grandpa blow out the landslide
Lily was enthusiastic about Lollipops.
It was such a gorgeous day, I had to drive up the road to take pictures of the fields at Mom and Dad's.
Lots of geese
Some coming down for a landing
Lily's cool birthday clogs from Grandma and Grandpa. They are birkenstocks with vintage Mickey Mouse comic strips. LOVE.
Ashley figuring out a name for her baby. Or at least looking at suggestions.
2 comments:
Amazed at the spelling of 'Loosestrife', I was sure you had spelled it wrong. And your age is showing.... 'Cristin and puppy'... Now that my criticisms are done, great pictures.
What a nice weekend 'twas. And you documented it beauteously.
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