Mark you Calendars People

Willa AND B both ate a dinner I made.  Well B skipped the scalloped potato because well...he has issues.  But the packet chicken was a success.  My mom and dad started the foil packet chicken and I think we have liked no matter the combo of spices, but this was time it was extremely tasty.  I also made applesauce bread today and its probably a good thing I made a big loaf instead of small ones again because Willa and I could probably eat the whole thing in an afternoon.

Mandi and I created another cake on Friday.  I didn't get home until midnight but we sure had fun making it.  I FINALLY figured out how to make presentable cake pops.  Unfortunately poor little Ellie in Kansas didn't get as pretty ones as Gracie.  But now I know.

I thought this posted a long time ago.  I guess it didn't.

Relay for Life

In March, JCCS was called to have a team in the Relay for Life.  It wasn't until May that I could recruit enough members to have a team.  It wasn't until the first week of June when we started our first fundraising activities.  JCCS employees and other friends came through big for us in just a few short weeks.

Luckily for me, Willa and I were able to attend the Relay in Kansas a few weeks before ours.  It was moving, inspiring and I was ready to rock our efforts even as I wasn't able to convey in words why I wanted to do it.
I was worried that we wouldn't be reach our $800 goal and then surprised as we crept toward it that $1,000 seemed reasonable.  As we flew by $1,000 I thought, wow, wouldn't it be great if we raised $1,500.  Tuesday morning I had the funds in hand surpassing that amount as well.  I was so excited, I just couldn't believe it.

Friday night we started our walk and joined the other teams around our "track."  I believe we were one of the few teams that everyone stayed the entire night.  We didn't have someone walking the entire night, but it was a good first effort I think.  There was one guy that ran, jogged, and walked the entire night.  He carried a walking stick as well.  I don't know his story, but he was one of the top fundraisers and has done the same for many years.

Overall, if I could mesh together the two relays it would be even more amazing.  Kansas' luminary ceremony would win hands down.  GF would get some points though for the slide show and having the luminaria in letter order.  The activities in Great Falls were great and really helped keep the night moving.  Over $81,000 was raised and fundraising isn't officially complete until August.  As the coordinator said, "Fighting Cancer isn't cheap."  Our team was #14 out of 47 and I think they are already planing for next year, what we want to do.  I know one thing for sure, our goal needs to be higher and we will be better prepared for the temperature drop in the middle of the night.

Home

Willa and I headed to Kansas on Thursday and I had hoped to do a full post on the entire thing, but now I am too tired.  So cliff notes:

Thursday:  She traveled so well on both flights, but was very unhappy to have to get in the car after being cooped up for 5 hours.  This is her last trip flying on my lap so it will be interesting to see the next time how she rides in her car seat.

Friday: We went to the Deanna Rose Farm for a few hours and had a blast.  Bottle-feeding the baby goats was probably the best and Willa wasn't scared of anything.  Plus we ate at Jalapenos and went to Hobby Lobby.  Willa surprised everyone by eating salsa with a fork.

Saturday: I went garage saling with my Grandma, cousin and aunt.  Didn't get much but we had a good time.  Then Willa and I went to B's grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.  I think it's pretty cool that we both have a set of grandparents that have been married that long.  Mine are well on their way to 60 years.  That night I went out with some of my cousins and we spent the night reminiscing, telling stories, and contemplating Kim writing a book about it all.  We hope to do it again and include a few more of our cousins.

Sunday: We drove to Missouri for my Grandma's family reunion.  We didn't know many people but it was fun to see those we did.

Monday: This was supposed to be a relaxing day but we did some running around to see more people and then I had friends travel to see me!  It was so nice to see JCF and SEW and get to catch up with them too.

Tuesday: We traveled back to GTF and it wasn't as smooth as the ride their.  She got more squirmy the longer we were on the plane and we weren't as fortunate to have our own row with full flights.  She didn't eat well and refused to nap which is a terrible combination.  It culminated into a 10 minute screaming session while we sat on the tarmac.  The most helpful flight attendant offered her cups to play with, like that was going to make her stop.  Puh-lease.  Luckily, she finally went to the sleep and so did I.  Our nice seatmate was very encouraging and praised me for staying calm as he said many moms he has seen panic and the kid never goes to sleep.  But we made it home and B had flowers for me and we ordered a pizza.

Our house is a disaster and we are still pretty tired, but that is life and we will deal with it.  For B's birthday today, he made dinner and it was delicious.

We had a great time seeing everyone and it seems like we crammed in a ton like we always do, but it was nice to sleep in our own beds and be home with 'Sco, Belle, and B.

All Tangled Up

Gracie requested a Tangled theme for her 6th birthday a few weeks ago and who were we to say no.  We have said this about all our cakes, but this one is our favorite yet.  It was most definitely the biggest, time-consuming one.  But it turned out better than we had imagined.  Of course, if we do it again, we would change a few things, but they were pretty minor.  We bought the Wilton cake tier and just opened a whole new realm of possibilities for cake.  We also used 3 batches of rice krispies for the tower and roof and they tasted pretty divine too.

For favors, I made Cake pops and dyed the batter purple and dipped them in pink and green.  They were a hit as well.

More pictures on Facebook at  Counting Cakes

I am going to do some linking up:

I heart naptime

Real Quick

Since Willa and I are home recovering from the bout with the chicken pox, I am getting to see a few things that she does that I normally haven't picked up on the weekends when we are doing other stuff.  She used to be mean to her baby doll.  Today she wrapped her in a blanket and then was walking the floor, bouncing her gently and shhh-ing.  It was so sweet.  We have also I think read every single book she has on her "can have" shelf.

Luckily, I think this case of the pox is a very mild one and she hasn't hardly felt puny at all.