some LA fun

a little penguins with our friends, the wishing tree in little tokoyo and maybe i caught him singing me a song or two? i am a lucky lady.

jackson's FIFTH birthday

all photos by elise L photography

i really am JUST now posting pictures of jack's fifth birthday from LAST august of 2011. my sister elise was so sweet to throw him a causal party, bake him gluten-free cupcakes, shower him with gifts AND take pictures with how busy she is with her own clients with her photography business so there has been a time lapse. i don't know how she did it all, but i am most grateful for her. almost all of our immediate family was there as well as a few of brady + my friends (adults).

jack felt a bit jipped that i didn't throw him a kid's party but i did take one of his friends and him out to a fun day with rides and movies but no big party. we wanted something laid back and sweet. it was just that. he felt so loved. brady surprised him with a great gift but the best part to his gift is it came with silly string!

can't believe he is six soon.

those red pants are now showing off a good portion of his ankle.

he cannot wait to turn six.

however, i sure can wait.

love this boy so much!

crafts + jack to sf

jack had a flight to san francisco on wednesday to san francisco, missing thursday and friday school. he slept most of the drive up to the airport.

we crafted... oh we crafted.

pinterest had a great idea of making frozen yogurt dolups so i tried making them but spiced it up. you take spoon-fulls of yogurt of your choice and the stick in the freezer for at least 30 minutes. i added raspberries. they were divine! try them! i made a few batches; some with mangoes, strawberries and blueberries.

we made little tags for gifts, robots, a red target with paper arrows, paper airplanes, box animals with handmade bracelets for teachers, primary friends out of pipe cleaner and beads.

love our time together!

our pretty days at the park this week

when i get ready for the day, jack sits next to me and squishes his cheeks, sneaks in some marks on his face and looks at himself. when does vanity start? not five. no way jose.

my best friend and i got together for some lunch with the boys at a local beach pizza joint we have never tried yet and then, we stopped by our favorite park up the street. it's where she and i have had multiple birthday parties as kids. we might have mentioned this to our boys and they might have cared less about it. ha! i think jack said something to the effect of, "oh so this park is super old." yes. yes, this park is super old because we are super old.

i'm digressing... we played. we played bug games. gatorade turned into magic bug juice. they sipped and i told them it helps their eyes turn into bug eyes and their arms into fly wings. they flapped, hopped, jumped and hunted for bugs for the next little while.

a friend of mine had to rush up to utah for a family emergency and so we are all pitching in to help with her three kids while she is away. her kids are so sweet and obedient it was such a treat to be around all of these angels. i took the kids to the new park we are obsessed with down the street. jack brought wiggly, the snail, to show his park friends...

jack was prepared for a flood with his pants... #whatcanyado? #stopgrowing.

loved these bug-filled park days!

xoxo

our irish weekend

i'm into holidays like a grandma who collects teddy bears all over her house.

i probably am a big cheese ball and no one is going to tell me so i continue to celebrate each holiday and make a big fuss about it.

i however will hopefully keep the collecting of bears at bay, for now. you never know, you just never know what old age will lead you to.

i do stand by my motto as a mom, to not grow up so fast mixed with magic being real which means in march, leprechauns are up to mischief.

the leprechaun that visited this year was messy.

he stepped in green paint and walked all over the bathroom, changed the milk green, left lucky charms in a glass for jack, then hid.

jack came into my room that morning to tell me what he did.

he searched everywhere, even outside for the gold coins.

whoopsie-daisies.

somehow every grocery store i went to ran out.

i told him that leppy left magic drops to make a cake that may be a rainbow.

brady and i took him to a park that had the greenest grass and a rushing creek from all the recent rain. brady improvised the cutest thing...

he told jack that this park had a hiding leprechaun and we had to look for him.

so they walked out in the sprinkling rain to look for him, together.

bless their hearts.

jack's face was lit up!

then brady told him if he skipped enough rocks, sometimes they come out of the rocks.

jack did his irish jig in honor of the holiday! if you haven't seen this in real life, you

might be missing out on a good time.

he didn't find a leprechaun but we found a three-leaf-clover.

we bowled (pictures below) and then jack had a playdate with his buddy james.

we mixed the magic drops for the cake!

three hours later... this came about!

the boys thought it had magic in it. that made my day and all that effort worth it.

a few of my friends asked for the recipe. i don't follow a recipe most times but i will give you two... a short version and a more lengthy version. i have a healthier version as well, but i don't know if i'll get the energy to do that tonight:

lengthy version:

set oven to 325 ' F

you can do all one flavor (preferably vanilla) or add strawberry, lemon or carrot cake to the rainbow to avoid artificial coloring. adjust the recipe for however many layers you want to make.

in one bowl (if vanilla) or two or three...

start with for the cake:

• 3 cubes (sticks) of unsalted butter at room temperature
• 2 cups white sugar in the raw
• 5 large eggs at room temperature or 6 medium size eggs or 9 egg whites - WHISKED in a separate bowl
• 3 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 3 cups flour (I sift it a bit)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup of vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• a package of food coloring for each layer
• (if you are doing strawberry, puree the fresh strawberries and only do 1 and 1/2 vanilla extract instead of what it calls for. if you are doing lemon, add lemon zest (3 tablespoons) as well as 1/4 cup of lemon juice to the mix. you may or may not have to add some coloring to add depth to the color)

for the frosting:

• 1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
• 3 cubes or sticks of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon pure almond extract
• 1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar), sifted
• decor you desire

directons:

1. with your mixer/kitchen aid, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy for about 5 minutes.

2. add whisked eggs one at a time (my sister-in-law taught me this trick that makes a difference) then add the extracts, mix.

3. add the flour, pudding, baking powder, soda, salt and then buttermilk last.

4. in separate bowls mix the food coloring and the pour into the sprayed/greased 9' rounds.

5. bake for 25-32 minutes either all together or one at a time.

6. allow to cool. take a knife to scrape the edges of the pan to allow the cake to slip out nicely. take a plate, place on top and flip upside-down. allow more time to cool if needed. when ready, get un-minted dental floss and another person to hold the top for security. with both hands, skim the floss through each center to allow the cake the split in half.

7. frost in between each layer and stack away each layer. you may need to cut around the sides so it all is one size and shape. frost the entire cake and you're done!

the quicker version:

• 2 packages of vanilla cake or 1 package of vanilla and one of strawberry
• whatever ingredients it calls for but do butter instead of oil if it calls for oil
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
• 1 cup of vanilla pudding mix
• a package of food coloring for each layer
• (if you are doing strawberry, i add blue to it to make a purple layer but it will still taste like strawberry but the color will be different when stacking)

for the frosting:

• 2-3 tubs of store-bought frosting
• decor you desire

directons:

1. mix per the box's instructions.

2. in separate bowls mix the food coloring and the pour into the sprayed/greased 9' rounds.

3. bake for 25-32 minutes either all together or one at a time.

4. allow to cool. take a knife to scrape the edges of the pan to allow the cake to slip out nicely. take a plate, place on top and flip upside-down. allow more time to cool if needed. when ready, get un-minted dental floss and another person to hold the top for security. with both hands, skim the floss through each center to allow the cake the split in half.

5. frost in between each layer and stack away each layer. you may need to cut around the sides so it all is one size and shape. frost the entire cake and you're done!

this is what the inside looked like. it wasn't perfect but it worked. i ran out of frosting and had to improvise with what i had.

that day we went to lunch with my family.

jack was a happy kid. all greened out!

the weekend also included us playing softball together.

love this!

my little sister had a dance to go to. i did her up real big.

so big that she was taller than her date. oops!

we discovered "drawsome" and love it!

this is brady's drawing to me.

guess what it was! hahaha

we also bowled.

we love bowling.

it was sort of an off day for all of us. well not entirely since brady had his strike streak but i was neck and neck with my five-year-old so

it really was me that just lost my touch.

we have irish names here:

simon the leprechaun {jack}

earl {brade}

tina {me}

...neck and neck. ha!

it was a good weekend!

xoxo

meliss