Graduates and Cakes

I began trying out recipes in my "Birthday Cakes" book. How fun! Above is my first attempt, with my cute little kitty gal helping to show it off.

I have to admit it was a bit heavy for my taste. The book called for it to be cooked as a sheet cake and so I gave it another try, pouring the icing on while the cake was hot (as noted in the book) and it was amazing! SO VERY GOOD. I took it to Cari's graduation party, served it with some ice cream, and it was a hit. Oh so good. All right, all right, I know: follow directions Mary. I got it.

So Mom and Dad Vander Yacht, Aunt Mary Jo, Uncle Randy, cousins Rachel and Megan, and Rachel's step son Gavin (we're so glad he's in our family now!) came on down to go over to Cari's and celebrate her graduation from Portland State. We are all so proud of her.

And we also ended up going there to provide some support: she fell off her bike and broke her wrist. Rachel made sure she was styling, and provided a 'My Little Pony' badge of honor for her to proudly wear. Cari LOVED My Little Pony when she was small: good job Rachel! I wish I would have thought of it. And Aunt Mary Jo gave her a book on fixing bikes: so with the new development, she added some information printed off the Internet on how to deal with a broken wrist. Cracked me up!! LOVE my family. Just love them.

See. Styling. Don't you wish YOU had one? Don't you wish you had a cousin like Rachel?

Bampa, Randy, and Mark man the bar-b-cue. The food was wonderful, and there was lots of it. Erik did a lot of work and we ate up the salads he created. The cucumber salad was my favorite. Gotta get that recipe.

Megan loves her Grammy Jo. They're both so pretty: our girls all have the best grandmas in the world. I wish my mom and dad could have been here. Love you.

The entertainment for the night was Pants. He's a scrub blue jay who visits on a daily basis, waiting for peanuts to appear. We provided him with lots of food to store, and he provided us with lots of fun.

Doug didn't want his picture taken. Got the message.

Megan and Steven made sure their teeth were in order for their picture. Crazy cousins.

No matter how old your children are, you want to wrap them up and protect them. And when they grow up, they DO NOT WANT YOU TO HOVER. So, I'm not hovering. I'm there when needed, and that's what it's all about. Being there for each other. Congratulations Cari on your degree, and thank goodness you're safe and well. We will always be there for you. Always.