THE BUGSHOT FAMILY

HAPPY SWEET 16 Madison Raylea !!!!

2011-03-03T10:09:00.000-08:00

Sixteen years ago, today, there was ice on the ground in Nocona, Tx. I was twenty-three years old, and had a new-born baby attached to my boob, like a little piglet, snortin', and rootin', and tootin', and I was the happiest I think I've ever been up to that point!!! She was all I ever wanted!!!! A little girl I could raise, and teach, and sing to, and read to, braid her hair, polish her toenails, play with...and I have had all those things with her... and I love her madly!!! Of course, she makes me crazy too, that's normal I guess, she is a teenager...soooo, last night, my Mommy and I stayed up until 11:00, baking and decorating about 67 cupcakes, and I delivered to her school this morning. She met me in the office, and she had the biggest, pearly-white smile, and I was instantly filled with more love ... how is that possible??? It's hard to watch them change ...from the little person that wanted to hold my hand, and wanting to be just like me, wanting "to marry you when I grow up Mommy!!"... to this independent, self-sufficient, young woman... It's bizarre really...the little person isn't even there anymore, it's like she is gone... and has been re-cast by this grown-up girl... I feel as if I have only two children now... truly... I'm just here for support, should she need me...and to be her prayer-warrior... HAPPY SWEET 16 MY LITTLE MADI!!! Mommy loves you!

Note to self....

2011-03-02T08:36:00.000-08:00

DO NOT LET A TEN-YR-OLD WEAR YOUR SHOES TO SCHOOL!!!! I have sand in between all of my toes today.and it doesn't feel wonderful!!!!
My Madi will be 16 tomorrow...kind of saddens me...she seems more of a woman than my little girl, it's hard to watch... she will get her license in a week...PRAY FOR ME!!!
Wyatt is hyper...VERY HYPER...none of my girls are, I've never experience this before...it's teaching us all patience, and I've become quite good at blocking out the noise, which isn't always a good thing!
Paige is engaged, AGAIN...to someone none of us have met, but he sounds like an ok guy...he is going to Iraq, and leaving her on the base in Killeen in a month...sooooo, PRAY for her as well...
As for me...eh, I've been better...I got super-bad depressed this winter, trying to overcome it...PRAY for me too!!! ILY whoever may be reading this!
XOXO

Victoria's Birthday Bash!!!

2011-02-06T13:02:00.001-08:00

My babygirl is 9 years old!!!

Boondocks

2011-01-23T13:59:00.001-08:00

Stuck Like Glue

2011-01-23T07:15:00.001-08:00

Madi on guitar, me and all my girls singing together for the first time on video!!! TK Ranch 1/15/11

TK Ranch 1/15/11

2011-01-22T16:56:00.001-08:00

TK Ranch 1/15/11

2011-01-22T13:57:00.000-08:00

We had the honor of playing and singing at the TK Ranch in Sunset, TX last Saturday. It is a non-profit organization for adult special-needs people. They live in the middle of the country; they have a dorm for the men, a dorm for the women, a recreation center, a gym, an indoor pool, and live-in house "parents". I have been wanting to do something there for many years, and just didn't know what it would be, until we started playing music!!! I have met several of the residents before...I have cut some of their hair, one works at McDonald's, and they used to go to the church where I went. So one day I called the director, and asked if we could come sing, and bring cupcakes, OF COURSE!!! She was thrilled. I cannot explain the joy I felt that day, and we can't wait to go back! They sang along to almost all of our songs, and we have some favorites of theirs to learn for our next visit!

My little fashionista!!!

2011-01-18T12:02:00.000-08:00

Victoria, my 8-yr-old, knows what she wants, what she likes, how she likes to wear it, and she isn't afraid to be HERSELF!!! I love that about her! She saw the girl from Harry Potter had cut her hair off in this cute little pixie-cut, and she wanted it!!! It's only hair, it'll grow back; I honestly think it's bad-parenting to not let our children have some control over the things they can control...things that don't really matter in the big scheme of things...I THINK SHE ROCKS!!! AND SHE KNOWS IT!!! She was 10-feet-tall walking into school this morning! She reminds my husband and I of Junie B. Jones.

Other Half of Me 1/14/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-01-14T18:05:00.001-08:00

All I Want 1/14/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-01-14T17:24:00.001-08:00

Cold weather BITES!

2011-01-14T12:32:00.000-08:00

So, the cakes have slowed WAAAY down, which is good, we so needed a break. Wyatt moved in full-time, so we are trying to re-arrange the rooms, so everyone can still have their own space, and not be too crowded...working on that! The boots were Sofie's Christmas present from me, one of them, she helped me design, and pick out the fabric, and I cut it out, she helped me put the stones on...it was a rainy-day project, we think they turned out WICKED-COOL!!! She said, "I'm going to be mad when I wear them to school, and know one believes me when I tell them we did it!" Wyatt will be angry if he sees I posted this picture of him, but it's the day he got his new glasses, and I think he's just adorable...Mark & I are home-schooling him, and we shall see how that goes! We are still planning on opening a coffee-shop, cupcake bakery this spring, so please pray for us on that- lots of red-tape to get through in with the city. Paige moved to Wichita Falls, and has two jobs, and is planning on joining the military soon...she is happy and healthy, and we are so happy she is closer to home right now! Madi will have her driver's license in March, CAN'T BELIEVE IT...we are planning V's birthday party as I type...a house party, a BIG house party....invites coming soon, she wants EVERYONE TO COME, so if your reading this, put Feb. 5th on your calender!!!

My Montage 1/1/11 at OneTrueMedia.com

2011-01-01T19:21:00.001-08:00

Miss Molly's Hotel, Stockyards, Ft. Worth

2011-01-01T13:53:00.001-08:00

We haven't gotten to go dancing, or out for New Year's Eve in a very long time...so Mark started looking for us a room near the Stockyard's, I was looking on the Stockyard's website, and saw Miss Molly's Hotel, Bed & Breakfast. It's the oldest one in Ft. Worth, and has a lot of great history. Leeann Womack recorded her video "I May Hate Myself in the Morning" in one of the rooms, and there are tons of stories about it being HAUNTED... it used to be a brothel at one time, and we were so excited to get a room there on such short notice. Ms. Paula, the hostess that lives there, said she was booked, but then had a cancellation on Wednesday, so WE GOT IN!!! We planned on taking our guitars, to get some pictures with our camera my Mommy got us for Christmas, and as we were bringing them up the stairs, there were other people checking in at the same time, and they asked us where we were playing. We explained what our plans were, and they said "PLAY FOR US!" So we did just that... and we had the most fun...they all sang along, and were super-excited that they were getting a private concert before going out for the night...and the acoustics in the "Parlor" were AMAZING! I think that had to be one of the best parts of our night! There were eight rooms, and Ms. Paula told us all of the stories about the "sightings, and noises" that she has seen and heard about in the four years she has lived there. So we went to dinner right below us, at Star Cafe. THE BEST grilled onion/mushroom/swiss burger EVER!!! Couldn't finish it...Mark had chicken-fried steak, and before our food came, one of the couples we just sang for, came in, and sat with us. They have been married 45 years, and were the best dinner companions! They came down from Lubbock for a wedding, and were staying in the "Madam's Quarters, or Ms. Josie's Room", they had a claw-foot tub in their room, and a toilet. All of the other rooms didn't have a bathroom, but there were three down the hall. Two had claw-tubs, and the toilets had pull-chains. The pictures of the neon signs at night are from our window. The picture of me on the bed, is our room, "The Cattleman", and Mark is standing in the "Cowboy Room".
After dinner we four went to the Rodeo Exchange for dancing!!! They had a great live band, and served black-eyed peas at midnight. I had to have a red-bull about 10:30, because I couldn't quit yawning, and it WORKED! I was able to keep dancing until about 1:00, and then I WAS DONE!!! We walked all the way back to our room, which was about 100 feet, and went straight to bed! I slept like a rock until 4, and then a noise woke me up, and it sounded like the girls next door were scratching something on the wall, over and over and over and over. So I got up to go to the restroom, and the girls were in the kitchen, they hadn't made it to bed yet. I went back to bed, and then Mark heard the same noise, we both sat up in bed and looked around, nothing...lay back down...NOISE AGAIN...SIT UP...nothing...this happened a couple more times, and we finally fell back to sleep. A little later...same noise, and Mark said "be quiet, I don't wanna get up", so I got out of bed to look around, and noticed the window was open about an inch, and so the noise was the window shade scratching on the window!!! So was it the wind??? HMMMMM... The girls next door said they heard men talking from about 4-7 until they finally got up, and they were next door to us, we never heard anything. It was just so much fun talking with everyone this morning...we all talked about meeting there again next year! I want to go back for Valentine's Day, my birthday, anniversary, Mark's birthday...ya just can't beat a deal like that. You park, walk to dinner, shopping, dancing, to your room later, no taxi's, no valet's, no parking...too easy, and it's so much more quaint, and cozy than a chain hotel.
Check out their website!!! Plan your own exciting stay!

Girls Scout Campout!

2010-12-23T08:44:00.000-08:00

My mom was kind enough to take Victoria to her camp out this year, and she did manage to get two pics: one of the craft table, and one of the gift exchange. Mamu had to sleep on an air mattress on a cold gym floor! Bless her pea-pickin heart.

Just some stuff...

2010-12-17T13:57:00.000-08:00

~ Victoria at the Dr's office, fell asleep before finding out she had the FLU!!!
~ A pic of my namesake at age 17. My Dad, Lavelle.
~ A pic of our new adopted doggie, Pearl...she is a lover.
~ Our new baby, Wyatt, and his little sister who loves him so so much!

24 PUPPIES?!?!?!

2010-12-07T06:56:00.000-08:00

My Mom and I made these puppies last night for a cupcake order we have, and it only took us THREE HOURS!!! LOL, we are still learning, and we are getting faster...Mark was busy doing the cupcakes and cream cheese frosting, but he did manage to make ONE puppy, can you guess which one he did?? They are going to be delivered tonight, the birthday girl is a volunteer at the Bowie Animal Shelter and also founded the Shelter Hearts program to raise money for medicines, supplies, and food for the animals. She is our neighbor, and we just love her and her husband John, he plays the harmonica with us sometimes! We hope she loves them!!!

Adoption!

2010-12-06T11:20:00.000-08:00

Mark was at work, at a job-site, near a highway, and this dog kept following him around...when he tried to leave, it followed his truck to the highway, and he was afraid it would get ran over, so he opens the door, and it hopped right in! Her name is Pearl...he brought her home, bathed her, fed her...she was lying on the floor next to Mark, chewing on a bone...we noticed she wasn't there anymore...Mark went in our bedroom, and she was ON THE BED!!! Made herself right at home!!! My friend Susie moved into her new home this weekend, so Whitlee came to hang out with us! Wyatt & Mark went to West Texas to hunt all weekend, so we had girl-time!!! Saturday we went to the NBHA in Boyd, and Mamu and I worked the barrels for a couple of hours. The contestants all have to put in so many hours of work to qualify for prizes at the end of the year, so our work-points went to Victoria. She is sitting in 3rd place right now, in the 5D division, which is EXCELLENT for her first year of competition. Madi is sitting in second place in one D, and third place in another. And Sunday the kids went to church, and played outside while I made a cake ALL BY MYSELF!!!

KISS CAKE!!!! Gene Simmons, KISS!

2010-12-03T12:53:00.001-08:00

We were up 'til midnight last night finishing this cake FOR MY BOSS!!!! Her son is a huge Kiss fan, and it's his 18th birthday! My mom came over and helped, she did the teeth, and the hair! THANKS MAMU!! I think it turned out even better than I had imagined...it's kinda spooky! I loved sculpting the face, that was the fun part for me.

We love our new birdies!!!

2010-12-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

BUSY-BUSY-BUSY!!!

2010-11-22T07:31:00.000-08:00

What can I say, I am SO BEHIND in blogging, we have been busy, happy, healthy, BUSY, BUSY, BUSY, working around the clock, having fun creating new cakes, planning our cake-shop/coffee house, to be opening someday in the near future!!! So I have just uploaded some random pics of the goings-on in our home.

"It's cold up here!!!"

2010-10-22T10:09:00.000-07:00

Convention, continued...

2010-10-20T12:40:00.001-07:00

Madi's FFA Trip!!

2010-10-20T08:04:00.000-07:00

Madi left Monday night, on a charter bus, to go to Indiapolis for the FFA Convention. She is sending me pictures from her phone, and I'm going to document the trip for her. I can't believe my baby is so far away from home...she is having a ball!! The picture from the arch, looking straight down, makes me ILL!!!

♥My husband is just lovely♥

2010-10-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

Friday night we baked a cake! Saturday morning we walked around Trade Days, and found a couple of containers I have been eye-balling for FOREVER!!! I still didn't want to spend the money on them though, so I passed. We went home to make a couple of scarecrows for the yard, and Chance came over to surprise us for a visit!! Mark found a recipe by Bobby Flave (spelling?), for fish tacos, and remembered my favorite white wine, and he drove to Nocona the day before to surprise me with it! So we had a YUMMY dinner with Chance, and he helped us with the scarecrows too! Sunday we shampooed the carpets in our ENTIRE house, and on the way to take the shampooer back, we stopped by to see if those two containers were still there...and they WERE, so I offered the guy a price I didn't think he would take, but HE DID!!! AND I LOVE THEM, and can't wait to get some gorgeous plants to put in them!!! And then it was time for the GAME, and it was HEART-WRENCHING, my friend, Jessica, came over to yell at the TV with us, but she doesn't yell... Daphne LOVES her, and always gets in her lap when she comes over...and she doesn't like ANYBODY!!! We had a very busy weekend, but it was fun, they go by way too quickly!!

Madi loves her Mommy!

2010-10-04T12:36:00.000-07:00

Our Sunday Project!

2010-10-04T10:33:00.000-07:00

Well, all three of my girls inherited the gene from me I suppose...they all really got into decorating the cookies, and they were ALL really good at it...look how pretty our Halloween cookies are!!! Mark made the dough for us, and Madi said, "on a scale from 1 to 10, these are a 12!"

School Picture Day!

2010-10-01T08:15:00.000-07:00

Quicky update!

2010-09-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy making cakes, cookies, playing, 4-wheeling, wine-tasting, playing with babies, and kids, and other people kids, and cooking, and cleaning, and working, and just enjoying the weather; I've gotten so behind on blogging...but we are still here, all healthy, happy, and in love with our little life in the boondocks! Sofie got braces! Madi won the Treasurer position for student council; she is giving riding lessons, she has her driver's permit, and she is still rodeo-ing as much as possible. Victoria is competing now as well; not just riding in the Novice division, but actually placed 5th place on her horse, so she will start winning money this year! Sofie isn't really interested in riding anymore, she would rather be a cheerleader or do competition cheer or dance, so she is excited about that. Tyler is working full-time at Choctaw Casino, and taking a full-load of college classes at NCTC in Gainesville! Chance got baptised last week, and has his driver's license and a CAR!! Wyatt is making straight A's in his freshman year! Paige is living with her boyfriend in Pennsylvania, (did I spell that right?), and Mark and I are having alot of fun baking...when it isn't stressing us out, that is!! AND, in our free-time, Mark and I have written FIVE original songs!!! We will soon have them recorded and posted for your to enjoy...or laugh at, whichever...we don't care!! But we sure do have fun writing together! He's my bestestest friend, I like him ALOT!

Family birthday parties!!

2010-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

WOW, what a busy weekend we had!!! Mark had to take the day of on Friday and go pick up Wyatt at 5am, he had surgery the night before on his wrist; had to get a couple pins put in it, broken pretty badly, poor thing...so Mark stayed home with him, and the girls and I went to my Uncle Ray's for his birthday party!! I made a chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream, and covered it in white fondant, and put a music note and some stars on it. It was a pretty small cake, a seven inch pan, so I also made a banana-nut bread to take along. I didn't get one picture of the little girls, they wouldn't get out of the pool long enough for that, but I managed to get a few of the BAND!! My brother, Jason was on the drums, my Dad is on the bass, Semie was playing lead, and we took turns playing and singing. Madi sang a couple with me, and ALL of the little kids gathered around us, and they knew every word to the songs we did, it was SO SWEET!!! We left there, and made a mad dash to Guitar Center, and we finally got Madi her very own guitar...HAD TO- or else I was never gonna get to play mine again!! I am so proud of her, she has learned how to play so well already, and isn't afraid to play and sing in front of strangers either...she took her guitar to a party Saturday night, and she ended up playing and singing about six songs for a whole bunch of people she didn't' even know, and she was so excited!! If she wasn't hooked before, she is NOW!! Then Sunday, was my Mark's birthday, and we just hung out and played outside; washers, guitars, Clay came over to hang out awhile. We had a very relaxing afternoon. We are planning a 'grown-up' party this coming Saturday, in Ft. Worth. Getting busier by the day with the cakes...VERY EXCITED about that!!! My sweet sister-in-law designed a logo for us, and it is on this blog if you didn't notice!!! THANK YOU SHELLY!!!

TWO CAKES AT ONCE!!!

2010-09-03T08:02:00.000-07:00

We had a request for two cakes from one person!!! She wanted a birthday cake for her daughter, and an anniversary cake for her and her husband. We finished them last night, and Mark is delivering them at 11:30 this morning, and I think I'm gonna have an anxiety attack!!! If you don't know Mark very well...he is THE MOST ACCIDENT-PRONE, CLUMSY PERSON I have EVER EVER EVER been around!!!!! And I'm desperately trying to talk him into letting the woman come to the house and get them!!! BREATHE....JUST BREATHE..... Anyway...our cakes are becoming more fun, and the whole family is starting to get involved. Victoria was cutting out shapes, and actually putting the dye into the fondant and kneading it...and she is a VERY GOOD helper!! The lady that ordered the cakes just kind of gave us some ideas, and let us run with it...I am so proud of the results!!! Cannot WAIT to hear her reaction to them. And we HAVE to get a camera...all these cake pics have been from my phone...not cool!

www.bugscakes.com

2010-08-31T13:04:00.000-07:00

So, we decided to create a website for our cakes; we designed it, published it, put it on our Facebook pages, and the next day, we had four cakes ordered. We had one picked up Saturday, the zebra, 3-tier; we have two to make for Friday delivery, one for Saturday, and 2-dozen cupcakes for Sunday, next week I have another 3-tier zebra cake...and two other people asking for details on parties they have planned! WHEW!!! Mark is at home right now learning how to use the MIXER!!! He is getting started on the frosting for the Friday cakes, and I will work on them tomorrow!! It's exciting, and kind of scary all at the same time! Since we are fairly new to baking, we are still learning A LOT, but we want the cakes to be perfect, so it kinds stresses me out! But I LOVE IT!! We are hoping Mark can be able to do most of the work when he is home, and maybe even go to part-time at his job!! THAT would be PERFECT for us!! We need someone home more, to take kids to and from school, and rodeos, and be close to the schools if someone needs something, or gets sick. My job is 35 minutes away from their schools, so Mark baking at home would be the PERFECT solution. Check out our site!!

Hello LOVER!!!

2010-08-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, this baking stuff is getting pretty serious!!! And we had to finally give-in, suck-it-up, and HAD to buy a professional mixer. One cannot just stand in one spot with a hand-mixer for TWELVE minutes waiting on frosting to form STIFF-PEAKS!!! And the fondant is TWENTY minutes of kneading!!! So, to remain sane, and also have time to feed my family, and keep the house 'somewhat' clean, I had to fork over some dough, HA (no pun intended)!!! Seriously, I am so frugal, but this was a MUST!!!My mother's hand-me-down, 1975, avocado green, hand-mixer has been laid to rest...I must say, this is really a dream-come-true for me, I have actually wanted a Kitchen Aid for about 15 years, no kidding! And now, sitting here in my office, eating my salad, I can't WAIT to get home to my BRAND NEW SHINY APPLIANCE!!! I FEEL RICH!! Isn't she BEAUTIFUL?!?!

Our biggest cake!

2010-08-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

We were so excited to make this cake; our first 3-tier!!! And I absolutely adore the picture that was sent to us yesterday, of the birthday girl with her cake; she MATCHED her cake, and it's as big as she is!!! Mark and I had so much fun putting this together!!!

Someone's turning 3!!!

2010-08-27T10:29:00.001-07:00

Isn't it adorable?!?! AND it's edible!!

FONDANT-FONDANT-FONDANT!!!

2010-08-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

My arms will forever be tone; this fondant has to be kneaded for ten minutes!!! We made these last night, aren't the colors GORGEOUS!!

Denton State Fair & Rodeo

2010-08-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

We got to haul Madi and three horses to the Denton Rodeo last night!!! She entered in break-away, goat-tying, and barrels. She placed second in the goat-tying, but the other two events she didn't do well at all...well, she did do AMAZING at barrels, but knocked over the third barrel, so that caused her to get a penalty (an extra five seconds) added on her time. We were just so excited to get to take her; it's always been her Dad, because the horses live at his house, and he has the trailer... but he wasn't available last night, SO WE GOT TOO!!! We had a BLAST TOO!! Got home super late, but it was worth it...nothing a lot of coffee doesn't cure!!

Texas Ranch Roundup!

2010-08-22T09:01:00.000-07:00

Mark, Madi, Tally and I went to the Texas Ranch Roundup in Wichita Falls last night; we LOVE watching the wild cow milking the BEST!!! Friday I took the girls shopping, and we delivered the zebra cake in Wautaga. Thursday Mark, the girls and I (and Tally) went to Hurricane Harbor; we've been having so much fun this summer!!! Finally trying to catch up on blogging!!

Wyatt's birthday!

2010-08-22T08:54:00.000-07:00

Wyatt stayed with us last week, he turned 14 on Sunday; Mark made him orange chicken, and I made him a little personal cake...we are going to have a combo birthday party for Mark, Wyatt and Ron in a few weeks, and I will be making a HUGE cake for them all, so I just did the little one for Wyatt to have candles on his actual birthday. We lit all the tiki torches out back, and Mark built a bonfire. We also spent a lot of time at the lake swimming, riding Susie and Steve's Sea-Doo, and Mark took Wyatt fishing several times. Wyatt is getting so tall and thin, and his voice is changing, and he is still the sweet, loving, helpful young man I met four years ago, and he LIKES ME TOO!!!

Sports cake!

2010-08-22T08:45:00.000-07:00

My friend, Susie, needed a cake for her step-son, Tanner, and he plays football, baseball, and basketball, so I found this picture in one of my cake magazines, and wanted to try it, minus the soccer ball. I think my cake is actually prettier than the one in the magazine; it took me about 6 hours to do it, but it was a fun learning experience!!!

My latest creation in cake!!!

2010-08-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Saturday with our Nashville family!

2010-07-27T09:28:00.000-07:00

We went to my Dad's in Royse City to visit with my PawPaw; he is 90, and not doing well. His brother, my Great-Uncle Leon, and his family came down from Nashville too! My Uncle Leon is a country music legend; he was on Heehaw in the band for many years, and then played on the Grand Old Opry, in their band for years after that. I was a bit intimidated, but he was so sweet, I would play my songs, and he would play some lead on his electric guitar, and it was SO MUCH FUN!!! I could've kicked myself for forgetting my cameras, but got a couple shots with our phones, thank goodness! Madi had her singing debut as well, and played my Dad's guitar!! The little girls entertained my little nieces, I got to visit with my brothers, and the drive there and back went pretty smoothly!!!

Our FRIDAY night!

2010-07-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Our friend, Todd, has a band, called Untold Story, and they had a gig in Wichita Falls. Mark, Jessica, and I went to have sushi first (because we never get out of Bowie, and when we do, we have sushi), then went to The Office to watch Todd perform; we had a BALL!!!

AMAZING WEEKEND!!

2010-07-12T10:37:00.000-07:00

My husband got the weekend OFF, so Saturday he got t-bones!!! We invited friends over for music!! Yesterday we rode our 4-wheelers for 9 hours in Waurika, Oklahoma, on the river, our new favorite place... Wyatt rode on the back of mine, and we did pretty well, only wrecked once, but we managed to hang on, I jammed my wrist and knee, and think I have whip-lash, but I'll survive. Wyatt's back is sore. Once we were on sand dunes, and Wyatt said "would you pull over a second", so I did, and he jumped off and said "you are driving that thing like a bat out of hell!"...I couldn't help but laugh out loud!!! I scared a 13-yr-old boy!!! So we took turns on the dunes... we got home late, and I had to make a cake to bring to work today, so I am VERY VERY sleepy today, and banged up and sunburned...but it was so worth it!!!

My latest creation in cake...

2010-07-09T10:08:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought I had this cake-stuff down-pat....I have one of the hardest nights ever making a cake...My friend at work wanted a simple, chocolate fondant cake with a peace-sign on top, and I thought "NO PROBLEM", been there, done that!!! Not so fast Missy....the cakes came out beautifully, frosting, no biggie...made the fondant the night before, was PERFECT...then last night, when it was time to put it all together...RAIN!!!! It has rained on several of my cake-making days, and they same thing has happened EACH time, the fondant is sticky, gooey, slimy...a MESS!!! Nothing seemed to help, it was actually sliding off the cake...the cookie cutters were sticking, I wanted to CRY, and almost did a few times...but my BFF Susie brought me a margarita, and her help, and it started to get a little better. When she had to get back home, Mark and Wyatt took over as my personal assisstants!!! And they were just as awesome!!!!A few times I had to just walk away, picked up my guitar and sang a couple songs...that seemed to help alot too!!! So, my simple little cake, turned into alot of repair-work...made alot of dots, and flowers to try to hide the HOLES!!! And the whole thing looks kinda shiny and melty, but the colors are gorgeous, and it will taste AMAZING!!! Hopefully the sweet little 8-yr-old that this cake is for, won't look at it too closely!!!

Front page story!!

2010-07-02T08:39:00.001-07:00

THE NEW 2010 MISS JIM BOWIE QUEEN!!!

2010-06-28T12:44:00.001-07:00

Well, she DID IT!!! She finally got her crown!!! After three failed attempts; we were so THRILLED!!! And the little girls came home with rabbits from the rodeo too, so they couldn't be happier either!!!

Miss Jim Bowie Queen Competition '10

2010-06-26T10:30:00.000-07:00

I took a vacation day yesterday, and I went to be pampered...I had my very first professional pedicure in about ten years, it was LOVELY!!! Then I went to watch Madison give her speech for the 2010 Miss Jim Bowie Queen's contest. Afterwards, it was time for the parade, but we had a HUGE lightning storm, and horses and lightning don't really mix, so they had to cancel it. The rodeo started at 7:30, and they announced the contestants. Tonight they pick the winner!!! This is Madi's 4th time to enter this contest, but she did that at the age of 10, 11, and 12. Keep your fingers CROSSED!!! I don't care what happens, she is already my rodeo queen!!! I am so PROUD of her!!!

2010-06-26T10:21:00.000-07:00

Weekend Update...

2010-06-21T12:19:00.000-07:00

Friday I took a vacation day, thank goodness, because I ended up having to go to church camp to pick up Madi & her friend, Tori; 6.5 hours in the car!!! UGH! It was fun though; then Friday night, Sofie and Victoria both had play-off games; VERY exciting and nerve-wracking... Sofie's team got 2nd place, and V's team got 3rd; Victoria was up to bat, and the ball (coming out of the pitching machine) hit her thumb and SMASHED it, blood was seeping out of all sides of her fingernail...she tried really hard to finish her batting, but just couldn't...so we had to take an out... Saturday I cooked on the grill (all by myself), it's usually Mark's job, I made steaks and corn-on-the-cob, and garlic/cheese smashed potatoes; we invited Mamu over, and it was a GIRL'S NIGHT!!! I sent that pic of the food on the grill to Mark (he was at work), and said 'wish you were here', he got offended we were having fun without him, but my PLAN was to make that dinner so he could have a steak dinner for Father's Day when he got home at 6:30 A.M. Sunday... poor thang... he enjoyed it, along with 3 hand-made Father's Day cards from his girls; after dinner Madi wanted to have a guitar lesson, so I LET her play mine, and I taught her 4 chords, and she ROCKED them!!! She learned how to play 'Jesus Loves the Little Children', and now she's HOOKED!! Sunday after the girls came back from Brad's, we went to PawPaw's house for swimming!!!
Oh yea, and Paige came back to Bowie, just not in our house anymore...

Our new pitcher!!!

2010-06-17T13:19:00.000-07:00

A song for Step-Daddy...

2010-06-07T07:31:00.001-07:00

This a song that Victoria wrote for me, Mark. It really moved me in a way that is hard to describe. I wanted to share it with all of you. If you can see in the pic, there is a line about 1/3 down the page. The writing above the line was her brainstorming ideas for her song. The portion below the line is the actual song. I will write on here what is on the paper for easier reading.

Above the line(brainstorming):
HE GOT ME INTO SINGING
FUNNY
I LOVE HIM
Below the line(the actual song):
YOU'RE THE ONE THAT GOT ME INTO SINGING AND HAVE I TOLD YOU LATELY THAT I LOVE YOU AND YOU'RE THE FUNNIEST "SMILEY FACE"(think she meant man or guy or person) THAT I EVER KNEW AND YOU MAKE ME FEEL THAT I'M ALWAYS IN YOUR DREAMS AND YOU'RE ALWAYS IN MY HEART. THAT'S WHY I LOVE YOU SO AND YOU'RE THE ONLY REASON WHY.

I just can't put into words how deeply this touched me. It is one of my most prized possessions! Thank you V.

p.s. Awhile back Sofie wrote a note to me and I will quote that now also:

I am so glad that God put you on this earth and that you're married to my mom. I love you so much. Love, Sofie Butler

Have you ever heard of such pure sweetness from two little angels like that before?

PEACE, LOVE AND HAPPINESS
MARK

Cutie-pies!!

2010-06-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

My mom was kind enough to keep my little ones today while I'm at work and Mark is asleep... Madi's home, but they can't be quiet enough, I'm afraid...so I asked Mamu to watch them. She just sent me this picture of them; she just did styled their hair; they look like they like each other in this pic don't they?!?!

Summer crafts...

2010-06-04T09:11:00.000-07:00

This was our entertainment last night...I found some easy instructions for clay art,(FamilyFun.com), and the girls were surprisingly very good at it; meaning (I didn't have to do it for them)!!! Victoria's piggie is adorable, look closely at the tail...when they dry, we will add paint!!

Madi's 1st fondant cake...

2010-06-03T06:42:00.000-07:00

While I was working yesterday, I was texting back and forth with Madi,; she was attempting to bake a cake for her friend, and it wasn't going so smoothly... the first two she made tore up when she tried to flip them onto the cooling racks; she greased the pans, but forgot to dust them with flour; so her second attempt at making chocolate cake (from scratch), same thing happened...she was so frustrated, she was about to throw the cakes away. I told her to just wait until I got home, and I would help her. So, when I got there, they weren't completely wrecked; I showed her how to make frosting, chocolate, and we 'glued' all the cake pieces together, and I frosted the two layers, and then we began rolling out the fondant. She dyed some of it red, stained her hands in the process, and I rolled out the white and covered the cakes. She cut out the white trim and helped with the letters, but HER cake, ended up taking ME until nine o'clock last night to finish!! By the way CCR stands for Cross Canadian Ragweed, the friend's favorite band. Oh the joys of parenthood... Madi's friend, Tori, came over to stay the night, and Sofie's friend, Allissa, came over too...and Mark felt sorry for Victoria being all alone, so he invited her to sleep with us...but I was the only one having to get up to come to work this morning, so I told him only one of them could sleep with me; we have a full-sized bed, not enough room for THREE!!! So poor Mark slept on the couch all alone :(

Paige is moving....again...

2010-06-02T10:54:00.000-07:00

Well it's been about a year since Paige moved back in with us. In this passed year she's learned how to play guitar, helped ALOT around the house, been Aunt Paige to the kids, she had a full-time job at Ace Hardware, saved up some money, got enrolled in NCTC College here in Bowie for the fall, and we thought she was going to live with us for at least another year, or two, while she went to school... but, this Saturday, she is moving out, and moving to Bandera, Texas, to be a ranch-hand... she says it's her dream job, and she is thrilled... so please keep Paige in your prayers as she moves away from everyone she knows...pray for her to thrive, and be happy, and LOVE this new place she is moving to... and pray for us to not worry ourselves sick about her... I am beside myself... as hard as it was having a grown woman live in our already full-house, ...I still wanted her to be successful; wanted to help her grow up, and have a good start; wanted to help support her while she figured out what she wanted to do; but as I said, she is grown (20-yrs-old), and has to make her own decisions... it's just so hard watching someone who has the world at her fingertips, be happy to give all that up... I love her, and don't want to see her come back in a few months regretting what she has chosen; not to mention how bad we will all miss her...
so, I'm letting her go, trying hard not to tell her what I REALLY THINK...

Fun without Mom...

2010-06-02T09:02:00.000-07:00

I just got this pic from Mark, he is home with ALL the girls, while I'm at work...they LOVE having him all alone (he spoils them)... Madi's in the kitchen making her first fondant cake!!!! So excited...we are chatting right now, she has lots of questions!

The CAKE!!

2010-06-02T08:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Jon's cake I took with my phone, I knew Andrea would take some PRO pics when she got it home, so I didn't get any at my house... each tier was three layers; coconut cream, with pineapple layer in between, and in between each layer was pineapple-buttercream filling. I have never used filling before, and I put WAY too much in the top tier, and the tier started to slide, I put several dowel rods in it, and covered it with the fondant, but in the morning, the whole cake looked like it was falling over!!! But it was sturdy, and looked kinda cute leaning over, like a topsy-turvy cake...so it was going to have to do... I'm no professional, and Andrea knew that going in (~wink~wink~)... The fondant was made from marshmallows, the old crow was made from rice crispie treats, covered in fondant with gum-paste feet and beak. The bicycle was made from gum-paste, and I couldn't get it to stay together, so that's where the idea to crash the bike and crow came from; my Mom's idea, actually!!! The only HORRIBLE part of making this cake ALL FROM SCRATCH, was we didn't get to taste it... :(
NOPE, we didn't, this was the first time I used Paula Dean's coconut cake recipe, and it smelled DIVINE!!! I'll just have to make another, just for US!!!

Our Memorial Day...

2010-06-01T13:56:00.001-07:00

It's been very, very busy in our household the last few weeks; softball season is here, and we've had as many as four games in one week. Mark worked ten 12-hour shifts straight, from 5pm, until 5am, so I've had to get used to being there alone at night. Then he was off for a day, and he slept, then he got called in for a morning shift, then off the next day, then called back in; so it was a VERY nice weekend to have him all to myself Friday through today!!! Thank goodness he was home Friday night, because I was making the biggest cake I've ever made and he was my assistant. We finally finished it around 10:30, and needed to un-wind, so we took our guitars out back, lit the tiki torches and sang and played. Then around midnight, we fired up the 4-wheelers and drove around in the dark; that was FUN, but I was going down fast, needed my bed, so in we went. The next morning we met my cousin Andrea in Decatur with THE CAKE, holding our breath with every little bump we hit!!! It was her husband's 40th birthday cake, and I was thrilled to get to make it. Andrea was too kind, and she PAID me for the cake (I just wanted to give it to her, she IS family!!!) so, we took the money and went to lunch and to buy new shoes!!! YAY ME!!! NEW SHOES!!! (Thank you Andrea!!) We were invited to our friends Kolby & Laura's for dinner and the UFC fight on Pay-Per-View (I LOVE UFC, by the way), they served brisket and all the fixins, which were all very very yummy!! We stayed the night there, played with their English Bulldogs, snuck out in the morning, and came home to pack for our lake trip. We were invited by my friend, Jessica, to go to Lake Arrowhead for the day. So we packed up our guitars and sunscreen and headed that way with our other friend, Todd. Got to swim with a snake, play a little guitar, but our fun was cut short by some un-planned monthly medical condition, that keeps getting WORSE & WORSE!!! So we went home so I could lie down...YUCK! Our friend Todd, invited his friend and her 2-yr-old, sweet, adorable, cute cute cute little boy over, and we played with him, Mark gave him a 4-wheeler ride, he gave me lots of hugs and kisses, and he didn't want to go home when it was his bedtime, and we didn't want him to leave!!!
Monday, the girls came home, and we took them to Amon Carter Lake here in Bowie; I was still a little gun-shy from the snake incident, so I stayed in knee-deep water, and just soaked up the sun... it was a nice weekend...an I am so happy summer is here!!! It's when I'm my happiest!

SHORT, Summer haircuts...

2010-05-24T08:36:00.000-07:00

Victoria, my 8-yr-old, has been wanting her hair cut short for awhile now, and I kept thinking if I ignored her long enough, the phase would pass...it hasn't, so I figured 'why not, it's just hair, she's little, it's almost summer, it'll grow out next year, and mybe she won't want it cut like this again'; it was VERY VERY hard for me to do, because I just love longer hair on little girls, and second, I was afraid of her getting teased. Sofie, my 10-yr-old also wanted hers cut short, but her hair is pretty thinck and wavy, so we went just to her chin. They BOTH feel like little movie stars with their new hair, but I'm having a hard time looking at V without her little swing-bob she's had for so long. She was thrilled to wake up and fix it this morning, couldn't WAIT to go to school and show everyone. We used the flat-iron on Sofie's this morning, and were able to have it done in just a few minutes, she adores it. So, we have 2 happy little munchkins, one sad Mommy...
Victoria Before....

Sofie Before...

Pony League...

2010-05-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

This is Sofie's 2nd year to be on the pony league. It's half of the game played with the girls pitching, and half played with the coach pitching; otherwise the game would be SO completely boring because a ball would almost never be hit... so last year, Sofie just played outfield , she was still a little scared of the ball, but THIS year, her big-sister has been working with her and SOFIE is ALL OVER that ball field!!! She started out on 2nd base, stopping balls, throwing to 1st, getting girls out; then she got to pitch, not too great, but she didn't hit anyone with the ball the way Madi used to, and then she got to hind-catch!!! She can also WHACK that ball when she's batting, and she runs like the wind!!! There is nothing more fun than watching my girls play ball, I LOVE IT!!! Paige got a new camera, and she took these pics for me Thursday night. (THANKS SPUD!), that's Paige's nick-name...

Mother's Day...

2010-05-11T06:36:00.000-07:00

What a beautiful day my Mother's Day was this year... we all slept in, I got up before anyone and had my coffee, then little people started waking up, and they made me oatmeal and boiled eggs for breakfast, and started giving me all their beautiful gifts. Madi made me two very artistic, hand-made cards, with some of the nicest things she's ever uttered written inside, (she thinks I'm COOL!), Sofie painted me a picture of a pink daisy (my favorite flower), Victoria made me a little booklet and each page tells me how she thinks I'm special, Paige gave me a GORGEOUS bouquet of red roses, and Mamu brought me a gift from the girls later in the day and it was a bracelet I had wanted in a boutique a week prior, but I put it back (what a surprise!), and Mark gave me a painting of a family in their kitchen, and it's perfect in our dining room!!! I felt so loved...and appreciated...they all put so much thought into my gifts, things they knew I would adore... my family is the BEST!!! They pampered me all day, and then we had dinner at Dos Chiles to end our day. Why does Mother's Day come only once a year?? So not fair...

My latest creation...Whitlee's CAKE!!!

2010-05-11T06:29:00.000-07:00

My good friend, and singing partner, Susie, has a little, beautiful, sweet girl named Whitlee, and she turned 8!!! She wanted a peace-sign cake to match one of her favorite shirts, so her mom and I designed it, and I created it!!! It was my first time to make chocolate fondant; which is now my favorite; it's so smooth, and such a beautiful color, and it tastes FANTASTIC!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY WHITLEE!!!

Sisters in training 5/2/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-05-02T09:51:00.001-07:00

Girl Scout Camp '10...

2010-04-29T12:34:00.001-07:00

Last Friday was the second time Victoria & I got to go on the campout to Lake Murray; we started out going to CiCi's pizza in Gainesville with the whole troop, then off to the camp-site...it was nice to go back to the same camp-site, and know the routine. We were in a different cabin this time. All the girls had a bed, 4 along each side of the room, and the 5 moms that went brought air-mattresses... mine went flat about midnight, and I lay like a mummy on my body pillow the rest of the night. The next morning, we had pancakes, bacon, and orange juice, in the 'mess-hall', which is about 100 yards up the trail...then a small hike to the flag-raising ceremony afterwards; then the hike back to camp... we ate alot of junk-food at camp, but believe me, we walked it off!! After breakfast we hiked down to the beach, and the girls played in the sand & water for a couple of hours, until it got so windy, we thought a storm must be brewing, so we headed back to camp... it was time for lunch by then (HOT DOGS), more junk food...YUM!! This year, we decided to go out of camp on a field-trip; a few miles away was Tucker's Tower and museum...moer hiking (UPHILL) this time!!! My legs are still sore!!!! We herded everyone up to the tower, then up in the tower, and I was a bit scared, but hid it well, then I noticed Victoria acting a bit scared... then she said she felt nauseated, I thought (uh-oh), she has a fear of heights like me... I've never told her I was afraid or get physically ill ... poor thing, she marched right up the spiral staircase & went out to the observation deck, and we took pictures, and looked down..then it was time to go back down, and again, she said she felt sick...but continued down the stairs, cautiously, very slowly, and held tight to my hand, as I did hers... I have to just pretend I am somewhere else to make myself get down those stairs...I REALLY don't like things like that, but ALWAYS make myself do it anyway...and I was really surprised that one of my kids is the same way...never noticed it with the older two... so when we made ot out of the tower, and were hiking back to the cars, she said "that made me feel really sick, like I can't breath", I said "you must have a fear of heights like your Mommy!', she said ,"YOU DO?", so we just bonded right then and there; it was AWESOME!!! I said, "Yep, I do , I get really scared, and feel sick, but just pretend I'm not afraid, and I make myself do it anyway". She smiled and away we went to our next adventure!!! Around the other side of the tower is a marina; we took the girls over their, adn they sell fish-food, and we fed the geese & the fish for awhile. After we got back to camp, the girls ran around, played in the other cabin, played ball, blew bubbles, just relaxed... then we hiked some more down to this beautiful open field to play kick-ball. They really got into the game, but after a couple of innings we started to pick flowers...V & I walked away from the group and lay in the grass... she wanted to find shaped in the clouds, so we did that, and talked, and I asked her if she was having fun, and she said "this part right now is my favorite part Mommy, laying here with you"... (lump in throat)...so sweet...and it was my favorite part as well...very sweet, touching moment between us...Victoria has such a tender, old soul... we just click... next year Mamu wants to go with us... we shall have to see about that...not sure her vocabulary is rated PG!!!

My working man...

2010-04-22T11:04:00.000-07:00

This is how Mark looks when he comes home from work...CUTE HUH?!?!

Sofie's 10!!!

2010-04-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

Sofie's 10th birthday party started Friday at 5:30, and continued until the next day at 2!!! (I know, what was I thinking, right?)...But I wanted this to be her BEST b-day ever, you're only 10 once, and the last two years she has been kind of neglected...last year, Victoria and I were at a Girl Scout camping trip, so no party for Sofie, and the year before only two little girls showed up, and it was just so sad....so this year, I told her to invite EVERYONE she knew, and she did, and they all showed up!!! We had 8 little girls for the sleepover...we had pizza, played outside until it started raining, then came in to watch New Moon, I made root-beer floats, and Sofie's party was a 'Candy Theme', so of course I had bowls of candy everywhere!!! Then it was time for DANCING!!! It was about 1am when they all quieted down, and I was up at 7:30 making pancakes with whipped cream for the bunch!! And I THOUGHT I would be able to have my coffee while they slept in...no chance, they were all awake... then at 10, the other party began...the little boys showed up, the family, one of my best friends came to help me!! Mamu came with the pinata and filled it up!!! The rain that started the night before...still here...and all the activities were planned for outside...Mark and I had been working all week on a treasure hunt...three maps, three different sets of clues, things hidden all over 1.5 acres...buried, in trees, under brush, all over the place...so as the party was starting, Mark ran to Wal-Mart, then the Dollar Store, then Tractor Supply to find some rain-ponchos, and finally found and bought 20!!! I pulled out every jacket I could find, dressed all the kids in my jackets, and their new ponchos, and out we went!!! Every kid told us it was the BEST party they had ever been to!!! JOY-JOY-JOY, that was MY GOAL for Sofie this year!!! It was a blast!!! The pictures tell the rest of the story...Madi's boyfriend broke the ice in the room when he came into the room in a dress and started dancing, then the little boys loosened up and joined in; My friend, Jessica entertained the kids with a needle and thread; she held it over their wrists, and whichever way the needle would swing, she would tell them how many kids and what sex they would be, they LOVED IT!!!! Sofie's grin was infectious...this is a birthday I think she will be replicating with her kids someday...and I will be there with the cake!!!
So then at 2, when all the kids were leaving, Sofie went to her room to play with some of her new toys, and was asleep 5 minutes later...and then it was time to start the next project....getting Madi ready for her 1st PROM!!! ...to be continued...

...the next day I asked Sofie to rate her party on a scale of 1-10, she said it was a 10 MILLION!!! YAY MOMMY!!!

Baby gardeners...

2010-04-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

As if we aren't busy enough, Mark & I have been wanting to start a garden; yesterday we borrowed a tiller, and planted three little rows right next to the house; so we can easily water it if need be. We put in one row of sweet onion, one row of radishes, and one row of cilantro. Did you know cilantro seeds are actually coriander?? ME EITHER!!! We chewed one up to taste it; you can see (if you look closely) at the seeds in the little trough Mark made with his finger. We also planted two cherry tomato plants and two jalepeno plants. Can you guess what we like to eat?? All we need now is some garlic, and we have Bugshot's Homemade Salsa!!! Mark said a little prayer over our garden, and watered it; isn't he adorable in his Farmer John overalls?!?! He actually wore those to work, but it looks like he dressed just for our garden. We were just giddy as we were planting, we are either getting old, or we are easily amused. (But mostly we just like doing things together) . Stay tuned!!! I also added a picture of the CUTE little ladybug candle holder Mamu gave me for my birthday, and a picture of my front porch (GERBERA DAISIES ARE MY FAVORITE!!!)

My birthday...

2010-04-11T07:02:00.000-07:00

Friday I turned 29 again!! I love being 29 so much that I'm doing it for the 10th time, isn't that cool?!?! Two years ago I worked on my birthday, and it was so depressing, I vowed to never do that again. So Friday I took the day off, and Paige was home as well; she was the first one to give me a present, and I didn't get one, but several sweet, thoughtful, beautiful presents. Paula Deen skillets I've been eyeing for a few months, a vanilla-bean candle, some cocoa mix, and a hand-painted frame she painted for me; along with an adorable card. After we had some coffee, we went to buy some flowers with some of my birthday money I got from my Dad, and my Gigee (Brad's Mom). There is a greenhouse about 8 miles out of town that I've been going to since I've lived here, and they have everything you can imagine. I got my favorites, Gerber daisies, pansies, begonias, some asparagus ferns, and some little filler, it's green and purple, not sure of the name of it, but they are sweet. Ended up spending $80, but it ended up filling all 20 of my outdoor pots, and we still had enough to put 14 pansies in one of the front flower beds. Paige was an awesome assistant!!! While I was cleaning up some of the mess, MAdi & Ryan showed up right after school with PRESENTS!!! Madi got me Brighton!!! A perfect little guitar key-chain, and a bracelet to match my necklace she got me on spring break, and I ADORE them!!! Mark is going to get me some more charms to add to the necklace for my birthday...when he gets a day off!!! But he did get me an awesome bottle of merlot. Then it was time to shower and get ready for dinner. Mark, Paige, Jessica, Todd & Misty were my dinner-dates; we went to one of my favorite places, P.F. Chang's for chinese food, and the BEST dirty vodka martinis around!!! We had an amazing evening...we ended up going to a little bar for dancing, but it was 18 & up, because Paige is only 20, and we didn't stay too long... Mark, Jessica & I felt OLD!!! So my birthday isn't quite over yet...Mark still has to get me my charms, and we still want to go dancing at a grown-up place. ~wink~wink~

More Easter Pics...

2010-04-07T09:57:00.000-07:00

My camera is broken, so my cousin Sissi sent me these pics she & my Aunt Terry took at our house!!! Thank you Terry & Sissi, we had so much FUN!!! Cameren loved on the baby kitties all day, and his little sideways smile melts my heart. Kodie got to play with her two favorite cousins; and my girls didn't 'fight' over her this time!!! I love the candid shots of my Mom and Nanny too; the weather was just perfect!

Hoppy Easter!

2010-04-05T10:44:00.000-07:00

What a BUSY, FUN-FILLED weekend!!! Saturday morning all three of my of my girls and I went to Wichita Falls to go shopping for Easter dresses, and we also had lunch at our favorite restaurant there, Grand Buffet; (Chinese food); Madi, Sofie an I ate our weight in sushi, Victoria skipped that and had egg-drop soup. When we made it back home, the little girls started on their baskets. I let them pick out some fabric, and we ripped it in strips, and they tied them on the handles of their baskets. While they did that, I started cooking for our dinner on Sunday, and I also made five chocolate bunnies for all my girls Easter baskets!!! After that, I put some foil high-lights in Madi's hair, polished every ones fingers and toes and fell on the couch, exhausted!!! We sat our alarms for 7AM, went to have breakfast with the girl's grandmother, Gigee, at her church; they had an egg-hunt for the kids too!! Our Easter party started afterwards and my Mommy, my Aunt Terry, and my cousin Sissi came over; Sissi's two beautiful babies, Cameren and Kodie (2 & 5), my Nanny and PaPa came; Paige was there too; everyone brought food, and eggs; we stopped counting when we reached 100, so we just started hiding them...it was so warm, sunny, and gorgeous out, we stayed outside most of the day. We set up a table just for the kids; we had cake and punch, and chocolate and wine...it was heaven...none of our husbands made the party (Mark worked all weekend), so it was nice to have just 'girl-talk' and catch up, and play with the kids, and just be together. My camera is broken, so the few pics I got yesterday were from my phone before church... :( ...hopefully I will get a new camera for my b-day next FRIDAY ~wink~wink~ ~hint~hint~

Sofie's inspiration cake...

2010-04-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

My little Sofie Belle is turning 10!!!! Her party will be on April 17th, and this is the cake she wants for her big day!!! All I can say is 'WHEW, so much less work than the last 3 I've done", THANK YOU SOFIE!!! THis one will be FUN!!

Another cake...

2010-03-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

This is my 4th fondant cake to make. My friend Jessica is having a birthday tomorrow, so I baked her a cake and brought it to work today (we work together). She has a star tattoo on her forearm, and she wears alot of things with skull & crossbones, so that is where the idea came from. When she came around the corner, and saw her cake, she burst into tears; scared me to death... she was just so thrilled, it really made my day!!! The cake-making is getting easier now that I've learned through trial & error; the fondant is smoother, and thicker; and I'm learning how to make things ahead of time, and how to store them for later use. This cake was pineapple & strawberry marble, with almond-vanilla buttercream in between the layers and under the fondant as well; that's actaully what the fondant sticks to when you apply it. The skull is made from gum-paste, all the stars are marshmallow fondant. It was the best-tasting cake I've done yet!!

Resale Shop JACKPOT!!!

2010-03-23T07:21:00.000-07:00

Madi has wanted a vanity table with a little chair for her room for a couple of years now. We have been looking for just the right one to fit in her room, and also our budget. Paige, Madi and I went to some resale shops in town on Saturday, and Madi found this vanity in the very back of the place, covered in more stuff...it was horribly ugly, the fabric on the bench was floral and looked like something from the 70's...(baby doodoo green, and pukey orange), the color of the metal was almost a grey-beige, with speckles all over it, and the mirror frame was wicker and had palm-trees in the corners. But Madi knew that her mom has mad skills, and could transform that ugly vanity into a gorgeous, stylish piece of work!!! And the best part of all, it was only $30, for both pieces!!! JACKPOT!! So we took it home, painted it flat-black, covered the seat cushion and attached ball-trim; isn't it so ADORABLE!!! So now her whole room has to be re-done to match this awesome vanity, and Madi has already started on her curtain!!! She is making a valance out of tulle...more pictures to come!! STAY TUNED!!

Dancing Dog

2010-03-20T18:33:00.001-07:00

Daphne, our little Chihuahua/Rat Terrier Mix doing her dancing trick that Mamu taught her a couple of weeks ago. And she's also doing her Tootsie Roll trick that Mark taught her...when he comes home to find a little 'Tootsie Roll' on the floor, it's what he says, and she is shamed, and rolls over and plays dead. She entertains us all...

Spring Break!!!

2010-03-20T12:55:00.000-07:00

Well.... Mark & I took off the whole entire week of spring break for a family vacation... we had so many fun activities planned...boys went their own way a couple of days, and we, the girls, went our way too!!! First thing I did was paint fingers & toes, and give everyone haircuts; Sofie wanted 12 inches off of hers (that was hard for me), and V got her little swing-bob that fits her so well. Later that day I took my girls to the movies, Madi brought a friend, and we went to eat at Yesterday's Texas for their famous Babbaloo Fries. Mark took the boys to Main Event, the movies one day, Academy Sports for paint-ball guns and gear. We all met up at the hotel, checked into our two rooms and hung out in our in-room jacuzzis. Then we all got dressed and took the shuttle to Razzoo's. Chance had his first taste of raw oysters, he actually ate three! Madi, me and Mark had some too! Everyone except for Wyatt had sea-food; Chance had alligator tails and craw-fish, the rest of us had crab-legs; the little girls are finally big enough to figure out how to get the meat out; nice for me!! After dinner we walked over to Marble Slab Creamery for ice cream cones, lots of silliness, and some cute pictures. The next day the girls went to the Galleria Mall, we followed Madi around for a few hours while she shopped, then we had some sushi for a snack, shopped some more, ate dinner at Mi Cocina, then finally ended up at the skating rink for three hours of skating. We got home around ten o'clock that evening and the boys were packing for their 4-wheeling trip to Bulcher on Friday. They each had their own 4-wheeler to ride, so they had alot of fun on the trails. Mark & I decided to never, ever, ever take an entire weeks vacation with all of our kids again; it's a great idea in theory, but it's way to hard to please everyone all the time, and it was a lot of stress for us, and not much relaxation (and that's what we needed)!!! But all in all, it was fun, and we are glad we did it...and it was good for the kids to experience the BIG CITY!!! I'm ready to go back to work Monday, to get some rest!! ~wink~wink~
Next year, we are taking a cruise (ALL BY OURSELVES) aren't we selfish??

My Dad, Lavelle...

2010-03-09T07:05:00.001-08:00

He's singing at his Dad's 90th b-day party!!!

Victoria singing "Who Knew', by Pink, as I play.

2010-03-09T07:04:00.001-08:00

Paige playing & singing her ORIGINAL SONG!!!

2010-03-09T07:03:00.001-08:00

She wrote this song a few weeks ago, put it to music, and ROCKS IT OUT!!! So proud of her!!!

Sofie Belle singing 'Boondocks'

2010-03-09T07:02:00.001-08:00

My shy little girl, isn't being as shy anymore!!!

Singing at PawPaw's 90th!

2010-03-09T07:00:00.001-08:00

My Great-Uncle Leon Rhodes is playing the lead guitar in this video, on a song he played with Crystal Gayle in '69???

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

THE CAKE!!!

2010-03-08T07:12:00.001-08:00

WHEW! This cake was NOT as easy-going as Victoria's, everything that could've gone wring, DID! It was raining while I was doing it, and I think that was a huge factor, the fondant was sticky, and I couldn't get it smooth, and I kept bumping into it, over and over. I stored the cake overnight in the oven, and when I pulled it out to finish decorating it, I smashed the top of it into the oven door; I was in tears... after about four hours into decorating it on Saturday morning, I just had to take a break because it wasn't cooperating at all. I'm attributing this to the fact that I didn't have my assistants with me on that day. Mark took Wyatt fishing, so he wasn't there to make my cocktails!! ~Wink~Wink~ Bloody Mary's make the cake decorating experience go so much smoother.. (Just a little inside tip) But, eventually he came home, made me a screwdriver, assisted in making balls (he's very good at that), and was just THERE for me, it went so much better!!! Maddie LOVED it, her little dinner-party went well yesterday. We had Angus burgers, potato-salad, and baked beans. A few friends and family came over, and everyone said the cake even tasted good TOO!!! YAY!!! So I have pics of the cake, but not of the party yet, those pics are still in Mamu's camera, should get them posted tonight!!!

Madi's 15th B-day cake!!!

2010-03-05T14:19:00.000-08:00

This is our inspiration cake; I looked up several on-line, and gave her a choice; of course she picks the MOST difficult!!! I've already gathered my supplies, going to get started tonight!! Her party is Sunday at 2, everyone's invited!!! Come and see our version of this cake; it's going to be FUN!!! Did I mention she's 15!?!?!?!?! CANNOT BELIEVE IT!!!

After-school fun...

2010-03-04T16:29:00.001-08:00

This is how you can spend a sunny afternoon when you live in the sticks; riding 4-wheelers down dirt roads, finding animal tracks, and granite rocks, and dead animals!!! The little girls were getting off the school-bus and we were already on the 4-wheelers, and they ran as fast as they could, got their helmets on, threw their backpacks down, and off we went!!!

I've Cried The Blue 2/28/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-01T07:09:00.001-08:00

My Dad has been asking me to learn this song for about a year. I couldn't find it anywhere on the internet. He called my Great-Uncle Leon, in Nashville (who used to play the song in the early 60's), and Leon told my Dad what chords the song was made up of. So, I finally found a video of Crystal Gayle singing the song on YouTube, learned the song, and I got to sing it for my Dad, and the rest of the family at my PawPaw's 90th birthday party yesterday!!! But this video we made after we got home from the party last night, because I didn't get to play it, the band that was there played it, along with my Great-Uncle Leon. We'll get that posted soon!!!

My Montage 2/28/10 at OneTrueMedia.com

2010-03-01T07:08:00.001-08:00

Make photo slide shows at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Our bandmates, Todd & Susie...

2010-02-20T08:19:00.000-08:00

Last October we did a gig in Bowie, and there was another band there; that's when we met Todd, the lead singer in that band. He started playing and singing with us since then, and has joined our band. Susie I met at Mark's b-day party in September, my Mom brought her over to meet all of us, they had been friends for awhile. Over the last few months Susie and I have become BFF's, and Mark and Todd have done the same. We all believe in the same things, have the same spiritual beliefs; we all pray for each other, and have helped each other in ways that we now see was the plan all along. We all met last fall for a reason... and now our little band feels complete. We have a gig in April, and we have been practicing so hard, and we are all doing what makes us the happiest, make music!! With friends that love to make music...it's very cool...

My very first guitar, Blondie....

2010-02-20T08:15:00.001-08:00

Quickie Update...

2010-02-19T11:49:00.000-08:00

So much going on lately...Valentine's weekend was so much fun!! Mark and I went to dinner and dancing with our very bestest friends in the whole-wide world; our band-mates, Susie and Todd. Then the boys came over Saturday morning. I made about 30 chocolate-covered strawberries for everyone to enjoy, and then Susie came over and made us a special V-day cocktail. Of course we played guitars and sang! Paige sent me a pic from her phone from about three years ago for V-day. She was blond, and I had SHORT-SHORT hair- YUCK!! I hope I never cut it that short again, I look weird... Mark gave me flowers, a rock-n-roll t-shirt, a tear-jerker card, and my favorite gift, a BRAND-NEW real-live professional microphone!!! He said I'm finally good enough to upgrade from our karaoke mic... I gave him new overalls, a Charlie Robison CD, a new Carhart hoodie, and a couple other things that you can just imagine ~wink~wink~ ... then we took the boys home Sunday evening, and Paige rode with us; we went to dinner at the Smokehouse in Lindsay; B-B-Q !! YUMMY!!! We hardly ever get to have dinner together, alone with her, it was a nice way to end the weekend.

My new love...

2010-02-13T06:47:00.001-08:00

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, my new guitar; my VERY own; don't have to borrow one of Mark's anymore...isn't she beautiful?!?!?!?! She's a blondie!!

SnowCrazy

2010-02-11T11:26:00.001-08:00

Victoria's Tour...

2010-02-11T09:49:00.001-08:00

Maddie Powerlifting...

2010-02-07T08:17:00.001-08:00

OMG! I had NO idea what this power lifting business was all about! Victoria and I got to go to Nocona yesterday and watch our first meet; all of the others until now have been too far for us to go see. It was very uncomfortable for me to watch this; first of all, the suits they wear are SO extremely tight, the circulation in their arms and legs is cut off tremendously, and Maddie was crying from the pain, as were several other kids there;there arms and legs were PURPLE; she says it's just part of it; I'm thinking I wanted to grab her and run away!!! She says it's supposed to be tight so their muscles don't POP OUT OF THEIR SKIN!!! SERIOUSLY??? Then they wrap their knees so tightly, they can't even walk; it just struck me as so FUNNY; not HA-HA funny, but so strange and weird. Maddie was crying before, during, and after each one of her lifts; but she performs so GREAT! It's just part of her anxiety, and how she deals with stress... but I noticed after a few minutes she gets very still, and stares off into the distance, and her breathing slows, and she becomes very calm. I kept telling her at the beginning, when she was crying and hyperventilating, to just disconnect herself from her body, told her that's what I did during childbirth. So she did say it helped, and she just pretended she didn't need to breathe. I just cannot believe how STRONG she is. She bench pressed 105 lbs., and squatted 225lbs. She placed 3rd in her class, and the whole Bowie team brought home the 1st place plaque!!! After her meet in Nocona, she had to go to Lake Dallas for the softball tournament. She missed the first two games, but when she and the other two girls showed up, they WON their last game, which made them win 1st in their tournament!!! Maddie made the varsity softball team, and she is back-up hind-catcher, and plays 3rd base the entire game!!! So, SO proud of her!!!