Volcano Cake!

So this year I asked Patrick what kind of cake would he like for his birthday?

He excitedly said: "A VOLCANO CAKE!!!" 

I was thinking of doing one for him before he even said it. He has this fascination with Volcanoes. Whenever we go to Barnes & Noble or any store that has books we head to the book section (cheaper and education that getting toys for the kids). He loves the easy reader National Geographic books. 

I do not know how many times I've read The Volcano book but Patrick can tell you all about magma, lava, magma chambers and vents. I love it because he is learning science at such a young age.

So I started planning his Volcano cake. I bought rice crispies to make a base and then had the thought I wouldn't be able to store it in my refrigerator. So I didn't use them as a base.

I went with a chocolate (his pick) box cake. Used our bunt pan. And made up a couple batches of frosting from the Wilton Cake decorating class I took back in May.

Cake out of the pan.

I wasn't worried about it being pretty. I was going to be covering with frosting.

First batch of frosting. 

I used black and brown gel dye to get the right color for the lava rock.

The rock.

I wasn't sure how much darker I want so I stopped here. It turned out really well.

Rock portion down.

I had got this far before Swim aerobics. Have I told you I work better under pressure? 

The finish product. 

I didn't get pictures of just the lava before the candles. I used orange and red gel to get the lava color I liked. I decided to make it look like the lava flowed down to spell out happy birthday Patrick. 

Lava Flows and the Vent

The back side of the cake.

The lava!

Happy Birthday Patrick!

One happy boy with his Volcano Cake. 

Weekend Recap

I'm not sure if I've ever said what my husband actually does in the Army. No? Well here it goes. He's a Chaplain's Assistant. In times of peace (nondeployments) he is a secretary. In time of war

he is a body guard. But at all times he is an ear.

He doesn't counsel soldiers but he listens and sometimes all you need is an ear. I know because there are times I unload on him and he just looks at me like why? 

A soldier in his unit we left over a year ago said this about my husband: 

"Laura....Thank you for being a supportive wife to one of the greatest men I have ever had the chance to serve alongside in the military while states side and deployed. JB has been that pillar for me to lean on during my time as a medic with 5-20. He and I have seen all our fallen soldiers from 06-07, 09-10 more than I care to mention in numbers but I dont have enough fingers or toes. Mostly he kept me strong when I was at my weakest. The thing is JB did this not for just me but all his soldiers..... So much for one man to bare and it is not possible without loving support of others which top of that list is you. Thank you for sharing your husband. Also letting him buy a remote control truck so we could race........."

No awards, commendations mean much to me as a fellow soldier (a medic who's seen is fair share of stuff) recognizes what my husband does.

My husband has since been promoted and moved up to a high slot so he doesn't get to talk with as many soldiers as he use to (I know this frustrates him). But to me he is the greatest. 

Off of that side note, this weekend we had a marriage retreat. One of the job requirements of a Chaplain's assistant. It was on the 7 habits of Highly Effective Families for the army family. I have not had this material before and would be a great post deployment retreat for any soldier and family. 

It talked about stop, pause and think and then speak when you have an iceberg. It also says that you should find your goal and work towards it together. Which is a great concept to let go of the little things and look at the big picture. 

Well, I am off. Going to work on getting my photos organized I may decided to work on photobooks soon. Who knows. My parents are coming for a visit, they promised their Grandson for his birthday and sad to say that is a little over a week away. 

Slacking

I have definitely been slacking on here. I could blame it on the fact that since Memorial day we have moved in with friends, went of vacation, were in a wedding, moved out of friends home and into our own home, unpacking, and then had a 3 year old computer mishap (resulting in computer in the shop), school started and sickness. I do not know if that covers everything but I am not lost.

We are in year 2 in El Paso, TX. I love this place. I know love is a strong word but I do. In one month we had gone to the Zoo at least once if not twice a week. Found out some interesting information. They got a male tiger so they could breed the two female tigers. They open a giraffe encounter, you can pay $2 to feed the giraffes. They have such interesting tongues and actually wrap them around the lettuce. The female orangutang Ibu turned 19 and the male Butch were out in their exhibit together. Under close monitor.

Abs started school in a new school district and I have to say so far it seems so much better than El Paso Independent School District. She has two teacher Ms. Rico and Mrs. Hernandez.  She also is doing the Breakfast Club, so she has to be at school at 7:00 am, which is kind of nice.

We bought a house. I know I haven't updated the weekly photos, but we love it. Bought a hanging pot rack. We also after 10 years have a bedroom set. Love it!!!

On to Patrick, we had a rough couple weeks with him. He took detangling hair spray and sprayed it all over my keyboard on the laptop. Took 3 weeks to get that fix, luckily they could just replace the keyboard on my MacBook Pro. Now, he is recovering from croup/laryngitis. He was admitted for an over night stay at William Beaumont. Patrick pick my hubby as the one to stay with him overnight and he didn't get any rest. Lets just say, he's recovering nicely and back to his mischievous self.

I should be updating more often now... Upcoming a 4th birthday party, grandparents visit, and life.

Memorial Day!!

Most people are having bbqs and get togethers or even out shopping the sales.

But for the soldiers and their families have a different view of Memorial Day. We may or may not know those that have died for our country.

My hubby was extremely blessed to have returned from 3 deployments. There have been 25 men that have not come home.

I truly know what this holiday is about and am thankful I can spend it with my husband.

Busy

Haven't been on here much lately. We've been super busy, which pretty much is life. We've been taking weekly pictures of the progress of our house. We have wall paint, tile, and stucco. Super excited. 

We also are packing up our rental house, moving in with some friends, heading Home for my sister's wedding. Abbie is super excited, she learned she get a bouquet after she drops her petals.

My baby girl is turning 9 next week, not sure how I'm going to get through that one. My hubby tells both the kids they are not having anymore birthdays. 

We also have 1 1/2 weeks of school left. I am excited to be over, so I can turn off my alarm on my phone. It's not that I get to sleep in, it just means I won't have to hear it. 

Was doing to checking on Abbie's new school she will be moving to next year. We think she starts on July 30th. I think she gets longer breaks within the year. I think I need a class on how to read the calendar. 

I will posting more often, well I guess until we close on our house and unpack everything. 

Busy busy in the Edmisten household.

Easter

So this year I thought I'd make the kids baskets. Well, they ended up looking more like eggs. I wished I hadn't gotten a 48 hour GI bug because I need to paper mache Patrick's egg in white paper before adding the tissue paper. 

The Beginning

 I grade school I remember doing paper mache. Well its just as messy then as it is now. Found a recipe for the goop (my term), bought some balloons and a newspaper. I think the next time I'm going to skip the newspaper and go straight to the white paper.

Middle

 Before the end. Here I painted modge podge on the out side of the paper mached balloons. Wrapped them in tissue paper. 

End

 I liked how Abbie's pink popped better with the white background than Patrick's. If I  hadn't gotten the bug and didn't go anywhere except the bed to the bathroom, I would have gotten white paper on Patrick's. 

Filled

The loot!! 

Patrick trying it on as a hat.

I wondered how long it would take to get to be worn as a hat. I think this is mid-day Sunday. I love my little guy.

House Progress

So I meant to start this as a weekly photo update, which will start happening next Sunday.

Week 1

 Forms: they marked the house lines before they dug in the utilities.

Week 2

 Utilities laid. We have pipes and gas lines.

Week 3

 We have a cement pad. This is the view from the front

Week 3

The view from the back, so the backyard and garage. The wood piles are the preformed walls.  Maybe next week we will have walls.

Our realtor Mr. D said that it takes about 60 days after the cement is poured. We also went the mortgage company today and signed paper work. It's really real now.