Cake pops first attempt

Today I made my first cake pops. The idea of a tiny little dessert on a stick is just so enchanting to me. They were very easy to make- however not so easy to dip. There are so many shapes you can make out of these cuties. I got the idea for them from the fabulous Bakerella. Go here for more inspiration. I will definitely be trying them again. I have so many ideas to try- like using brownies instead of cake, peanut butter instead of frosting- I actually did try dipping a few of them in peanut butter instead of candy melts also. The recipe called for 1 lb. of candy melts and I ran out- so I think I probably dipped them too thick. I think I may have used a bit too much frosting too because they were a little squishy. They taste good in small doses- they could definitely lead to a massive sugar high if you ate more than one of two. I think they would make great gifts like she suggests. So cute- so fun- give them a try!

You asked for more...so here you go...

San Diego

We went to San Diego California last week for vacation. I ADORE California! We couldn't have picked a better week to go because there were virtually no lines any where and we had the hotel mostly to ourselves all week. We flew out on Sunday morning. The kids did great on the plane. Ashtyn gets air sick- so we came prepared with motion sickness pills for all the kids to take. It was a quick flight and besides Ethan spilling his drink all over himself- it was smooth flying. I usually get horrible travel anxiety- but tried really hard to remain calm and go with the flow so that I didn't flip out and ruin the trip. It made the trip much better- after all nothing is ever as important as you think it is. I tried to follow the advice to "Come what may and love it" from Elder Wirthlins talk. It made things much nicer.

On Monday we went to Legoland. If you have kids my kids ages this is the place to visit. It is a theme park completely designed around Legos- We had a blast here! It wasn't crowded and the weather was great. Everything is geared for younger kids. It couldn't have been more perfect. You had to be at least 42 inches tall to ride the rides- which Ethan just happens to be. Then you had to be at least 48 inches tall to ride the rides alone- which Ashtyn just happens to be- so we were all able to go on every ride together and didn't have to do any parent swaps- PERFECT! The kids favorite ride was the Volvo Driving School- There was a small division for kids 3-5 and a big division for kids 6-13. They got to get in the drivers seat and drive around a little track- the older division even had stop signs and traffic signals- they thought they were hot stuff driving all by themselves! At the end they give you a pretend drivers license. The second favorite was a roller coaster called the Dragon- first you go through the castle and get to see all the characters like kings and queens that are made from Lego's- then you go on a short, but wild ride. We went on this a number of times. The last time we went Jeff and Ashtyn were riding another ride- so a nice man offered to go with Ethan so I could take Whitney and him alone. Ethan talked to the man the entire ride and gave him a play by play of exactly what was coming next- it was hilarious to listen to- he was just so excited. We went on one roller coaster that Ethan said gave him the "creeps". It gave me a heart attack because it felt like you were going to fall off of every curve because they were blind curves where the ride sticks out over the track and you can't see what is holding you on. We stayed until the park closed.

Tuesday we went to the beach in La Jolla. It was pretty cold at the beginning of the day- so we just walked around and explored at first. In La Jolla Cove there are hundreds of seals that cover the beaches- it was awesome to see and rather stinky. Half way through the day it warmed up and we were able to splash in the ocean and play on the beach. The kids loved collecting seashells and splashing in the water. They built sand castles and tried to catch the waves. It felt so good to lay in the warm sand. There is nothing better than a love note written in the sand! I love the ocean and the beach more than any other place on Earth!

Wednesday we went to Sea World. Jeff and I went there for our honeymoon so it brought back a lot of wonderful memories. It was VERY hot this day. We went to the dolphin show, got soaked on the rapids ride, fed the flamingo's, saw a cool 4D Sesame Street movie where the audience gets wet and of course saw the Shamu show. I cried the whole way through it- it is a marvel to me that they can teach these huge and amazing creatures to jump and dive through the water. It was truly spectacular. I love ocean animals- they are a wonder to behold. It almost seemed like they loved performing as much as the audience loved watching them. It was awesome to see them drench the entire first 16 rows of people. Killer whales are one of the most beautiful creatures. We left there definitely wanting to come back.

Thursday Ashtyn got sick so she and I stayed in the hotel room (which by the way was fantastic- it was more like an apartment- it had two bedrooms, three t.v.'s, a pull out sofa bed, a kitchen and two bathrooms. They served a full service complimentary breakfast every day and a full complimentary dinner Monday through Thursday- we were so spoiled to have the entire pool to our selves all week until Friday- it was great) Jeff took Whitney and Ethan to the pool to swim all day. By the end of the day Ashtyn was better so she came swimming too. The water was warm and the sun was shinning. The kids LOVE to swim!

Friday we headed back to Seaworld. We saw the polar bears and penguins, the sea lion show- this was hilarious- they had the sea lions perform skits from CSI, Survivor, American Idol, etc. they were so cute, we also saw Shamu again and rode the Journey to Atlantis- which scared the crap out of the kids- Ethan and Ashtyn cried the whole ride- I was even scared. They all agreed to never go on that again. It cost us $50 to eat lunch in the park- ABSURD! We played at the Sesame Street play ground(this freaked me out a lot- because it was huge and up in the air so it was hard to keep track of the kids.) The last ride we rode was Abby's sea star spin- I got sick on this and had to sit on the side for a while afterwards. We ate yummy churo's. I love Sea World!

Saturday we went to see the San Diego Temple- this temple looks like a huge castle sticking out of the freeway. It is gorgeous. This was the one place where the kids wouldn't stop fighting- they didn't fight except for in the car and here- so we didn't stay too long. Then we went to Seaport Village. Jeff and I also went here on our honeymoon- it has so many cute little shops. We walked around and looked at the boats in the harbor. We listened to a live band playing in the middle of the square and Ashtyn danced around to the music. When we got back to the hotel we went swimming again- but this time the pool was very crowded. We cooked dinner in the hotel this night.

Sunday we flew home- two people commented on how well behaved our children were and how that made for a very pleasant flight- it made me feel so good- we do have very good kids when it counts the most. We all had so much fun and were sad to come home. We can hardly wait for our next vacation that just happens to be in a few weeks.

Welcome Home

Here are a few pictures- it's still a mess and it was late when I took these- I'll post lots more to come!

Dad and Ashtyn on her baptism day

Perla Mouse

It's official- we own a new home! After all the fixing up, listing, selling, cleaning, showings, more cleaning, offers, closing, searching, searching, finding, offering, moving in with in laws, closing, waiting, moving out, unpacking(not quite done).....we are HOME! I have talked about how a home to me is family- but a house sure does make that home feel happier. I LOVE my new house. I finally feel SETTLED- even though we still have boxes to unpack and things to put away- I feel like this is the place. So much has happened since we moved so let me catch you up...

We closed on our old house on April 21st. We moved out of that house the weekend before. The day before we closed the garbage disposal completely stopped working- so we got to spend several hundred dollars to replace it for the new owners. I had a crab apple tree in the front yard and we missed it in bloom- I loved that tree- it would turn hot pink for two weeks each spring- I was sad that it didn't bloom before we left. Moving was HARD- Jeff and I did a lot of it ourselves- then with the help of his wonderful brothers- and my mom and Liz and in laws and anyone else who stored items for us- since the POD was not quite big enough. Speaking of POD- Ethan wrote his first word all by himself- PODS- we were in the car and Ashtyn started screaming- "OH my gosh you wrote a word- you wrote PODS"- he was so proud of himself- he then proceeded to write CAT and DOG and I love you.

It was very weird to see my house empty-that was the house we have raised our kids in thus far- Ethan has never known any other home. I ADORED my neighbors and it was so hard to say goodbye- even though it's not really good bye- I hope I see them all still. It was the first home Jeff and I owned. It was a good little yellow house. I wish I had taken a picture of the kids in front of it- maybe we'll sneak over there and do that. We did get to see the tree briefly- because my neighbor watched the kids while we closed on our new home. When I would drive down the street after we moved it didn't feel like home any more.

We stayed at Jeff's brothers home while we waited to close on our new house. He and his family currently live in Jeff's parents house while they are on a mission. I was really nervous about having nine people under one roof- but it was a great time. I loved having someone to talk to and share the dishes with every day. Ethan loved having someone to play with while the girls were at school. They have a nine month old baby that is adorable and we got to cuddle and love her a lot. There were moments when I felt cramped living out of suit cases every day. We lost things, like shoes all the time and toys. The basement is FREEZING- which made every inch of me hurt every day- there was a king size bed that was nice to sleep on- the kids had a hard time going to sleep each night because they were in the same room and wouldn't stop talking and giggling(this was a fun part too). We ended up using way more cell phone minutes than we thought and so we have been without a phone for a week(we have one now).

We closed on our new home on the 30th- which is also Ashtyn's birthday. A special birthday because she turned eight and was baptized. I feel like I wasn't able to do all that I wanted to for her special day- but I know it was special to her and that she was happy. She understands so much more than we give her credit for. The bishop said that he and Ashtyn had a very good conversation and discussion when she had her interview- more than he normally does with kids. The Sunday after we moved out we all gave talks at church and Ashtyn's was about baptism. All the kids spoke and we were amazed because none of them needed any help. This is especially great for Whitney who is very shy. She was in Up With Kids musical theatre this year and it has made her confidence soar. Their play Enchanted was the first of May and she was wonderful. She played Perla mouse and she said her part perfectly- she even got to say the boy next to hers part when he wouldn't say it.

Ashtyn's baptism was wonderful. My mom and sister Liz gave talks and Whitney and her cousin Jenacee who is the same age gave the prayers. It was surreal to see my daughter make her first covenants. My heart was so full and the spirit was so strong. Her foot popped up and so they had to do it twice. She looked so beautiful in her white dress. We talked a lot about what makes a dress beautiful is the way we act when we are wearing it and that when you are kind and good- you become beautiful. I can't believe I have an 8 year old. She is such a sweet little girl and we love to be with her and around her because she is smart and fun and teaches us so much. We made a program with a picture of Christ holding a little girl in his lap on the front- the same picture that hangs at her Nana's house- in hopes that when she sees it she will always remember the day she was baptized. When Jeff confirmed her he cried- which of course made me cry more. You realize how much you love your children every time they make a step farther from needing your constant care and guidance- she still needs us but she is becoming herself more each day and growing into the person she is meant to become.

We were told at the closing of our new house that we would get our key either Friday or Monday at the latest- we got it late Wednesday- Monday night I had a nervous breakdown. We moved in late Wednesday night. Two of our new neighbors came and helped- they are so nice and also Jeff's brother and my brother and brother in law and sisters and mom. We have spent every second unpacking and getting set up. All of the kids got to pick out new comforters for their beds, so they could make their new room theirs. They have gone to bed perfectly each night being in their own rooms. Tomorrow we will go to our new ward. "All I have left to say is WELCOME HOME SHAW FAMILY..... Welcome Home!"