Cakes

My family loves shows like Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes. So when they have a project at school where they have to make a 3D recreation, they turn towards cakes.

Kyren did one earlier this year of a plant cell, but since I did have a memory card for my camera at the time we were unable to get a picture.

Jacob's latest was a project on the big horned sheep. Not only did he need a model of the big horned sheep but he also had to have the sheep in his environment. Our scaling got a little off but here is his final project. The cake is supposed to be a mountain since they live in the mountains but his sheep was made larger than planned so just imagine he's sitting next to a mountain. Everything is edible expect a couple toothpicks that is holding the head to the body.

Just a little FYI for those who have seen these shows. Rice Krispies are not as easy to work with as they seem. At least when you follow the recipe on the box. So if you decide to attempt something like this I suggest not waiting till the last minute to try it out so that you can have a backup plan just incase. And if you do wait till the last minute and you can't go to the store because it is Sunday then freeze the rice krispies so they can keep their shape.

Chicks

We have learned that 5 chickens do not lay enough eggs to sustain a typical American diet for a family of 9. While they lay enough to cook with, we rarely ever have eggs for breakfast anymore, or have hard boiled eggs. And while I don't need eggs for breakfast every morning I do like to have the option of at least once a week.

We had started out with more chickens than this but through some unfortunate events, our numbers have dwindled. So we decided to get some more chicks. They won't be laying for a year now, but at least we know that we will be getting them in the future.

Laine seems fascinated with the chicks, and the chickens. When we feed the chickens plants from our garden she will sit and watch as they peck away. Since the chicks are in the house, she will pull up a stool and sit and watch. Kyren tried holding one for her to pet but she was more content to just look.

Valentines

Our Valentine's day came and went like most of our Valentine's days do.

Our kids woke up to a table covered in chocolate hearts and a marshmallow heart for each of them. I have tried to make their cards in the past because it was always cheaper but this year I'm lucky if I get anything done with this morning sickness so I decided to buy them this year. Oh My Goodness! Cards are expensive, especially when you have to buy 7 of them. Now I know why I always made them. But I do think they enjoyed the store bought cards for once.

After they stuffed themselves with their candy we had waffles with Strawberries and whipped cream for breakfast. Something I normally love and can't wait to have, but the smell put me off.

I did their hair in what seems to be our new traditional Valentine's day hair style. I tried this out for the first time last year and they loved it so much that this year they insisted on it again. Since they had their hair cut though I was only able to do half their hair instead of the whole head, but it still worked out and they were happy.

I know that I wanted to plan something good for dinner as well but all I can remember now is laying in bed the rest of the day. Jason and I split our Valentines and Anniversary so that I do Valentines and he does anniversary. Since I couldn't do a thing I gave him a coupon for when I'm not sick. I'm so pathetic though, I couldn't even make him an actual coupon, it's an imaginary coupon.

Tutus and Marshmallows

At my school this year we had a winter boutique. To try and earn some extra cash Jason and I decided to try our hand at a couple of crafts. I made tutus and Jason made marshmallow shooters.

The marshmallow shooters were a BIG hit. He had two different sizes, a "rifle" and a "pistol" size. The rifle size is your typical two handed marshmallow shooter, while the pistol fits nicely in one hand and were only $5. It turns out $5 is the magic number at a school boutique because we sold out of those so fast. We were also able to get it known that he had them and we were selling the rest all the way up until Christmas Eve. We were able to sell out of everything he made and had a great new gift for our kids. It worked out perfectly since Santa brought them an entire bag of marshmallows each.

Unfortunately, the tutus did not sell at all. So while the shooters were a big hit, the tutus ate up all the profit. So now I'm going to try and sell them online to hopefully get something back. If they don't at least I have lots of girls to enjoy them.

New Years Eve

We were able to go to Sam's for New Years Eve this year. But it took a whole lot to get there. Our van decided to not function properly on the way out so we stopped at Nicki's to get it looked at. The fix was more than we could afford at the time and so we almost had to cancel. Luckily I have an amxing sister who was willing to go out of her way to help us. Between our two families, we took three cars out to Corona and were able to enjoy the holidays with family.

Melinda commented on her blog on how she didn't get many pictures but honestly this is the only one I got. Our first night there the older kids had crashed hard at the end of the day and I thought it was a great picture.

We had a lot of fun while we were there. The women were able to go out and do some thrift store shopping, Nicki and I tried our hand at Oreo balls, played a great game that had some of us in tears with laughter, lots of good food, and best of all my kids got to hang out with their cousins and play their little hearts out. We don't have a whole lot of family around so when they do get together with their cousins I just love how effortlessly they play and get along together.

The trip home seemed just a trying as the trip there. We picked up some sort of bug and between the bug and car sickness our three cars each had someone throwing up. But even though it was a challenge we are so glad we went!