Blue and Gold Banquet...

So please let me start off with a bit of a complaint..> Not that getting ready for the blue and gold was stressful enough, or that it ofcourse didn't go exactly how my little brain had hoped... but my camera (Aaaahhh! makes me want to scream)  is the worst!  Every time i take a picture it either is blurry or refuses to snap the shot.  ugh... on that note, here are some of the best shots i could get (unfortunately) of Seth's very last blue and gold banquet for cubscouts.  I am so proud of him and how hard he has worked for all his pins/badges.

Seth carrying the flag out to start the ceremony

leading the pledge

We made "hotdog racecars" for the theme Birthday at the races

our friend, Brad Catlin, loaned us his real pine wood derby hotdog,

and my mom loaned us the silver cup for decorations.

I made 50 fleur de lis cookies for the kids to frost... yum

(thanks for the recipe jess)

B is subbing in as acting weblos leader until

they can find a permanent one.. gotta love 'm.

my amazing daddy came up to enjoy the festivities

the boys and i had a special presentation for the

parents and leaders.. kinda cheesy, but the boys made it cool

seth getting his faith in God knot (patch)

and other awards.. only 4 left!

chocolate... mmmmm

I have been very blessed to be meeting some new friends in the area/ward here in Bothell.  There are so many very neat women here with lots of fun activities..  lucky for me i was invited to go on a tour of the Theo Chocolate factory in the fremont neighborhood of Seattle with some of the ladies.  I have realized now that chocolate really is a key ingredient of friendship..lol..

what's up with secret doors and chocolate factories?

we all got to wear these fancy new hats!

chocolate nibs- they sound good, but not-so-much... yuk

what is that?  a wasted bucket of chocolate? 

X marks the spot..mmmm

smiles all around

the final product..

all the girls.. and our "unique" tour guide in front

(she cracked me up)

Cupcake ideas for Jessyka

For anyone else who is reading this post, it might not make sense without an explanation- Jessyka's little angel is having her big #2 soon and these are some cupcake ideas i thought she might like.  Found them in a great book i bought, i highly recommend it to anyone (comes with mass instructions)

 Hello, Cupcake! Irresistibly playful creations anyone can make
Karen Tack &  Alan Richardson

seriously, this is one of my all time best book purchases- it's only $15.95 and totally worth every cent... and no, i am not a distributor..lol

Our trip to the Seattle Aquarium

Talk about a beautiful day in Seattle!  The sun was shining, the water was blue, and it was almost warm (somewhere in the mid 50s).. gotta love it.   We've been wanting to get together with our good friends, the Swapps (from Sultan) for some time now, and we could not have planned out a better day for it.  We spent the nice part of our day at the Seattle Aquarium, and the kids had a blast.  We are so lucky they all get along so well.  Ofcourse, Hollie and I don't complain much when we get to hang out either.  It was such a lovely day, the only thing that would have made it better would have been the hubbies coming along too. 

the view of the sound

aspen, seth, and tanner getting excited

horrible pic, great friends

on our way, parking was a nightmare

"I love you".. what a great kid!

Tanner

Aspen

my littlest buddy,  Lindie

kids petting the furseal pelt

i'm so blessed.. i love my life!