May 2013 :: Review

So I'm finally getting around to my May review!  It was a busy, but good month.

We celebrated Mother's Day...

(I love my munchkins!)

...And at church, we gifted the mother's with a kitchen towel, a spatula, a packet of American taco seasoning, and a candy bar!

The middle of May brought us a wonderful team of people from Central PA.  They came primarily to help build a wall and some bathrooms at the church in Motozintla, but they also participated in our services here in Tapachula and Santo Domingo and were an encouragement to us as a family.

(The team in Motozintla)

Working, working...

The team was also kind and brought us a special fan for our truck so we could get our air conditioning working again!  What a blessing!  =)

Bro. Brandon and Jeremy trying some

"mentiras" - a thin, rice wafer that melts in your mouth.

 Torrey and Arlene sipping some coconut water.

We sang a special song at our church in Tapachula.

We enjoyed a special meal of mole con pollo (chicken) with rice after our morning service.

The team outside our Santo Domingo church in the mountains.

Bro. Brandon preached a good message there.

We also celebrated Taylor's 6th birthday at church on the Sunday that the team was with us (May 19th).  And if you've followed this blog for any length of time, I have another cake story!**  =)  With the busyness of having the team stay with us, I didn't have time to make a cake.  So we ordered one at our local Sam's Club bakery.  And this is what it looked like when we picked it up...

Crooked borders and "interesting" writing.  Really, it was quite unattractive and not the quality that was advertised!  We spoke to management and they offered their regrets and gave it to us for half off!  Oh well, at that point, we didn't have any other options but to use/serve it!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Taylor!

**And if you need more entertaining reading, you can read the following blog posts about some of my cake stories!  (Taylor's 4th, Kyle's 6th, and/or Taylor's 1st)

Keep watching, the Summer 2013 review is coming up next...

Kyle's Birthday Party

Yesterday, we held Kyle's birthday party. Nine boys (and one adult) showed up - what an exciting time! They were anxious to play some soccer, but the rain had other plans. They played for a couple of minutes in the drizzle, then it started pouring...and it continued pouring the rest of the day! No problem. They (and their mud) came trompsing into the house and Michael played a (quiet) game with them.

And then things got a little loud and crazy! Michael set up chairs in a row and decided they could try playing volleyball with a balloon! :-)

We had a New York Yankee baseball themed party. Here's a look at the invitation I made to pass out.

And here's the table set-up. I served grilled hot dogs, mac-n-cheese, chips, and fruit punch.

A close up of the cake. And yes, I have another story for this cake! I think I'm going to give up cake decorating for real this time!!

On Saturday, I went to the store and totally forgot to get eggs. Oops. So early Monday morning, I run to the store and grab the eggs. I run back home and mix up the cake and pop it in the oven. Hmmm...I look at the clock and realize time is running out! I still have to let the cake cool, and then decorate it! I managed to ice the cake before Michael walked out the door to go pick up all the kids. I was still needing to tint the icing and then get my decorating bag ready. I finally got going, and right when I was finishing up the NY logo, my one and only decorating bag popped open at the seam and icing squirted out onto the cake! Grrrr... Now what? I try to fix the extra-icing-on-the-cake issue, then slap a piece of tape on the bag and wrap some paper towels around it, hoping I can keep the icing in the bag so I can finish the job! I did. But it was after everyone had arrived! Thank goodness they played outside for a couple of minutes! So you see, I'm quitting the cake decorating business...or maybe I'll except donations to buy new decorating bags...and then try to plan ahead a little better and maybe not procrastinate?! :-)

Kyle's mordida!

Here's an excerpt about birthday mordidas that I found online. "Another great Mexican Birthday tradition is not just the eating of a birthday cake but the tradition of the first bite. As everyone stands around the one to have just completed another year of life, they all chant Mordida, Mordida, Mordida! Yes, Mordida is the same word used for a bribe but that is because it means to take a bite. The birthday person is expected to take their first bite of the cake without any utensils with their hands at their back. Then of course customarily one of their best friends or family is sure to push their face into the cake or lift it up into their face for the same affect. With this all being done in great fun; I have seen people with many completed years that just love getting their face in the cake."

And here's the group of kids posing with Kyle's piñata. Because of the rain, we actually did not break open the piñata...we decided to wait until Wednesday night after church.

I think I can say, "A good time was had by all."

Taylor's 4th Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Taylor's birthday! We invited some friends from church, and we had a great time together! Below you'll find lots of pictures from our day.

Let me just start with the cake explanations. Over the last several years, it seems like my cake decorating abilities keep flying out the window! I'm always having last minute problems. So this year, instead of my usual procrastination, I thought I'd plan ahead and maybe things would work out better! I had wanted to do a Curious George theme of sorts, so I decided to try my hand at making a fondant monkey and palm tree. I made them on Thursday.

Here's my (monkey ?).

Here's the leaves for the palm tree.

And what I didn't realize, was the fondant actually needed to dry more than the three days I allowed. My palm tree was too thick and too tall and would not stand up on it's own. The monkey started to squish in on itself. I had put floral wire in the leaves, and they kept coming out and breaking the leaves. Now what? And to top it all off, Kyle had taken a big chunk out of one of the cooling cakes to eat! See, I have the greatest "luck" with my cakes!

My solution was to cut down the palm tree several times and then "plant" in in the hole of the one cake and then I patched all around it. I kind of just stuck the leaves that were still whole on the top, and then prayed that it would stand up for awhile. And it did - at least for about an hour and a half. I finished it not too long before the party was to start at 2:00, but our guests didn't all arrive until about 3:30...yep, and that's when the tree fell down! Good thing I took pictures right away!

And should I mention, that I barely had enough powdered sugar to make a batch and a half of icing? But that I really could have used two batches to completely decorate the cake? Either way, it was, what it ended up being!

Here's the birthday boy...before a minor accident! Some of the kids were playing ball outside, and Taylor got whacked either with a hard ball or wooden bat! He got a huge goose egg on his head!! He ended up being okay, and it just added to the excitement of the day!

Our decorated front porch. Don't ya just love my porch furniture? Hmmm...maybe I should spray paint it (the chair, that is) so it looks a little more original?!

Cake and gift table with bunting flags I made to hang on the wall.

Taylor with his #4 piñata.

All the kids who came to the party.

Getting ready to take a swing!

Since I was trying for a monkey theme, we thought we'd have a monkey piñata made. Well, I hate to say it, but it looked more like a devil monkey!

Here's some of the kids receiving their favor bag. It's tradition here to give a bag of goodies, or a small candy treat to all the kids who come to your party. Our favors had a small frisbee, water gun, play dough, and some m&m's in them.

Taylor sniffing his cake while his Mexican friends sang a birthday song to him.

(Notice the palm tree no longer shades the poor little monkey!) =)

All in all, we had a great day with lots of fun with friends! Taylor also got lots of gifts he enjoyed opening later while two sets of grandparents watched online through Skype.

(And maybe I should start planning now for Kyle's birthday in July so that maybe I won't have so many unexpected problems that seem to plague me and birthday cakes/parties!!!!!!!)

Another Year (Older)!

Somebody celebrated a special day today!!!

We spent most of the day relaxing, and then this evening, we went to the ocean. It's always relaxing to eat on the beach, watch the beautiful sunset, listen to the pounding surf, and breathe just a little bit deeper!

Here are a few pictures to commemorate the day.

Michael's favorite dish - Shrimp Cocktail w/ a side of french fries.

This little guy was wandering around and decided to join us for supper.

And then I took a few snap-shots of the kids.

Kyle

(notice his second baby tooth came out the other day)

Taylor

(ornery as ever!)

Parker

(couldn't get this guy to cooperate with me...

...and I just love the little bit of curly hair on top...)

After we came home from the ocean, we had cake and ice cream and Michael opened a few small gifts.

Happy 34th Birthday, Michael!

We hope you had a special day and that you will have many more to come!

Love,

Crystal, Kyle, Taylor, and Parker

A Time To Celebrate

Yesterday was Michael's birthday!
We had a special day together as a family.

We started our day off with a breakfast/brunch of homemade sticky buns, fresh pineapple, and a creamsicle slushie. Yum!I used this recipe here for the sticky buns (minus the orange zest and chopped pecans) and then I added an icing glaze for on top. Below is my recipe for the Creamsicle Slushie.

Creamsicle Slushie
2 cups Orange Juice
1 cup Lemon-Lime Soda
2 snack packs Vanilla Pudding
15 Ice Cubes

Pulse in a blender. Serve.
(Fills approx. 4 drinking glasses)

For supper, we treated ourselves to Pizza Hut pizza, some PA Middlesworth Barbeque chips, Mexican Coke, and I made a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. Aaahhh...such bliss!

Since it was a special day, my camera came out from hiding, and we snapped some other pictures besides birthday celebrations.