Wilton Cake Classes

This year in my New Year's Resolutions I resolved to take a class, any sort of class, just so that I felt like I was learning again. I found Cake decorating classes at the local craft store and signed up. Last night I finished the last of three courses. I have had such a blast learning about cake decorating and getting to play with frosting each Thursday night. A big thank you to my Aunt Charlene for taking the kids every week! Here are some pics of the cakes I've been able to do since I started the classes in March.

My first cake.
A cake for all the March birthdays in the Bassett Family.
My Mom's birthday cake
A cake I made for a friend of my Aunt.
Cupcakes I made for a good friend's bridal shower.
Course 2 final project. Check out the Basket-weave on the sides of the cake. LOVE this cake!
My very first cake covered in fondant. Love that stuff! It's like culinary Play-doh!
Jane's Birthday cake. Only Princesses for my little Princess.
Course 3 final project. Fondant covered cake, fondant roses, and a butter-cream border.

The Boot

So yesterday I was downstairs watching Law and Order and Jane starts yelling to me from her room. I jump up and dash for the stairs, but my little toe gets caught on a chair and next thing I know I'm on the ground leaking a few choice words. The pain is so bad, I'm starting to get nauseous. I look down at my foot and see that my little toe is farther from the other toes than usual so I put it back where it should go. I tend to Jane but my foot (not just my toe) are killling. When Trent got home from work, he taped it up for me. But today it was just bad news. The bruising is dark and all over the top/side of my foot and it kills to walk on it so I made a Dr.'s appointment and went in. I got the last appointment of the day and after waiting in the room for the Doc with two kids for 10 mins, I start regretting my decision to come. After 40 mins pass, the doc comes in and checks it out. I get X-rays. Turns out that I have indeed broken my little tow--the third bone from the top, the one that hooks into the foot. He told me to tape it up and wear an orthopedic boot for the next 4-6 weeks! Holy smokes, just amputate the dang thing. It's ugly anyway! But through all of this I can't help but be excited--it's my first broken bone ever! So cool! I just wish I had a better story to go with it instead of just stubbing my toe! :) The ever stylish "Boot". Should go nicely with my bridesmaid dress in a few weeks . . .

Penquins

Last Saturday my brother Zach called us up and invited us to the Living Planet Aquarium to see the penguins. We had been to the Aquarium here before and it was nice, but nothing spectacular. We met up with Zach at the Aquarium and at first it was all the things we had seen before: fish of Utah, jelly fish, tropical fish, sharks, and petting the stingrays. But now there is a whole other section they have added, South America, and it is AWESOME!!! They have snakes, spiders, frogs, eels, alligator-like things, turtles, and of course, the PENGUINS!!! Having seen the penquins at Hogle Zoo, I wasn't expecting much but these guys were so fun to watch! They were swimming and diving and playing! We had such a blast at the Aquarium we might just have to get a year pass! Thanks, Zach, for a really fun day!

Cousin Dance Show

e had dinner at Trent's parent's house the other day and some of the cousins had had a dance competition the day before. They wanted to show Grandma and Grandpa their routines so they got all dressed up in their pretty costumes. The problem was, then all the other little girl cousins wanted to get dressed up and dance, too. So right on the spot we had an impromptu dance concert on the Bassett's front porch. The sweet neighbor girls brought over all of their dance/dress-up clothes and they each got a turn to dance. Ever since then, Jane has asked me at least twice a day when she gets to start dance classes! We will enroll her in the fall when they start up again!

The dancers getting ready for the showAddy and Jane's turn! Jane would pretty much just copy what Addy did--she loved it!

The final bow! What cute little Bassett ballerinas!

Jane's 3rd Birthday

Jane is now 3 years old and man has the time flown! I swear just yesterday she was a skinny little baby just learning how to giggle and now she can walk, talk, run, dance, sing, count, sing her alphabet, get her own meals, help her mom and dad, help little brother, hang out with the neighborhood gang, make her bed, put her dishes in the sink, brush her hair, dress herself, play pretend, color, and so much more! We have really enjoyed the last three years with Jane--she brings so much joy and spunk into our lives. She is truly a blessing to all that know her!

For her birthday she got to play with friends, go to Build-A-Bear and make a new Bear friend she named Tink, Go out for lunch at McDonalds and play in the play-place,have a party with her Grandparents, mom, dad, and brother,
and open presents.It was definitely a Princess Day! Happy 3 years Miss Jane!

Family Vacation

This past week our little family was able to go to California! We road-tripped it and had a blast! Here are some highlights:

Day 1: Drive to Vegas
First day of driving, we made it as far as Primm, NV (about 30 mins past Vegas). Jane asks about every 10 mins if we are to California yet. This could be a long trip! We stopped in Vegas to walk the strip and remembered why we don't like stopping in Vegas--sleazy sleazy everywhere! But the kids liked the big fish tank at Caesar's so I guess it was worth the trip.Day 2: We made it!
Woke up in dirty Primm, lost $2 in the Casino, let the kids ride the little rides at the factory outlet mall, then headed for Cali. Jane was STILL asking about California (even though we drove in it for hours--she was looking for the beach.) Got to Grandma's house, ate dinner, then took the kids to the beach. It was Grant's first time and he loved the sand! Jane was scared of the waves but after one knocked her on her bum (fully clothed) she loosened up and had a good time.Day 3:My birthday!
Trent let me sleep in (Love that man!), I opened presents, played make-believe with Jane, went shopping, and then went to the beach. It was only like 70 degrees outside with a good breeze so I had no plans of going in the water, but Trent did. He got in his wet suit and was gone! The kids and I played on the shore digging in the sand. Not to be outdone by my husband on my birthday, I got in the water. It was take-your-breath-away cold! But I still was able to catch a good wave. Standing up in triumph with my arms pumping in the air, I got a look of disapproval/confusion from Trent on shore--turns out my swimsuit top had been disheveled by the crashing wave and there I was exposed! Ha ha, good times :) I pulled it up and swam back in to catch another wave before we left. We got dinner at Red Lobster which was wonderful, minus the two screaming kids who didn't get naps that day. Finished off the day with Avatar. Thanks for a great birthday, family!Day 4: Zoo day
Jane had been so excited to go to the zoo. She wanted to see the elephants, koalas, hippos, lions, and birds. We got to the zoo with the Hogle Zoo in mind and were blown away! The LA Zoo is HUGE!!! We stopped at every animal at first then realized that we would be here for a week if we saw everyone so we started picking and choosing. It was a beautiful park with lush gardens and amazing animal habitats. The elephants weren't up for show because of remodeling, the hippo was asleep, the lion was hiding behind bushes, and the koalas were sleeping in the trees so all we could see was their hind-sides. When we got in the car to leave we asked Jane what her favorite part of the zoo was. She responded, "The koala bums!". We then headed to Chinatown. Jane refused to fall asleep in the car, even though she was exhausted so as we were strolling down the streets of Chinatown, she passed out in her stroller. The girl was TANKED. We had a blast buying things from cloths and jewelery, to bamboo and baby turtles (we named them 'Lucky' and 'OurCar'. Bet you can't guess who named the latter. . .) All in all a fun day.Day 5: Tide-pools and Denny's
Today we went to the tide-pools up Palos Verdes Blvd. It was a beautiful day and the drive was fantastic! When we pulled into the parking lot, we saw this guy walking with a big fish tail hanging out of his backpack. We parked and jumped out the car to investigate. Turns out he's a spear-fisherman who swam out, harpooned this enormous fish, then swam back with it, and hiked up the trail (which is dang steep). It was a White Sea Bass and he let us get his pic. Check it out!!! So cool! When we got down to the tide-pools, we were able to see/touch orange and black starfish, crabs, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, and hermit crabs. The kids liked the hermit crabs to crawl on their pants. After the tide-pools and naps we met up with my Grandma's sister and brother, Fran and George. They are both in their early 90's and going strong. We had a nice dinner at Denny's then headed back to the house for several rounds of Pinnacle. We had a blast!Day 6: Huntington Beach
We wanted to try out a different beach so today we headed down the coast to Huntington Beach. We stopped along the way at a place called Le Creperie for gourmet crepes. They were to die for!!! When we got to the beach the waves were huge and the sun was hot so I laid out and Trent braved the water again. The kids once again took to the sand and dug like little sea turtles for the whole time.Day 7: Lazy Day
We took a lazy day and took turns taking naps, taking care of the kids, and running errands. Trent made it to the beach one last time while the kids and I took afternoon naps and then that evening we all went to the Redondo Beach pier to walk around and have dinner.Days 8 & 9: Returning home
We reluctantly packed up, cleaned up the house, and headed for home. The kids were kind enough to sleep for 3-4 of the 5-6 hour journey to Mesquite. We were so happy! When we got to Mequite it was 93 degrees! Awesome! We took the kids swimming and then Trent got them to bed while I ran to the casino to throw in a few bucks. (and by "few bucks" I mean $19. I got down to $8 then won $10 and finally left with $16. Not too bad. But I realized just how addictive gambling can be. yikes!). Sunday morning we ate breakfast at the hotel, then got on the road, stopping in St. George to visit Trent's brother, Chad, and his family. It was so good to see them and the weather was GORGEOUS!

Now we are home and thrying to come to grips with the rain. We are so gratful to have had such a wonderful and safe trip!