Luke's Birthday Cake

For Luke's birthday cake this year, I wanted to try something a little different. After Jackson's and my success with the cake balls, we felt like doing something a little more creative. We basically wanted to do a cake in disguise, or as Jackson put it, "a cake in a Halloween costume." :)

We started with a totally normal chocolate cake.

Then I crumbled the cake into a flowerpot (it's actually a sand pail, but we worked with what we had!).

I put in layers of gummy worms and frosting.

We ground up Oreos in the food processor.

And voila, dirt! 

Then we put an artificial flower in the top, and the cake's "costume" was complete!

After dinner, Luke was so excited because it was time for cake. But Anthony told him that the store had run out of cake, so we got him a flower instead.

"But I wanted cake!"

Then Anthony said, "Who will give me $5 if I take a bite out of this dirt? Watch me. I'm going to eat dirt!"

Luke thought Daddy had lost his mind.

Until Anthony dug in with a spoon and actually took a big bite of "dirt!"

Well, Luke thought that was pretty funny and decided he should try some dirt, too.

He was a little nervous about how it would taste.

"Hey, that's not dirt! That's....OREOS!!!"  And Luke promptly dragged that flowerpot closer to him and dug in with his shovel.

And then...he found a worm! 

This was SO much fun! The older boys just loved knowing the cake's secret and waiting to see Luke's reaction, and Luke totally loved his "dirt cake....'cept it wasn't really dirt." 

Happy Birthday, Luke! Gotcha! ;)

Luke's 4th Birthday Portraits

We went out to the Frisco Heritage Museum so I could take some pictures of Luke for his birthday. I just can't believe how big he is! He is learning letters, sings along with every single song that comes on the radio and, just like his Great-Aunt Dale and his Gramma, he can carry on a conversation with a brick wall.

And clearly, he HATES having his picture taken. ;)

He is the sunshine! Happy 4th Birthday, Luke! We love you!

Happy Halloween!

Our boys all dressed like army guys for Halloween. They each wanted camo, but notice how all three of them have a slightly different pattern and color. And Cody's wearing a flight suit. Awesome!

They were so excited to get into their costumes, finally get to try out their toy guns (I wouldn't let them play with them until tonight for fear they'd break...and a good thing, too, as Luke's fell apart soon after its removal from the box but luckily Anthony was able to fix it with duct tape), and head out for some trick or treating.

Wait, what? What do you mean it's not time yet for trick or treating?

Listen lady, we didn't get all dolled up like this for nothing. Say it's time for trick or treating. SAY IT!

 

 

So it *IS* time for trick or treating? That's what we thought. Hooray!

We stopped to visit Luke's preschool teacher (who also taught Cody for 2 years) who lives just down the street from us. The boys look forward to trick or treating at her house every year, and it's always such a fun visit.

We stayed out for about 45 minutes but the boys got tired quickly and really wanted to get home to take stock of all their loot. But it was a great night, and our little army was a big hit!

Happy Halloween! 

Hey Rangers! Need a Pitcher?

If our hometown team (and hopefully, after tonight, World Series Champs), the Texas Rangers, are ever looking for a pitcher...I know someone who might be willing to step in! ;)

Cakeballs

A friend in Jackson's class brought cake balls as a birthday treat last week, and Jackson suggested we try making our own over the weekend. He looked up the recipe online and couldn't wait to get started!

He followed the instructions on the cake box and made the cake all on his own. Then we cut the edges off, because the recipe suggested that the edges don't crumble very well.

Next, he dumped the cake into a bowl and crumbled it all with his hands.

Then, we added chocolate frosting, and he mixed that in by hand, too! 

This smile is well-worth the mess!

Once everything was all mixed up, Jackson used an ice-cream scoop to make the balls.

Then we refrigerated the balls overnight so they were pretty solid. We melted almond bark in a glass bowl, and used toothpicks to dip the balls in and cover them with the chocolate.

Our first attempt doesn't look very pretty, but take a look at these satisfied customers!

What a fun project! And now to decide what flavor to try next time...