My Week In Pictures (And Some Words Too It Looks Like)

This was a busy week, even by my standards. It all started late last Sunday night when we were packing Joe for scout camp, and could find neither his Scout shirt or his permission slip that had been signed by a doctor. After a couple of fruitless hours of searching, I printed up new forms and had Joe and Joe run down to our ever so friendly neighbor who just so happens to be a doctor to get the new forms signed. The shirt was finally found (in the costume bin of course) and then I had to spend an half an hour sewing on some new patches. The crazy week continued the next morning when Joe IV came into our room where Joe III and I were sound asleep and said, "You Guys! It's 7:20!!" You see, we were supposed to be at the church for drop off at 7:30. And we don't live in Utah where your church is literally around the corner. It takes us a good nine to eleven minutes even at 7:20 in the morning. Luckily, we had packed everything the night before, so we threw everything in the car and sped over...made it just in time.

So what happened, why did my alarm not go off? Because I set it for 6:30 p.m.,of course. I found that out later, at exactly 6:30 p.m. when I was sitting in a meeting about Transitional Kindergarten for John. He got in by the way! I'm super excited about this. He'll go five days a week just like Kindergarten, but the class will serve as a bridge to Kindergarten. California just recently got smart (about this at least) and changed the cut-off date for Kindergartners from December second to September first. As a result of the new law, schools are required to provide (free of charge to the parents) a transitional class for those children born between those two dates. As a November baby, John is a perfect candidate for this class. Of course, the class will be held at a different elementary school than the one my other children attend, and Joe IV will be in middle school come fall, so Joe and I will have the unique challenge of getting five children to three different places all at the same time...sounds like good times!

So,onto the post title, my week in pictures....I had a wedding I did cupcakes for on Saturday afternoon. This was the first time I used my new "cupcake tree" to display the cupcakes, and I love how it turned out. So tidy and uniform...kind of like I wish my house were. The bride and groom were lovely...they live in Oregon actually, but she grew up in San Luis County, so they came here to enjoy some beautiful SLO weather. And the weather did not disappoint. It was perfect all weekend long.







I keep waiting for a bride to want cupcakes that all look alike (like Martha would do). I think it would be so pretty to just see rows and rows of perfectly perfect cupcakes. But I guess that kind of goes against the purpose of getting cupcakes instead of cake. You get cupcakes so you can have all those different flavors for your guests to enjoy. I suppose I just want to have my cupcake and eat it too.


On Friday night and Saturday afternoon, I was able to provide cupcakes for a local craft faire called "The Stitch Market". It is held at a woman's home 3-4 times each year and is full of homemade and handmade items made by women. It's full of pretty bags and aprons and clothing and jewelry. More importantly, it's full of creative women, who are always fun to be around. I saw a sign for sale there that said, "Creativity Takes Courage", and I thought how right that was. It takes courage to put your heart and soul and effort into something...and then to put it on display for others to critique.....to me, that is brave. But back to the cupcakes...because that's always where I go back to....I brought mini cupcakes for this event...I don't know what it is about mini-cupcakes...they're just so darn cute.









I found this cute little bird jewelry holder at TJ Max and turned it into a business card holder and a display for some of my cupcake toppers.


And a few other things happened this week.

I didn't get to bed before two o'clock for four nights in a row (last night being one of them and then I woke up at 5:30 unable to go back to sleep...hence the long blog post).

Maggie got a new bed frame with some storage drawers under it. She and her dad put it together one night while I was making cupcakes at the shoppe. We re-arranged her room a bit and de-clutterfied it. We'll have to take some pictures when it's fully done. I think Maggie is finally starting to warm up to the idea that being the only girl in a family of six is not an entirely bad thing. No one else gets their own room. Maggie also made dinner for us one night. Once, for reasons I can't recall, I made Hamburger Helper. Maggie loved it and is always asking for me to make it again. Joe IV hates it, and is always asking me never to make it again. So since he was away at scout camp, we got to have it. I was at the grocery store picking it up, and I texted Maggie asking what kind she wanted. She texted back what she wanted, and then, in a separate text, said, "Mom, remember that the meat doesn't come with the box...you have to buy it separately." I don't know why that hit me as so hilarious, but it did. I politely thanked Maggie for the tip and went over to the meat section to pick up some hamburger. What would I have done without that reminder?

I finally tossed out my old laser printer and replaced it with a new wireless color laser printer. I do a lot of printing for Coldstone and On A Lark, so I felt justified in it. Wow, can I say how much I love wireless technology? I mean, I know this is not new technology,but wow...I can print from any computer in my house? I can print directly from my ipad or iphone? Amazing.

Joe returned from Scout camp dirty and tired, but with a good attitude. He had not been looking forward to going...camping isn't really his style. But he apparently loved it. He received several merit badges including one he got for Wilderness Survival. To get that one, he basically had to go out into the woods with a sleeping bag and a tiny emergency kit, make a shelter, and stay the night! He got to do it with a buddy, but still...sounds pretty scary to me...especially when his friend woke him up at 5 in the morning to show him the mountain lion that was 20 feet away from their camp. Joe's friend asked him if he should throw a rock at the Lion, to which Joe furiously whispered NO!!!! Luckily, the mountain lion sauntered off before anything happened. But it was certainly a highlight (or low light) from his week at Scout Camp.

Harry jumped off the high dive at the local pool! May not seem like much to many, but to our family, it was an event three years in the making. I have it on video on my iphone, but it looks funny because I rotated my phone halfway through to catch more of the jump, and it looks like Harry is walking straight down the high dive. Anyway, it was a big day at our house!

Oh, and did I mention that Target opens is just six days? SIX DAYS!

And finally, this post, and all it's contents were brought to you by the following sponsor:


It's good stuff....melts your bones apparently,but good stuff none the less.

And now, it's time to get the children up for church and get going for the day. One thing I know for certain, there WILL BE a nap for me this afternoon. (And possibly during sacramnent meeting too....I've got the Lark headbob napping style down to a science now. :)

All Fuzzy and Dreamy

See this picture I took with my iphone this evening? I was leaving Costco, and just had to snap a picture of the image across the street. Yes, it's fuzzy and kind of dreamy looking, but that's a pretty good representation of how I feel about a TARGET opening only two miles from my home! Fuzzy and dreamy...like it's not really happening. But, it is...and today I learned that it will be opening not on the 24th of July like I had originally thought, but will actually open on the 18th of July. So, today is the eleventh of July, which gives me exactly seven days to figure out how I'm going to be able to live so close to a Target and still maintain a semblance of black ink in my checkbook.

This fall, it will have been 17 years since I moved to SLO to go to Cal Poly. I was 17 at the time....so I guess that's half my life at this point. But in all my 34 years, I've NEVER lived this close to a Target. Oh...I'm getting all fuzzy and dreamy just thinking about it now.

A Sad Goodbye

Remember this sweet little boy? You know, the one who loves all things trucks?The one who waits with such anticipation for garbage day? The one who had a garbage truck cake for his third birthday, and then dressed up as a garbage can for Halloween?






And then the next year was a UPS man for Halloween,



And celebrated his fourth birthday at the wrecking yard?



He's gone....lost forever to the dark side....and replaced with this scary little character:



I guess it was only a matter of time with three older brothers who have of late immersed themselves fully into the world of Star Wars. I guess the pressure was just too much....but after two years of this truck obsession, I was holding out hope that George Lucas was not going to get his hands on this little guy. But alas..a youngling become he has....

Luckily, I still have this little truck-lover to keep me happy....I'm sure it's only a matter of time for him too...but I'm sure going to enjoy him while I can!

The Third and a Half of July

So we started our Independance Day celebrations a bit early this year. Last year, when July 4th fell on a Sunday, we had fun creating a red, white and blue Sunday dinner. We liked it so much, we decided to go for it again. So, the decorations:



The food:
(The only time in the year we EVER have Jello)

(Nature's Popsicle)

(The red, white and blue drinks...which didn't really layer up quite right this year)

The Booty:
(mostly left over from last year's celebration)

The friends and fun:
(the kids made ice cream by shaking up baggies of ColdStone Sweet Cream mix, packed in rock salt and ice and then put into pillow cases. The jumping on the trampoline really helped with the shaking!)

And finally, the show:






(the "SAFE-ZONE"- where the kids hung out during the firework show)

After all that partying on the third, we still decided to take advantage of Joe having the day off from the bank and took the kids up the Ravine Waterpark for the day. We packed a lunch, left the lovely 76 degree weather of San Luis, and headed up to the 105 degree weather of Paso Robles. Amazing what 40 miles can do to weather. We had a great day and shut down the park, but opted out of taking the camera on the trip. Sometimes I feel like you just need to step back from the camera and actually enjoy the day...plus I didn't want to take the chance of me being photographed in a swimsuit! :)

After all that swimming and playing, we were hungry and ready for dinner. So we headed 30 miles southwest to Morro Bay for dinner at the kid favorite Bobs Big Boy Diner. Again, amazing what 30 miles will do for weather. We all suited up in our sweatshirts for our coastal dinner.

And, since we had already seen a firework show a couple of nights before at the San Luis Blues Baseball game, we skipped out on havoc of finding a place to park at the beach and then finding a place to see the show at the beach, and then just basically the pain of being at the beach (have I mentioned how much I hate sand?), and headed home for an early bedtime.

After celebrating for nearly 36 hours straight, we were ready for some sleep and relaxation. The fourth of July has quickly become one of my favorite holidays. I'm not sure exactly why. It's been so fun over the past couple of years to start and keep our own family traditions (can I say blow torch) for this special day. I think that next year, though, we'll skip the third and a half day of celebrations and just stick to the main event on the fourth!

Hope you all had a lovely holiday...no matter how you celebrated it!

See there, it's not so bad...

So, just in case everyone was worried about me going crazy the other day, I'm here to assure you that I'm fine. Although my visiting teacher did just drop by....she doesn't read my blog, does she? :)

Anyway, here's the picture of the Strawberry Lemonade Cupcake...so far it's been pretty popular.



But, I think these little guys will be even more popular. People have been after me for a while about doing cake pops for the shoppe. Problem is, I don't really like cake pops...so it's hard for me to find the passion for making such tiny time consuming little things. Oreo Truffles on the other hand, now that's sometime I can really get behind. (And the size of my behind is really going to start showing my passion for these little treats). Oh well...the problems of "having" to sample all my creations!

Anyway, these little guys go up for sale starting tonight at Farmers...If you're around, come on down for a free sample. But don't say I didn't warn you...or your behind!


Have fun getting ready for a fun Fourth of July long weekend!

Warning - Rant in Progress

Today has been one frickin crazy day. And, since I've recently decided to stop using the word "frickin" (there's just something about the word that doesn't mesh with the almost 35 year old mother of six image I'm going for) I'll probably owe each of my children a dollar for it's use here in this rant. At least the ones who can read will call me on it. And with the way this day is going, the ones who can read will probably tell the two who can't read that I said it, and then I'll owe everybody a dollar! Oh well...six bucks is worth it for this kind of day. I digress.

It started out great...two boys safely off to cub scout day camp. Babysitter coming over to watch the other four so I could get some hours in with my cupcakes. Got dressed in what I thought was a cute outfit, and headed off to the store.

I had plans for my three hours...unveiling a new cupcake...see here: www.onalarkcupcakes.com, decorating the store with Fourth of July paraphernalia, delivering one cupcake order, meeting Joe at Old Navy to exchange the Father's day gifts I bought one size too big for him, and finally heading back to the shop to work on some fondant trials for an upcoming wedding. Totally doable in three hours, right? Right.

Anywayyyyy.....got to the store and started working on the fondant cupcakes. I guess that was my first mistake...going off plan and skipping to the part that I thought was going to be fun. Yeah...fondant...not so much fun. Or good. This bride is so worried that my vanilla icing is going to melt in the six pm sun IN the tent ON the beach IN late August. So, she asked me to try and decorate them with fondant. So I did some research, watched some tutorials, bought my supplies and set to work. And, well, I don't know, I think I'd rather have cupcakes with melted DELICIOUS icing, than cupcakes with unmelted DISGUSTING frosting. I swear, you couldn't pay me to take a bite of that cupcake covered in fondant. White fondant at that, with opaque white baking cups to boot. All that white, all that fondant...it wasn't pretty. Kind of looked like a big lump of white something. I should have taken a picture...but I was too embarrassed. It was awful. I have a feeling that this is a wedding I'll not be taking part in...which honestly, is perfectly fine with me at this point.


It's now 15 minutes until my cupcake delivery is due..so I load up the boxes, program the address into my phone and take off. Drive to the appointed address, which I soon learn DOES NOT EXIST. So I call the customer, very nicely, ask if maybe we got the address wrong? does he have any further information. I mean the cupcakes have been paid for, and they're sitting in my car...the frosting might possibly be melting (I've got melting frosting on the brain now). But the customer doesn't know where the cupcakes are supposed to be delivered to. He's ordered them as a surprise for a friend..he doesn't even live here. All he can tell me is that she works at some clothing store in San Luis Obispo. He gives me the address he has again...which still does not exist. So I finally talk him into giving me the girls phone number so that I can call her and find out where she is. Kind of ruins the surprise, yes, but what were the options at this point. There are more than a few stores in this town that sell clothing.....I can't just randomly find the one where this girl works. So I call the girl, who doesn't answer, because really, nobody answers their phone when they don't recognize the incoming number. Except for maybe my husband...who somehow feels obligated to answer the phone either at home or on his cell EVERY time it rings...but that's a rant for another day. So I abandon my delivery at this point...take the cupcakes back to the store to refrigerate...because I'm still so worried about the melting frosting, and head off to Old Navy to help Joe exchange his gifts.

We saunter around Old Navy, and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. From behind. Apparently the cute skirt I had chosen that morning had a slit that I didn't notice....and with EVERY STEP I TOOK, I was revealing my "g's" for the entire world to see.

I mean GEEZ! I'm almost thirty five and I can't figure that out before I leave the house? It was just the last straw in a completely frustrating day. Or so I thought...until I got to the checkout where my GAP card was DECLINED. I quickly mumble some excuse and pull out my VISA, which luckily, was not declined. We head out of the store. I've finally figured out where my cupcakes are to be delivered to, so I head back to the shop to get them out of the cooler and deliver them. I quickly take a peek at the cupcakes out front of the shop and see that the frosting on my new Strawberry Lemonade cupcakes have completely MELTED off the cupcakes! WHAT?!? Today is just not my day for frosting. So I salvage what I can, stick them in the cooler and head off to deliver the cupcakes (which by the way, ended up being on the complete opposite end of town than the address I was originally given). I pull up to the clothing store that's tucked in between self storage units in the industrial section of town...because, you know, that's a great spot to sell clothes from. I go in, ask for the name of the girl whose birthday it is, and hand over the cupcakes. I've checked the frosting...it's holding...this part is going well. But the girl is totally confused. Her birthday was yesterday...why was I delivering them today? Who were they from? When I tell her the name of the "surpriser" I can see that this is not a completely welcome delivery. In fact, I sort of get the feeling that she's pretty creeped out by the idea of this guy buying her cupcakes...especially on the day AFTER her birthday. But at this point, I'm so beyond caring, they've been paid for...I've driven a good 25 miles all across town to get them to her, the frosting hasn't melted, she's taking these frickin cupcakes!

But then, I'm worried about my GAP card. Why was it declined? Did I forget to pay the bill? What's going on? Stuff like that gets under my skin and bugs me until I figure it out. Well, I figured it out...last month the GAP sent me a letter saying that I could earn 50 GAP BUCKS just for using my GAP card two times during the month at gas stations. Sounded like a good idea at the time...I mean I already have to buy gas...why not earn free GAP BUCKS in the process? So I did exactly that, filled up my car TWICE this month, and in the process, maxed out my limit on my GAP Silver card. I'm either spending way too much on gas, or have terrible credit...either way, it's not making my day look much better.

So, nothing has gone to plan, my three hour outing has turned into a very expensive four hour excursion, especially when you factor in the babysitter, (who is awesome and totally worth it, but that's beside the point. It's still hard to fork over cash when your day has been completely worthless.), and the gas I've had to buy AGAIN to deliver cupcakes to someone who didn't really want them.

And now, as I re-read this rant, I think it doesn't sound so bad...maybe I just needed to get it out of my head and into cyberspace. Something about putting it into words always makes things a bit better.

So, now I'm off to make dinner...but at the rate we're going, it's starting to feel like going out might be a better alternative. Too bad I'm out six frickin dollars...woops...make that twelve! Last time, I swear.

By the way...here's a picture of my pretty pretty strawberry lemonade cupcake BEFORE the frosting melted. Nevermind...for some unknown reason, the picture won't upload...I guess that's about right.

A Little Catch Up

Well, I finally gave up and went back to my steroids....wow....what a difference! I guess I'll just worry about my melted bones sometime later in life. I'm sure there will be a period of time where I won't be quite so busy. (Insert sarcasm sign here)

So, since last we spoke, school got out...
the kids thought it would be fun to do a before and after shot...
so here's the before...


And the after (they all wore the same clothes except for Joe who insists that he outgrew his t-shirt):


We had a great school year, for the most part. Everyone is ready for summer though. I'm sure enjoying the not packing lunches and hurrying the kids out the door at eight a.m. Of course, when the doorbell rang at 9:30 a.m. on the first day without school, revealing friends that wanted to come over and play, I remembered some of the reasons I was dreading summer. But, we're starting to figure out a schedule...Joe IV actually started working at Cold Stone yesterday. He went in for a training shift, and now is asking me about every 30 seconds when he can go back and work some more. Technically, he's obviously not old enough to work, but when your parents own the shop, some of the rules get bent a bit. He's certainly as tall as almost all the girls who work there! It was fun to look on the security camera and see him helping customers. The cupcake business is doing well and keeping me busy. I've got a great babysitter coming in a couple days a week so I can go in and keep on top of that. It's fun to have an outlet to put some energy into. Joe IV helped me to redesign my website a bit...check it out at www.onalarkcupcakes.com. We've been experimenting with some new flavors...my new favorite is the Smore's cupcake....all the fun of smores without the hassle of a campfire!

Sunday we celebrated Fathers Day with Dad and Grandpa... I made these little badges for the kids to wear to church. They were pretty cute.

Then we had grandpa over for dinner and dessert. It was a lovely day for everyone.



We tried to get everyone in this shot, but a couple of boys couldn't be bothered to look up from the ipad:


So, we're off to enjoy the summer...no vacations planned, just sticking close to home and working hard. Two days down....I don't even want to think about how many to go!