The Public Has Demanded...

The first of many belly shots

21 Weeks

Hello Paul Bunyan!

For the first time in almost 5 years of marriage, Kevin took ME to the airport and I got to take my own little trip. I flew to the land of the Redwood trees, Eureka, CA, to spend a couple days with my family. After 50+ years of living in the same house, we were moving my 89 year old grandmother into an apartment a little closer to family - just 5 minutes from my Uncle Ralph instead of the full day's drive that she was from any of her kids.

When we were kids, we would make the 12 hour drive from Yorba Linda, CA (Orange County) all the way to Eureka (almost to the Oregon border) almost yearly so it was very sad to say goodbye to our childhood retreat. Even though Eureka is one quirky little town with a mixture of crazy potheads, tree-huggers, blue collar fisherman and loggers, and the rare normal person, I will always have fond memories of our trips to Grandma's house.

In order to celebrate our last trip to the Redwood Coast, we drove up to the town of Klamath to see The Trees of Mystery. Basically a walking tour of cool looking trees, this neat little stop boasts the world's largest Paul Bunyan, complete with Babe the Blue Ox! Paul not only stands guard of the park, he also talks, waves his hand, moves his head, and can wink! But he doesn't just say recorded things, there is a man presumably inside him or nearby that can hear what the visitors say and he interacts with them as the booming, brawny (haha! get it?) voice of Paul.

Without my husband, I just couldn't help myself and started flirting with Paul by initially yelling out "Paul's Hot!" like a teenager and waited for the response...I was not disappointed. Paul and I continued to have quite the interchange that even broached the topic of his ridiculously hairy chest, which he ashamedly mentioned was not quite as cool as Austin Powers'. Paul got my name and I think he would have asked for my number had he not been a 50 foot animatronic statue...it just wouldn't have worked out!

Stacie and I standing on his large boot (please don't judge me for looking HUGE in these photos...I am wearing about 3 extra layers because it was in the 50's the entire time and I was freezing!)

Acting very mature standing next to Babe's unmentionables...

As we walked in the park entrance we saw this sign...I am not sure what action of a fellow park patron made it necessary, but I guess I am glad it was there as a good reminder?

My brother Mark, Kevin, my nephew Cody, and my sister's boyfriend Mitch standing in front of the "Brotherhood Tree"

The Cathedral Tree

Several times a year they hold hippie weddings here

Looking up

Cody, Mark, and Kevin

Nana (my mom Jeanette) and Cody

This is the "Family Tree"

If you look closely, you can see that there are 12 separate trees growing from the branches of this tree - crazy!

We even got to take a gondola ride up the mountain to see...NOTHING!! It was so foggy, we couldn't see anything from the top, but the ride through the trees was awesome!

Mark and me

That's for you, BABE! (and no, I don't mean the big blue ox!)

We had a fun time!

Okay, this is probably the coolest thing EVER! It is a giant cross section of the trunk of a massive tree. Counting back on the tree's rings they put markers next to some of our major historical events, starting with the Magna Carta and spreading out through modern history.

Petty Family Reunion

It was about time the Petty's (Kevin's maternal side) had a family reunion - it had only been 20 YEARS since the last one! With me being preggers, I couldn't do a lot of the cool things Estes Park, CO had to offer (namely horseback riding and whitewater rafting) but just beating the heat of Dallas for a week was enough for me (oh, and the 90 minute prenatal massage and facial I treated myself to!)

Kevin, on the other hand, had a great time rafting and horseback riding and if you care to, you can read more about those excursions in Karen's and Lisa's blog posts.

In the middle of Estes Park is Lake Estes with trails around it, stunning views of the mountains, a cute children's park, and boat and bike rentals. We opted for the "speed racing" pontoon boat and loaded everyone up for a snail-paced ride around the lake. Even though it didn't offer the thrill Kevin was by now used to after his other excursions, we had fun and even let the little 'uns drive!

Walking around the lake

Kevin, me, Lisa, Derek, Lydia, Brian

Playing around at the park

Enjoying the views from the boat



Artis and Kate

Second cousins, Caleb and Kate

Karen and Kate

Lionel (with his welding glasses) and Brian

Beautiful Estes Park and the Rocky Mountains

The Greatest Show on Earth!

We went to the circus! I have been begging Kevin to go and he finally humored me! We were able to get great seats at an even greater price and had a great time with Karen, Mike, Kate, and little Dylan.

Favorite part: Watching the elephants...they are so amazing!

(photo taken from Karen's blog...thanks Karen!)

Least favorite part: Being reminded of Dumbo while watching the elephants

Happy Birthday Kate!

WARNING!! Avert your eyes if you are squeamish to Barbie nudity!

My adorable niece, Kate, turned 4 last month and Karen was nice enough to let us make her birthday cake. She was throwing a princess themed party and I was super excited about making a Princess and the Frog Tiana cake for her.

We bought the Wilton "Classic Wonder Mold" for the dress and put an extra 9in round underneath it to give it the necessary height for the barbie (usually you would use a fake doll pick but we wanted to use the actual Barbie and make it part of the gift...with those long legs Barbie's dress needs to be longer!).

Then we wrapped her legs up in saran wrap to protect them from the cake and frosting and stuck her in.

Next, we frosted her dress with a crumb layer (Wilton's recipe for buttercream icing with a little extra milk) to seal in the crumbs and make for easier decorative frosting later. She then went in the fridge to let the frosting harden a bit.

Next, we frosted the skirt in a pale green (I tried to make the frosting look like the folds in her skirt) and stuck her in the fridge again. (Don't judge my frosting abilities too harshly! I am ridiculously proud of how the cake turned out!)

For the skirt overlay, I used a large leaf tip in a darker green

We added a flower and that was it - voila!Here she is before getting eaten :)


I think Kate really liked her cake and her new Tiana Barbie!
A big thank you to my amazing husband who helped me throughout this entire process! He baked the cake (he is the better baker by far!) and made my frosting and I only did the decorating...it is so much fun collaborating on desserts with him! He is such a great partner in the kitchen. Can't wait until we can make cakes for our little guy! Baseball cakes, car cakes, and monster cakes here we come!

Tale As Old As Time

Several months ago, I found out that Beauty and the Beast would be playing at the new AT&T Performing Arts Center downtown and I immediately bought us tickets. The show was darling and we had a great time despite the annoying toddler sitting behind us (who brings their two year old to a play?) and the really loud and drunk women sitting beside me. If you ever have a chance to see this show (it was my second time) you should definitely go :) You'll love the extra songs and the big show stopping numbers like "Be Our Guest" and "Gaston" - so much fun!

This is me at 18 weeks...there is a bump there but it is harder to see from the front.

What Have We Been Up To? Rodeo Time!

About a month ago, we went to the Mesquite Rodeo with Karen, Mike, Kate, and baby Dylan.

Kate was not a fan of the loud noise, but we had a rip roarin' good time anyway!

For a much more interesting post on this activity, check out Karen's blog!