Happy 7th Birthday, Cole!

The cake lasted through the night! It seemed hardened enough to be safe to transport to the party. Yay!

We were wrong... it cracked in the car. Oh well. Thankfully we had some wooden skewers with us and George was able to pin it together so it didn't fall apart more. It's just a cake and Cole loved it, so it was a win.

  

We got this cute inflatable boat to hold the goodie bags.

Cole wanted his party at Jump again. It's a great place and super easy compared to throwing a party at the church.  The kids love it.

Cole needed a break from the jumping...

The Knights came!

And the Scholz were there!

Cole had quiet the crew that came out to celebrate him!

Death to the meg!

Happy Birthday to my sweet Cole. We love you and are grateful you're ours!

Snow, sad news, and a shark cake

The obsession with the megalodon continues for Cole. Any given day we will find him drawing pictures of sharks attacking boats, or some other scenario involving sharks, firearms, and ships. And fire.

There was some massive musical beds going on last night! Usually on the nights when George works, one or several children join me in bed. I like it--it's lonely at night.

Now that Lance is 13, he can take the train from Northern VA back to Charlottesville, so on many weekends I'll buy him a ticket instead of driving to Vienna to pick him up. 

 We got some more snow!

This girls has been begging to make a snowman, so we set out making one.

We did it!

When you use chocolate for eyes...

...they don't last long.

In what feels like a world away, this week we got some sad news. Grandma Allred is in hospice and not expected to live much longer. She isn't eating or drinking, just sleeping. Grandpa is keeping watch by her side and Mom flew out to Logan to help and be a support.

Grandpa has watched over Grandma for the past several years as her mental facilities slowly declined. This past year, she didn't know who he was, refused to let him help her with toiletries and other necessities, and was confused constantly. I cannot imagine the heartache Grandpa feels, nor the physical strain it has been to care for her while advancing in age himself. He has been an amazing inspiration to me of true love and personal sacrifice.

I hope Grandma is at peace and will slip away to the other side without pain. I know all three of her sons are there, waiting to hug her and welcome her home. 

While we wait for news about Grandma, life continues here in Virginia. This baby is just such a joy.

At 9 months old, she is almost 20 lbs! She's healthy as can be and growing up way too fast.

Prep for Cole's Birthday party is nearing an end. He wanted a megalodon cake (duh), so I researched and found an idea I thought I could pull off. It was way harder than I thought and I made several mistakes that would come back to bite me at the party, but for all the mishaps, it looked pretty cool.

Shaped, carved, frosted with a crumb coat, and covered in ganache.

I used fondant to cover the whole shark and shape the teeth.

It started cracking right behind the eyes, so I used this stool to hold it up while it "set" and the fondant hardened, crossing my fingers the cracking would stop. 

Alright! Bring on the party!