Lets try this again....

Okay, So I really suck at this. A lot has happened since I last visited this blog. A LOT. Too much to type, so lets start fresh with a recap of the past couple of weeks. I think that anyone who is reading this, pretty much knows the rest of the story.
So, December brought my best friends wedding! (good movie) I had the privilege of being her Maid of Honor and I had an absolute blast. She married a wonderful man, and as cliche as this may be, he completes her. I couldn't be happier for Ayzlynn Hammond :)

Also in December, Cole was offered a job in...

...at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. So, looks like we're going to be saying y'all and Howdy a little more.
We decided that instead of blindly moving to TN, I would go and stay in Powell for a while with the in-laws and he would go ahead and move to start his new job. The plan is for him to research the area and find a good suburb for us to live in. When he does, we will find a house and head on out. He left January 1st and it has been a very very long 3 weeks so far. His birthday is Feb 1 and our anniversary is the 4th so, guess who has a ticket to fly to TN?? That's right, ME! I am so excited to go and spend some time with my husband. I think this will be the first time in years, just the two of us have spend some time together.
So, here the kids and I are, in Powell, WY. We are doing pretty good. At times, things can get a little crazy without Dad around, but we are managing. I have been trying to stay busy to pass the time, and let me tell you, it is working. These kids keep me on my toes!
Lillian is now 21 months old. She is such a little shining star. I find it hard sometimes to get her in trouble because she has such a sweet little face and a tiny little speaking voice that just melts my heart. She is so smart too! She has started to bring me a diaper, wipes, and desitin when she has a dirty bum. She then says "Change my diaper, I poopy." I see potty training in our very near future...

Lucas...oh, Lucas. This kid is such a wild little man! His toys of choice are swords, guns, and action figures. From the time he wakes up, til the time I wrestle him to bed, he is going 100 miles an hour. I enrolled him in preschool here and that seems to be doing wonders for him. He loves getting ready with his sister and going to his own school. As wild as he is, I have to give him credit for being a good protector of his sisters. He would do anything to keep them safe and he has a very kind heart. Just when I think I can't take any more of his wildness, he gives me a hug and says, "You're the best mom".

Hannah Marie is so grown up! She is in Kindergarten this year and already is starting to read. She is so smart and talented. We have her in piano lessons and dance class. She is definitely a performer! You can constantly hear singing in the house because everywhere she is, she is singing some kind of tune. Hannah has also become very independent lately. She gets up, makes her own breakfast, and has insisted in walking herself to the end of the driveway to meet the bus. She is very responsible too. She always does her chores and is usually very willing to help me clean up. I am so blessed to have her in my life and I am grateful for her presence every day. What a beautiful child.



On top of everything I do for/with the kids, I have started working on my Bachelors degree. It is going to take me a while because I take 2 classes every 8 weeks, but I am in no rush. So far, I am enjoying it, despite the fact that it is ALL online. I am looking forward to getting in to more advanced design projects. The 7:30 bed time my kids have is lending a huge hand to my success as a student. I have become quite the night owl. If only my kids would sleep past 7am...
Final thought--Cole and I are going to be celebrating our 6th anniversary on the 4th. I am so lucky to have him in my life. I can honestly say that I am married to not only the love of my life, but the best friend that I have ever known. I hope that everyone gets a chance to experience a love like we have :)

Tiny Kitchen

Oh, I wanted to show everyone my "work station". I live in this great big house, but it seriously has the kitchen fit for a camper. This is all the counter space I have. Crazy right?! I do the cooking here, but I decorate on the kitchen table.

Sweet Ace Cakes strikes again!

Okay, this week, it was a mini-wedding cake. All the client wanted was white, white, white. SO, Not too much creative freedom as far as color goes. However, I did try out some new things. Here is the final result:

I also made gum paste flowers for the first time ever. I got a book that came with a little kit and went to town. You can definitely tell which was the first rose, but I am very pleased with how they turned out! I am going to try and color the gum paste and make some other flowers for an upcoming order.

More Cake

Guess what I did this weekend? Yep, made a cake. This time it was for my Bestest Friend Ayzlynn. She turned 25! Old woman haha! Her mom threw her a party and hired Sweet Ace Cakes to feed the crowd! Again, I had creative freedom to do whatever so I decided I would keep experimenting with different recipes and decor.

(Below: Maggie, Ayzlynn, Me at the party)

So, here it is: white chocolate raspberry cake with white chocolate cream cheese frosting and fresh raspberries on top.


Yes, it was super delicious. SO here is another plug for my tiny little business - if you want cake or know of someone who does, let me know! The only way for me to get better is practice, practice, practice!!

Family pet and Melting Pot

Well, we took the plunge and got a family pet! We can't have dogs or cats here so we went with a Guinea Pig. They are pretty docile creatures and they are great to have with kids. SO, everyone, meet Mokey:

Hannah and Lucas are so excited and just want to hold her all the time. I am not going to lie, I am pretty happy myself. She is such a sweet little thing. She is only 9 weeks old so she will get bigger.

In other news, Cole and I celebrated out 5 year anniversary this past week. Cole got me some awesome cake/recipe books and I got him concert tickets (B.B. King). We went out to dinner, just the two of us, to the Melting Pot in Fort Collins. It was DELICIOUS! We were there for almost two hours eating as much fondu as we could take.

It has been a great past 5 years and I look forward to the next 5!

Oh, Children.

Lately, Lillian is on this "do it myself" kick. Tonight, it was while she was eating blueberry applesauce. I have a nifty little self-feed spoon that keeps babies from being able to gag themselves. All I had to do was dip it in and she did the rest. She was pretty pleased with herself!

"Here Mom, want some?"

In other news, Hannah and Lucas are about to the point where they need to have separate bath times. Hannah is seen below demonstrating her modesty, Lucas is showing his sarcasm.

Many Sorry's My Dear Friends.

Okay, so I have been a really crappy blogger lately. My excuse? December was a busy month! THEN my power cord to my Mac broke and I had to order one. All is fixed now, and I promise to be much better from now on!!!

Okay so, Christmas. We decided it would be fun to drive up to Powell early and surprise Cole's family. We had the kids hide in a big box that we wrapped and jump out. Everyone was very surprised and our plan worked perfectly. We spend Christmas in Powell and came home the Tuesday after for Cole to work. Santa visited us and the kids were more than happy with the results. One of the gifts that is worth mentioning are the electric guitars they got. Lucas no longer has to play the pillow and can REALLY rock out with his daddy in the garage.

This was also Lillian Belle's first Christmas. She obviously didn't care, but we had fun spoiling her and dressing her up. Isn't she just the cutest thing EVER?!

Oh, and it was Noah's first Christmas too! We got them matching outfits and they looked super cute, that is, until Noah had a little accident and had to change.

While we were in Powell, we crammed in as much as we could. That 7 hour trip does not come easy for our family! Anyways, during the weekend, Mandie went to the Temple for the first time and it was a really great experience for everyone who got to go. I am glad that I was one of the lucky few :) AND we had Noah's baby blessing. We were able to snag a nice family picture too!

This is a picture of me with my beautiful niece Preslee (Dusty and Amber's daughter).
Lucas' Birthday just so happened to be while we were in Powell also. He has been telling me for months now that he wants a Batman cake with Joker cups. So that's exactly what I gave him.
He loved his cake, and his party. There were a lot of people who came to celebrate his turning 3. Our friends who were home for Christmas came as well and we had a blast!
So how are the Asays in 2010? We are great! Hannah is loving preschool and all her friends there. She wakes up every morning and asks "is it a school day mom?" She can now write her name, in order, consistently. She is working on letter recognition and letter sounds. She is so smart and such a drama queen!

Lucas is a wild man! He cant get enough of swords and Nerf guns. That kid wares me out. Talk about a test of patience. On the other hand. He has such a big heart and tells me every day that I am the best mommy. He still has his lisp and we are planning on working on that here in the upcoming months. Cole does not want our little man going to Kindergarten with a speech problem.

Lillian is still just a quiet observer in our house. She is now 9 months and still has no teeth! However, she does not let that stop her from enjoying whatever food she can get her hands on. She is working on crawling and I know it's going to happen any day now! For now, she just scoots backwards to wherever she wants to go. I am fine with this plan. When she starts crawling, that means baby gates go up, and I have to start vacuuming 3 times a day!

Cole is doing great as well. He is very busy with work and his online classes. He is happy with his job and is in the middle of taking his turn rotating the night shift. He works from 7pm-7am. It is so hard for us when he is working nights because he sleeps during the day and we have to pretend like he is not in the next room. The kids have the hardest time not going in and waking up their daddy to wrestle. Cole's school work is going good too. He is done with one semester toward his BSN, and he managed to get on the Dean's Honor Roll!! We are so proud of his hard work for our family! He just celebrated his birthday too. He had to work so we just had some dinner and cake on Sunday with some family that lives here in Laramie. Here are some pics from our get together:

Lilli eating a graham cracker.

Lucas: "Yeah, Yeah, I know I'm cute. Take the picture and get me some dinner."

Me and Ayzlynn

The fire is just going to keep on getting bigger and bigger from now on.

Cole and our Hannah Banana.

So, Cole had to work on his birthday. Naturally, I made him some cupcakes to take to work :) I found a recipe I wanted to try and this was the perfect occasion. They are peanut butter cupcakes filled with chocolate cream and topped with chocolate ganache and peanut butter chips. Were they delicious? Um, hello?! It's chocolate AND peanut butter. Of course they were delicious.

Anyways, I guess that leaves me. Not much new here. I have been dieting for what seems like forever. Still trying to get off the last 15 lbs that have been there since I had Hannah. Since September, I have lost almost 30 lbs. BUT I am not finished yet! I started going to a step aerobics class on W/F and it kicks my butt! (but in a good way) I am so sore I can barely walk, but I am excited to go every time. In-between I am doing yoga and other forms of exercise. Hopefully by Lillians 1st birthday, I will have a new physique. Also, I am still trying to get into the whole cake making business. I will hopefully have some orders coming in in the next little bit. I am really hoping to be able to go to Chicago this summer and take the Wilton Master Course. It is 10 days of Cake, Cake, and more CAKE! It gets me excited just thinking about it. They teach you everything you need to know to get a good base of knowledge and skill. The cost isn't too bad, but I have to shell out some money for the lodging. SO, if you want to make a donation I accept PayPal, check, or cash HAHA!

Anyways, thats about it. I will try to be much better from now on so everyone isn't reading a novel when they check out my blog. Bye for now!