Weekend Update: Family Mostly

As I write this post I feel really tired. Exhausted even. When I stop and think about it I realize the reason: lack of sleep for about a week plus a busy weekend equals one tired girl in need of a nap. The weekend was completely worth it, I had a lot of fun and I saw all of my Mom's family.

The weekend started early for me because I only worked three days this week at the theatre. I have been supervising the wardrobe crew for The Foreigner and part of that job involves hair styling. I think I've found my true calling: Kiddie Beauty Pageant Stylist!

I'm just kidding, we all know how I feel about those things. Aubrey and I have had a lot of fun styling her hair for the show. It's amazing how big it gets! I swear it gets bigger every time we style it!

I was really excited to get to my parents's house and see my adorable niece, Avery. Even though it has only been weeks since I saw her last, she seemed to change so much. I love her smiling face. Apparently Alex does too. He's such a softie!

I spent Thursday evening with my family at the Mandarin, celebrating my Grandparent's 50th wedding anniversary. All of my Mom's siblings were present plus the two oldest grandkids (me and Hilary.) I was glad to be included! Hilary, Dad, and Mom: Emily, Kevin, Jamie, and Kathryn: Grandma and Grandpa:

Kathryn and John: Emily and Kevin:Trish and Travis:

Grandpa having a laugh:

Happy Anniversary Grandpa and Grandma!

The next evening we had another family dinner. This time around it was a barbecue and the grandkids were invited. Hil and I decided to bake a fancy cake for dessert after watching a mini-marathon of Ace of Cakes. Hil was in charge of baking and I was in charge of decorating. While Hil baked the cakes, I made two batches of marshmallow fondant (it's cheaper than "real" fondant AND it tastes better.)
I know it looks a little like a giant hamburger patty but it is really delicious chocolate cake.

Hil whipped up a couple of batches of fantastic chocolate buttercream frosting:
Even Avery got in on the action:

I was a little apprehensive about covering a cake in marshmallow fondant because I've never actually done it. In typical fashion, I thought about how they do it on Ace of Cakes and mimicked it to the best of my abilities. It was sort of lumpy but I was okay about it because we were going to just stack the cakes and cover them with flowers.

Speaking of which, here are some of the cut out flowers. Hilary bought some really cute cookie cutters and we used those. It was much easier than cutting them out by hand.

A close up of the cake with the flowers. I indented the centers and filled them with sparkle gel.

Presenting the cake to Grandma and Grandpa:Everyone looks happy with the result!

It was a little difficult to cut with all of the layers but it looked impressive (and it was delicious!)
Hilary with Grace and Hannah, enjoying the extra fondant flowers:

After the great barbecue and the rich cake, we needed to do something to burn off all those calories. On Saturday we hiked up Spanish Fork canyon and went on a tour through Timpanogos Cave. It has been a long time since I've visited the cave and the hike up was more intense than I was expecting! It's easier when you're a kid and not an out of shape twenty-six year old!

I hiked up with my cousin Grace, she is such a trooper! Grace had stitches removed from her foot recently and still gave me a run for my money. I did give her a piggy back ride for part of they way up. It was strangely easier on the way up than on the way down. Why is that?

A view from the top, American Fork canyon.

Part of the group, waiting for our turn to go in the cave.
Another part of the group:
My Dad was one of the first up the trail. He's tough.
Me and my parents after the cave.

A chipmunk.

I'm going to take a nap now.

One last thing! My parents put our family dog down this past week. He was about 13 and doing pretty poorly. I'm not much a of a dog person but I'm going to miss Klondike. Here are some of my favorite pictures: