Pupcakes and Caroline.....

Meet Caroline my 6 year old niece.  

 I love to spend time with Caroline and her brother. I like to be the "good aunt", the "fun aunt". 
So when we get together we like to cook, sew or "do crafts" (Caroline's term). We have lots of fun together.
On this particular day we made "pup cakes".  Caroline helped me make the cupcakes and I let her do ALL the decorating.  We had an idea of what we wanted and then we experimented. Here are our results:

 We first tried regular size cupcakes, but they just seemed too small for the look we wanted. So then we baked up cupcakes in a pan I would call extra large cupcakes.  We used canned chocolate icing to ice the pupcakes. That just made it easier. We then used mini vanilla wafers for the nose.

We used Nutter Butter (peanut butter sandwich) cookies for the ears. We separated them and used one half on each ear. We then (I did the cutting and Caroline did the placing) used a half of a malted-milk ball for the 'nub' on the nose. We halved a marshmallow and used them for the eyes. We then put a dot of icing on top of each marshmallow.
See the magic-marker looking pens in the pic?  Those are edible markers and Caroline used them to finish off the nose and mouth.

I explained to her what she needed to draw and she did it by herself. Besides help with the baking of the large cupcakes and the halving of the marshmallows and milk balls, these are 100% Caroline Creations!

 I didn't mention, but it probably goes without saying, that any cookies that were broken in the making of the pupcakes, any milk balls that were askew, chipped wafers and covert icing were all eaten and did not go to waste!

 The pupcakes were so good Caroline just had to squeeze her eyes shut with excitement!
Find a willing participant and make your own "litter" of pupcakes!

Rites of Passage.........

Late spring and early summer are so good about making us step back, throw off all the encumburances of winter, and renew our spirits, minds, bodies and souls. What makes late springtime wonderful at my house?

 Puppies

 A cute cat too...

Watching thunderstorms roll in...

Making cakeballs good enough

that my niece just salivates!

A grandma that turns 96,

still lives on her own

and walks 2 miles per day!

(And that my children LOVE)...

And it goes without saying

flowers and ferns....

And toadstools for the lawn fairies!

Graduations....

And of course....

Opening the pool.

Mix these ingredients together 

and 

you have

a perfect spring..

turning into

summer.

 

Simple Words to Live By..

Congratulations!

Today is your day.

You're off to Great Places!

You're off and away!

You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes

You can steer yourself

any direction you choose.

You're on your own. And you know what you know.

And YOU are the guy who'll decide where to go.--Dr. Seuss

I thought there was no better person to quote than the good doctor himself on graduation weekend.  I love all quotes by Dr. Seuss, but this one says so much!  I was at a graduation last weekend at a college, and found this enormous line of yellow bikes lined up behind a locked fence.  It was a perfect picture!  I had to take all the pics through the fence, but I loved that line of yellow bikes!  I am linking with Tracey for great quotes. Check them all out.

I Dare You.............

I dare you..... In fact I double-dog-dare you, to find any food that is better than fresh spring and summer food. Mmmmm  mmmmmmm mmmmmmmm.

Saturday's are Farmer's Market Day in my town.  LOVE it!

School's Out For Summer.......................

Yep, that is really me doing a cartwheel.  Although the picture was not from today, I can still do cartwheels.  My grace and form is obvious.  I don't think I even need to point that out!
I told my Facebook friends that I apologize for any rumblings that were caused from my cartwheels today at noon (when school got out).  Some people perhaps thought there were earthquakes in the region, when in fact it was just me...and my gymnastic ability.
Have I ever mentioned I am 5"11?  And a pound or two overweight?  Yep, you get the (very ugly) picture of me doing a cartwheel.  Well if you didn't get the (very ugly) picture then just look above!
BUT the important thing is this:  SCHOOL'S OUT FOR SUMMER!!  I have 70 days of pure bliss ahead of me!