weekend recap...wine festival...

it felt like our weekend began Thursday evening with the talent show, & went full speed ahead through til Sunday!

Friday, Corinn was a busy little bee! her kindergarten class went on a field trip to Brethern Woods that day...Curtis went along as a chaperone, & he snapped the following pics...looks like they had a lot of fun!

then Friday night was dress rehearsal for the girls' dance recital...this Sunday (the 23rd) is the actual recital...there will be plenty of tickets still available at the door if any locals are interested in coming! shoot me an email or leave me a comment if u're interested in the deets...u know i'll be posting pics & vids next week, but here's a sneak peek of the girls in action (acro routine)...

on top of all the madness going on Thursday & Friday with the talent show, dress rehearsal & field trips...i still had 2 cakes to finish before heading out Saturday morning for NC...i delivered one on Friday afternoon, then met up with the 2nd customer at 6am Saturday morning...thx for meeting me so early Bridgett! ;0)

after handing off the last cake, i hit the road for my BFF's...she organizes the annual Yadkin Valley Wine Festival every year (she works for the chamber), & i always go down to NC to help her out by volunteering all day...this is their 9th year hosting the festival & i always have a great time

the ride is beautiful, but i had to pull out all stops to stay awake for the 4hr trip...a few really late nights will do that to ya! the secret? an xtra large coffee from Sheetz, good tunes, & a big box of Hot Tamales ;0)

i got there before they had even opened ticket sales...last year, they'd sold about 2,000 tasting bands (& glasses - free glass with each band of course)...so this year, Misty ordered 2,100 glasses

the line was built up & winding down the parking lot when we opened at 11am...

the day quickly got HOT & folks were EVERYWHERE!!! of course, the shade was the place to be ;0)

at around 1pm, we started running out of glasses...that's right, only 2hrs in! Misty & i ran to the chamber office & brought back about 10 cases of past year's glasses...

then, those were gone!

we actually had to start handing out plastic glasses (picked up from a local grocery store) for temporary use...until we could get more of the real thing...

some folks were not happy about that, but thankfully we were able to quickly get some more glasses from 2 of the wineries pouring at the festival...13 cases from one, & 10 from another...& by the end of the day, we'd almost blown through all of those too!!!

needless to say, the day was a huge success...there were about 3,000 people tasting & an estimated 9-10,000 in attendance!

i got to taste a little...& tried out some yummy food (the pulled pork wrap was awesome!)...the best thing there tho? sangria!!! i tried some white sangria from 1 of the wineries...yum!

after the festival was over & we'd torn everything down...we unloaded Misty's stuff at the chamber office & took some time to freshen up...then we met up with some friends (& Misty's sister, & her crew) at a local Saloon for a few beers & to hear a local band that was playing...it was a lot of fun!

the next morning was the first i'd gotten to see Willow...i actually slept on the trundle bed that pulls out from under her bed...so we woke up looking at each other...who wouldn't want to wake up to this beautiful princess?!

Misty had another friend visiting too...& she'd brought along her sister...so the next morning (after i got up with Willow & let Misty sleep in a little), we all went out for a late breakfast at Cracker Barrel...we'd then planned on hitting a winery or 2 for tours/tastings (since Misty never gets a chance to enjoy any of the festival & actually taste)...but Shane (Misty's hubby) was out of town, about an hour away, & got a flat on his motorcycle...Misty had to run & save the day, so us ladies went on ahead & started for home a little earlier than planned...i was thankful for what little time we did get to spend together...i love this woman so much!

sweet Willow picked me some strawberries from their garden for the road...

& gave me some lovin' before i left...

which i really needed...i was starting to miss my punks terribly...thankfully, i knew that Curtis was keeping them busy at home - they probably weren't missing me much at all...at least it didn't appear they were in the text pix Curt was sending me! ;0)

they were happy to see me when i got there tho...we all went out for ice cream after dinner, since i hadn't gotten in any time with them over the weekend...talk about jam-packed & fun-filled! & of course it flew right by!

how was ur's? what's going on in ur neck of the woods?

weekend cakes...

this is the 3rd Wizard of Oz cake i've done...it was for Nicole's dance recital - where the theme was The Wizard of Oz...Friday, i met up with Nicole's mom to hand off the cake so they could celebrate with it at dress rehearsal that night...here's the msg i got from Colleen yesterday:
"Sharon the cake was awesome!! It was a huge hit!! Thank you so much!"

it was 2 tiers of red velvet cake, iced in green buttercream

i made all the Oz decorations from fondant & gumpaste

*thx to Colleen for the pics ;0)

i also had a baby shower cake to create for Saturday...it was for the folks that bid on & won the gift certificate i donated to Relay for Life last weekend...they didn't waste any time cashing it in! ;0)

this one was for a safari themed shower, & they wanted to mix their theme with the jungle/safari cakes i've created many times...the client sent me a pic of the party decor to use as my guide...

& here's what i came up with...the customer was thrilled!

it was 2 tiers of confetti cake, iced in green buttercream...again, i made all the decorations out of fondant & gumpaste

thx for looking!

they've got talent...

Thursday evening, the kiddos' elementary school held their annual talent show...last year, we went to the show, but none of my kiddos performed...the week after last year's show, Jaden decided that he & his friend Timothy would sing the song "Country Boy" in the next show...& of course, he never forgot their plan...well, for whatever reason, Timothy couldn't participate this year...Jaden was disappointed, but decided to maybe do some tricks with Rocket instead...that didn't go exactly has he'd hoped (Rocket will do tricks for me, but Jaden isn't quite confident/assertive enuff to get Rocket to perform) - so he decided to give the song a try on his own ;0)

we borrowed boots from my dad & a guitar from my sister-in-law...Jaden practiced his country twang & was super excited to perform! he was the only boy that sang (there were a TON of girls!)...since they had so many singing acts, they limited each one to just 2minutes - that's why they cut his song short (they had to do that for everyone that sang)



the girls wanted to partner up with one of Gabby's good friends, Brookelyn, to do a acro/gymnastics routine...it wasn't until the talent show practice (2 days before the show), that we found out they wouldn't be able to perform in the show...county rules say no one is allowed to be "inverted" - which not only means no cart wheels & flips, but not even somersaults or bridges either! pretty much nixing the entire routine that they'd worked so hard creating

instead, we got together & filmed the girls' routine...they showed the video on a loop as folks were arriving to the show & finding their seats...then they played it again, as one of the acts, & asked the girls to come on stage so everyone could give them a hand...it was cute! here's the video we shot...



i love those punks!!!
♥

wordless Wednesday...summer already?!

Relay for Life 2010

wow, what a night!

this was my very first year ever participating in any way with Relay for Life...i didn't quite know what to expect...i'd heard it would be fun - & boy was it ever?! just a big party!

surprisingly, i have very few photos from the Relay...Misty took a lot of the pics below...i was just too busy having fun & taking it all in, to remember to snap a lot of pics ;0)

we got there around 3pm on Friday & started setting up our site...

my BFF, Misty, worked her magic (she works for the chamber of commerce for Yadkin Valley, NC) & got our t-shirts donated...they were designed from my tattoo

there was sooooo much to do at Relay! the girls & i got colored hair extensions put in...

the kiddos also enjoyed moon bounces, face painting, karate demos, a petting zoo, games, tons of food...the list went on & on! & believe me, they wanted to do EVERYTHING! it was hard to say no too - cause everything was so cheap & the money was all going to the teams' fundraising goals for Relay! there were live bands throughout the night...even karaoke at 3am! it was so much fun!!!

my fav munchies of the night came from this site...here there had things like fried pickles & asparagus...& my personal fav - grilled mushrooms...mmmmm! not to mention, a kick-ass grill! ;0)

here's a family shot...including my mom - she & i are wearing our survivor sashes (my mom had a cancerous tumor removed from her thyroid in 1984)...

the first 2 laps of the Relay were for the survivors & caregivers...

the kiddos helped us decorate the luminaria that were donated by our generous friends & family...

they walked a few laps with us too...but mostly, Curtis kept them busy checking out the different activities & food...here they are showing off their face painting (& ice cream & funnel cakes)...

the luminaria ceremony was at 9pm...it was such a moving experience...

about 10pm or so, the kiddos started getting tired...they chilled inside our tent with a movie for a little while, but then headed home with daddy before midnight...

they were disappointed they couldn't stay all night, but as Curtis reminded me - if Misty & i wanted to get any sleep the next day, he needed to sleep some that night (so he could leave the house with the kiddos while we slept)

at midnight, there was a womanless beauty pageant...no matter how hard i tried, Curtis would not do this for me...he said there are just some things he will not do ~lol~ maybe next year ;0)

at 12:30am, we had a team captains meeting...i snapped this pic of my beads while i waited for the meeting to start...at that point (half way), i'd walked 7 miles...

(the beads were a cool fundraiser that one of the teams had...u bought the string & ur first bead for $3...then each time u passed their site, u picked up another bead...u'd get a colored one on every 4th lap - that helped u track ur miles)

we picked up our pace during the last half tho (i guess the distraction of all the games/vendors/food slowed us down in the beginning)...at the end, my mom & i both finished up at 17 miles & Misty went a whole 19!!!

(pic from at home, the next day)

at around 5:30am, we stopped for a group picture...we might look like death warmed over, but we wanted to stop & thank each one of u for ur support & donations! we couldn't have been so darn successful without u guys!!!
♥

& i'm soooo thankful for these ladies!

of course, my mom - for always supporting me! she actually passed me & my fundraising total at the very end of the week - raising $860!!!

Misty - for not only coming all the way up from North Carolina to walk with us! but for being a true best friend - there for me always...encouraging & supporting me more than anyone i know!

& my dear friend Cindy - who was one heck of a trooper that night...staying out there with us the entire night...& she's 4 months pregnant!!!

the sun was rising during our closing ceremony at 6am...we were so proud to be among the few that stuck it out all night...it was such a rewarding experience & we've already talked about what cool stuff we can do next year to be even more successful...i can't wait!!!

here's a video i took while walking around the whole area (double lap)...i wanted to catch all the luminaria lit up...remember that each luminaria u see, represents a person that has fought the battle against cancer - some winning, some losing, some still fighting

celebrate. remember. fight back.



& lastly, here's a pic of Misty & i before she headed home...after our IHOP breakfast & only 4hrs of sleep! ;0) luv ya girl!!! ♥