the rest of the weekend...

there was some reading...all sweet like...together...with no fighting! ;0)

someone crossed over & became a Webelo...

there was a super yummy Sunday breakfast buffet with a local superstar ;0)

some snuggling with the pooch while watching iCarly...again!

lots of walking...& finding treats to take home to Socks...

even some gardening...well, mostly the girls looked for more treats for Socks...

but Mama was happy to finally have the tomatoes, cucs, corn, beans, cabbage, squash & pumpkins in the ground (still have to pick up some pepper plants)...

actually, i got the coolest Mother's Day gift from my parents...one day while i was at work, they came by & tilled/fertilized my garden, put in my tomato stakes, & left me a hoe, rake, seeds & starter plants! totally cool, right?!

i'm so excited about my garden this year...a big improvement from the little veggie bed i started with last year! hopefully, we harvest some major veggies this summer...Corinn is sooooo excited! ;0)

dance recital...

yesterday was the dance recital for my girls...there was only one performance this year (there have been 2 most years...here's last year), so it was a lot less stressful...this is the big payoff, after working so hard all season long! the girls were super excited...they practiced all weekend long, leading up to the performance last night!

their first number was a tap routine...i got em dressed & ready to perform, then handed em off to the older girls (they stay backstage for the entire show)...aren't these outfits the cutest?!

their tap class is small...only 4 girls...their routine was super adorable!

Corinn made a tiny mistake during the tap routine last night at the actual recital & forgot which part they were doing...i also took a video at the dress rehearsal - she did it perfectly then ;0)



their 2nd routine was for their acro class...a much bigger crew!

they changed & got ready for this routine backstage...it's such a well-oiled machine back there...i've gotta give kudos to the director & her organization skills!

this video is from the recital - so it's a little out of focus...Gabby is up front (towards the right) & Corinn is in the back middle...they are included in the girls that lift their one leg while in a bridge...then Gabby is the first to tumble down the mat in the front row of girls...Corinn is the last



every year, Curtis says that next year he's going to join in the parent/child dance...but each year, money (it costs $20/person to join...so $60 for one of us & both girls) & scheduling (lots of Saturday practices) keep us from participating...this year, he was really kicking himself for not being included tho - cause the routine was to a Michael Jackson medley! ;0)



we gave the girls their flowers afterward & caught a pic of them on stage...they did such a wonderful job!

the whole recital was a ton of fun! the girls & teachers put so much hard work into these performances - it's awesome to see them get to enjoy the final result!

weekend cakes...wedding madness...

Saturday was a popular wedding date! i had 3 weddings on my books (& had to tell another 2 or 3 brides i couldn't do their cakes)...all 3 were outside...& it rained pretty much all day...i hope that the rain didn't dampen their day too much!

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the first wedding was at Natural Chimneys...the ceremony was outside, & the reception was under a shelter...

Trisha's cake was 3 tiers - yellow with a strawberry filling on the bottom, fudge chip in the middle, & marble for their anniversary tier...sugar flowers (burgandy calla lilies & white tiger lilies) accented the cake, along with edible fondant pearls...

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next up was a wedding at JMU...they had their ceremony outside in the arboretum, but the reception was inside...Kim's cake was marble (bottom & top tiers) & red velvet (middle tier)...iced in buttercream & accented with dark chocolate scrollwork & ribbon (non-edible)...with a fresh flower topper

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the last wedding was actually very close to my home...luckily, i was able to pull up right to the reception tent...the rain had really started coming down by the time i got to this cake delivery/assembly...

Sarah's cake was 4 tiers of yellow & chocolate cake...

all iced in butter cream & accented with edible fondant pearls & fresh flowers...

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thx for looking!

♥
sharon

this can't be happening...

my oldest step-son is graduating high school in 3 weeks!

seriously?!
this can't be happening!

Curtis & i started dating when the boys were only 7 & 8 years old...boy, does time fly!!!

wordless Wednesday...evening walk...peace

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?!