Memorial Day

Yesterday, we decided to go to Brigham City Cemetery and find my Grandma Burden's grave. I had never been, but I didn't anticipate that that would be a problem, especially with GPS. Ha!

We made it to the cemetery just fine. Finding the actual grave sight...that was another story. When we first got out of the car, I told Michael that we should  just start at the entrance and walk along the rows and look for her name. Beatrice Perry Burden. Perhaps if we would've had the entire day to devote to this activity, this system would've worked. But since we had our three lovely, active, and impatient kids with us, Michael decided to take matters into his own hands. Turns out that there are coordinates that will tell you on the cemetery's website where a grave sight is. How genius, huh? We did eventually find it and I felt so much love and peace for her and Grandpa Burden.

 Here we are! Just for future reference for myself, her coordinates are E 3 17 1.

 Beatrice Clara Perry and John T. Burden

 On the back, my dad and his brother and sister are listed: J. Norman (my dad), Bruce H., and Carol Jean.

 On our way out of Brigham City, we had to take a picture of the new temple that will open this late summer/early fall. It's a smaller one, but beautiful!

We then went to my Dad's grave in Ogden. We don't know what the coordinates are for his, but we know right where it's at since we've been there several times before. Definitely miss him. The kids and I talked about him when they saw his death date. Both were sad that they never met him. He died December 28, 2000, a day before he was scheduled to retire. He only held Lexie once.  I think visiting both grave sights, all of us were reminded how fragile life is and how quickly it can change. Grandma died in her sleep at 62, and Dad had a heart attack in his office just after lunch at 65.


Afterwards, we stopped by Kae's and visited with her for a while. That is one talented busy lady! It's always fun to catch up!

We hope you had a great Memorial Day, too! Thank you Grandpa Larry for your selfless service in Viet Nam! We love you all.:)

Planting Flowers/ Dance Festival

I love the month of May! I love Mother's Day, the warmer weather, mowing the lawn, the sunshine, and kids getting out of school.

A couple of weeks ago, Jilli, Ethan, and I planted a few flowers in our flower bed out front, and I was surprised at how willing they were to help out. They were so excited! Ethan had to tell me all about the different layers of dirt there are and Jilli was so anxious to put the flowers in the ground. We all worked very good together and had a little fun in the process.

 Bothers will be brothers!

 Here's our flower bed before we got to planting...

 I loved how brilliant these Begonia's are!

 I spent a little money on some reed grass, Hosta plants, and a Hercherella plant. I love that they are perennials and low-maintenance.:)

This is what it looks like now. The good news? I haven't killed any yet.:)

I can't wait to see the growth of the flowers.

*****

Jilli and Ethan had their Dance Festival on Friday, May 25. For weeks, they would come home from school and show the new moves that they learned that day. I have to tell you, Ethan loves to dance! In fact, there was one night a few weeks ago that Ethan showed us his whole routine and it was the highlight of our week! He was cute and into it!

 Ethan shakin' it for the audience.:)

 Here is Jilli with her dance partner, Dylan.

Here is Lou-Lou on our way to the Dance Festival. It was also Lexie's last day of school at the Old Clear Horizons building. After the Dance Festival, we hopped on over to CHA to say good bye to her teachers. June 11, Lexie starts summer school in the new building! All of us can't wait to start that new adventure!

We love you!

Brittany's Cake

I finished this cake in the wee hours of this morning. While the kids and Michael were still fast asleep and I was able to think in silence. I loved it. Usually, Saturday mornings are for sleeping in, but I didn't mind this morning. I've discovered I'm pretty crazy about making pretty cakes. The other themed ones are okay and I do enjoy them, but the beautiful ones are the ones that are worth the sacrifice of sleep.

 I couldn't decide if I liked it better with the added jewelry or without. What do you think?

Have a fantastic Memorial Day Weekend!

Braxton's Cake

I apologize if you are getting tired of seeing my cake creations, but this is what I've been up to.:) I do have a little story that balances misery and joy all within twenty four hours. Would you like to hear?

Well, once upon a time there was a girl who was near obsessed with baking and making cakes. And it just so happens that this girl was asked to make two special cakes for two special people. The girl was very excited and relished in the opportunity to make them, BUT she underbid herself. Once it came time to get going on the cakes, she found her excitement had wained. But she knew she had a job to do. After all, she was hired to complete what the client wanted. So, she reluctantly pushed on. As the cakes came out of the oven, she discovered that her cakes had fallen, and would not come out of the pan. The only words that the girl could utter were: "Grrr, grumble, ROAR!"

The recipe that she had tried several times before was not working now. So, she decided to try baking the cakes at 250 degrees instead of what the recipe called for and adding 1/2 cup more flour. Three hours later, from start to finish, the girl finally had 3 eight-inch decadent chocolate cakes ready for decorating in the morning.

When the girl arose the next morning and started to decorate, she noticed that the blue fondant that she had made the night before kept cracking. Despite all desperate attempts, the fondant could not be saved and had to be torn off the cake and in the trash. The girl quickly ran to Fresh Market for more marshmallows to make new fondant and within 2 hours she was finally covering her cake. (She had to pick up kids from school, do the laundry, dishes, cook dinner, etc.)

At the end of the night, just before she completed the cake, she said to herself, "This is my last cake."

Then suddenly, out of nowhere, her sweet daughter (with autism who barely speaks) climbed up the stairs and exclaimed: "It's a Masterpiece!" The girl looked up at her daughter and noticed how excited she was to see the cake. The daughter danced around the cake and gave out squeals of delight. The girl grabbed the daughter and gave her the biggest hug and thanked her for being so kind and being the best partof her pretty crappy day. With tears of joy in the girl's eyes, she decided maybe she could do just one more cake.

It gets better...

When the girl dropped off the cake, the client was so elated and pleased that she offered to pay the girl more than she had quoted! She also asked the girl if she would do every birthday cake for her family!  The girl skipped away with a giant grin on her face and hope in her heart that maybe she could do a lot more cakes! And she lived Happily Ever After!?

THE END

This is a salted caramel chocolate cake. (Delish...I promise!) I had three whole cakes that crumbled, so trust me, I had a bite or two.:) Oh! And the red monster truck is made out of rice krispies.

I love you and hope you are happy!

This Week's Cakes

I had the opportunity to make a few cakes this week, and I just wanted to upload them for future reference.

 This pink cake is a GIGANTIC deal! Do you want to know why? Because it was made for Eleanor for Mother's Day and it was the first cake we ever shipped! All the way to Flordia! And, that happens to be my first fondant loop bow that I threw together 10 minutes before I had to take the kids to school. It made it there in one piece...Phew! We were very worried.:)

 This is a another "present" cake that I made for Rebecca. She used to be my Choir director at church and she has hired me to do two cakes next week for her grandson and daughter. I thought since we hadn't decided on what flavors for her cakes yet, I should take one over for her birthday and let her try one out.

This cake is for my little sister, Jessica. Today is her birthday and we shipped this one also. Happy 27th Birthday, Jess!

I also had three birthdays at Clear Horizons Academy this week. May has to be the month with the most birthdays!

I love you all and hope you are happy!

Hogle Zoo with Lexie

Last Friday, Lexie and I went to Hogle Zoo with Clear Horizons Academy again. At first I thought I wouldn't take pictures since I blogged about it last year, but I decided Lexie is a year older and I wanted to capture this experience as well.

 We first started out on the train. This is Timmy sitting next to Lexie. I watched these two interact and it was pretty cute. He would go up to Lexie and start reciting "Little Bo Peep." Lexie loves that nursery rhyme and she will finish your sentences if you start leaving out words. Timmy has figured this out and he likes to use that to get and keep Lexie's attention.

 After the train ride and lunch, we headed over to the elephants. Baby Zuri is growing up fast!

Look at  Lexie expressing her excitement for the elephants.:)

 Here is a Gorilla eating some corn on the cob.

 We snagged a photo of a Rhino eating.

 Here is part of a Black Howler Monkey.

 This is a poster of the upcoming attraction for 2012. As of June 1, the Hogle Zoo will have Grizzly Bears, river otters, sea lions, more Bald Eagles, seals, and polar bears! The spot that they have set aside for this attraction is quite large, and we can't wait to go back and see all the new animals this summer!

 Lexie and I enjoyed a ride on the carousel.

My favorite animal is still the giraffes. They are beautiful! This particular one came over to us and stayed for a long time. I have a bazillion pictures of him, but these two are my favorite!

  Look at Lexie's cute cheesy grin.:)

 Lexie and I are at the bird show, waiting for it to start. Lexie loves birds, and all the other times that we have been to Hogle Zoo, we've never made the show. So, it was a treat this time to have a comfortable seat in the shade and see the many types of birds come out and perform.

While we were waiting, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to see take pictures of Lexie with her friends, some of her class' paras and her teacher, Elizabeth Bouchelle. From left to right: Hillary Stirling, Timmy Stirling, Lexie, Sara Hurst, Holli Child, ELizabeth Bouchelle, Noah Hoop, and Tenessa Harmon.

 Here is the Grand Finale...the Bald Eagle!

 Holli Child was so nice to take a picture of Lexie and I after the bird show. Before we made it back to the car, we decided to go and see Baby Zuri one more time.

It was a beautiful day at the Zoo! There wasn't a cloud in the sky, the temperature was 75 degrees with a slight breeze. I loved spending that time alone with Lexie and only looking at the animals she was really interested in. I considered this trip part of my Mother's Day...it was such a special treat! Thanks, CHA!

Mother's Day 2012

Mother's Day is such a sweet and rewarding day. Michael cooking breakfast, lunch, and dinner, being showered with presents, and getting endless hugs from my kids. It was certainly a day that I felt grateful to have my little family around me.

Last Thursday, both Ethan and Jilli asked me if I would bring them a lunch because it was ravioli day, and neither one of them are a fan. So, I agreed that once I got back into town after dropping Lexie off at school that I would bring them something. But as my luck would have it, I didn't remember that agreement until 5 minutes before Ethan's lunch and I discovered we were out of white bread. GASP! So, on the fly, I called the office and asked them to have both Ethan and Jilli waiting for me because I was going to pick them up from school and take them out to lunch. Oh, they were both surprised and excited! Mickey D's was their choice, and we were off for some hamburgers. They played, laughed, and even accused each other of cursing while in McDonald's play area (never a dull moment in the Schatz family, mind you.) When it was all over, Ethan was just fine to get out of the car and go back to school. Jilli, on the other hand, would not budge. Tears started to fall from her eyes as I explained I needed her to go back to class, but after 10 minutes of coaxing, I caved in and decided to let her go grocery shopping with me.

Little did I know, though, that it was going to be a blessing for me to have Jilli with me. As soon as we entered Costco, Jilli started noticing all the displays out for Mother's Day. With every one that we passed, she would ask which one I liked and how much it was. By the end of the two hours of various store shopping,  Jilli had window shopped for me thousands of dollars of merchandise! She kept saying, "I just want to make sure you have a great Mother's Day, Mom. You work so hard and you are the best!" Honestly, could there have been a better present that she could've given me?

 Well, she did. Her teachers at school had been working on Mother's Day presents since the middle of April!

The pink card on the left has Mother spelled out and Jilli had to find a word for each letter.
"M" stands for "Marvelous Cook"
"O" -Only cool at drawing
"T"-Terrible at nothing
"H"-Hope you love me
"E"-Excellent at making me happy
"R"-Respectful a lot

Then she made me a booklet entitled, "All About the World's Best Mom"
In there, she wrote some pretty good stuff that's still making me smile.
"When my mom daydreams, she thinks about cakes." (So true!)
"Her favorite food is soup and tuna." (Huh? Tuna?:)
"Mom likes me because I am so sweet." (Of coarse!)
"My mother has many qualities that help her make and keep friends. Her best friends are Dad, Me, Leah, and Lisa."

I can't forget Ethan, Lexie, and Michael!

Ethan made me two great cards filled with lovey, dovey, mommy mushy stuff!
"Mom is really, really, really, nice. On time picking me up, the best mom in the world, good too me all the time, everything is fine all day when Mom is home, and really, really nice and loving. "
He makes my heart melt.:)

Lexie made me this sweet key chain for Mother's Day. She is getting so good at writing! She also gave me the best hugs and kisses during Sacrament Meeting on Sunday.

Michael surprised me with a gift certificate to GYGI'S!!!! Hooray! I can't wait to use it! He spoils me so much. Truly, my family made me feel so special, appreciated and loved this Mother's Day.

I hope it was the same for you. We love all the mothers and grand mothers who we've been blessed with! Thank you for all your love, support, and sacrifice. You are very important to us and we hope the happiness felt on Mother's Day continues throughout the year! XOXO