like sands through the hourglass

elk and eme

sweet cousins

happy birthday evan!

em and i went down to austin for evan's third birthday.

pre-birthday fun

evan wanted a yellow car pinata for his party so all the kids took turns.

evan got in some good whacks

 this one not so much...

collecting the goodies

 happy birthday!!

green eggs and spam

top three themes of spam coming to my inbox:

1. brides from china or russia, waiting for me
2. natural testosterone booster sample, shipped free
3. revolutionary flexible, expanding hose

why guys do not fare well in group photo situations

brock: looks like a wedding crasher who actually doesn't know anyone he is posed with
brett: trying to look as skinny, sexy and effortless as possible
jeremy: suddenly has an underbite and looks sad and/or confused
lane: unaware that other people are even in the picture

april showers bring mayflowers

new things in the last month.

1. em's first sentence: "i want more". then "i sit there" (as in, get out of my seat).
2. all of her dresses and pants for spring and summer are already extremely short. like her dad, i assume this will be a lifelong issue.
3. she thinks things are funny.
4. she runs.
5. says her name "ah mokret"
6. she wears ponytails.

7. she loves her kitchen!

petits five

third (fifth, eleventh) attempt at petits fours. reinforcements include l-dub, mq and the epicurean. we followed the advice of this man, who doesn't look like a french pastry chef, but seemed to have the most efficient, clean cut method.

mq prepping pound cake made in jelly roll pan by l-dub

 cut into equal vertical slats, then brushed with nutella and stacked. top left is a "miscommunication"

 marzipan rolled, applied and trimmed

 fondant poured (we compromised between mark's scoop and dump method with a measuring cup)

 mq with the first specimen, garnished with a blackberry

 jude approves

 second batch, fondant is smoother, but a little thin

 the baby shower toppers, arriving 2 weeks late, finally fulfill their destiny

do not look like these, but still a good try!