Despicable Deliciousness

So, I've gotten sucked into the Pinterest craze... meaning I'm CRAZY for it!  For those of you not familiar with it, it's like an online bulletin board where you can "pin" things you're interested in on your bulletin boards.

I believe I've made it clear on here before that I am NOT crafty...  I've instituted a Christmas-time baking cookie "tradition" (if doing it twice makes it a tradition), but I am always SO crabby by the end of that "fun."  It's the decorating part of the baking that stresses me out so much, I think.  Because it's crafty.

Anyhoo, I found this photo on Pinterest:

Source: eighteen25.blogspot.com via Darla on Pinterest

And Bub was ALL OVER IT.  He wanted us to make them RIGHT NOW.  Which was like a Tuesday.  And we had no ingredients.  Nor was I in the mood.  So I convinced him to wait until Thanksgiving break.

Which was today.  Which he reminded me of as soon as the week started.

These little guys on the cupcakes are Minions.  From the movie Despicable Me.  Which my kids LOVED.

So, today was the day.  For craftiness.  *yay*

So, we decided to try it.  Introducing:  our cast of characters.  LOTS AND LOTS OF SUGARY GOODNESS.

Sis wasn't interested in helping us with the cupcakes, but she separated the Smarties for us... we needed the white ones separated from the other colors.

We had to wait for our cupcakes to cool before we could begin.

Bub googled Minions to make sure we remembered what they looked like.

We iced a cupcake, then put a Twinkie half on the top.

We put a line of black icing around the front and added either one or two Smarties.

We traced the Smartie to finish off the goggles, added the dot in the eye and finished off their smiles.  We tried to use the red licorice for their hair, but we couldn't make that work (it should have been black anyway, but the store was out of black tear-apart licorice)... so we skipped the hair.

Here's the whole group of them... just don't look at them too close or you might find...

A rabid Minion.  Doesn't he look like he just ate someone's blood?

Or the unibrow Minion.  No wonder he doesn't smile.

And that poor guy in the back.  We just feel bad for that poor guy.

But you know what?  Overall, I like our cute little Minions.

Bub and I have already decided that these guys will probably look pretty pitiful by the time they make it to Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow.  I think the black icing is already absorbing into the Twinkies, the eyes are drooping WELL below where they should be.  But you know what?  I did the whole project with Bub, and didn't get crabby at ALL.  I call that a crafty WIN.

Thankful

I've been taking part in the Thankful in November posts daily on Facebook.  Not to be corny, but to remember why I'm so blessed.

I am thankful for everything I put on there, but here's a synopsis of what I'm thankful for (both lofty and small):

• I'm thankful that I'm a child of God.  That He sent his Son to die for me so I could be His.

• I'm thankful for my extended family... from my parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, siblings, in-laws, nieces/nephews, etc.  There is seriously NO ONE I'd rather be with than family.

• I'm thankful for those friends who I consider family.  You know the ones... the ones I can have over even when my house is trashed, the ones I'd let come clean my house when I'm sick and can only watch them, the ones I can spill all my angst to... yeah, those are the ones.

• I'm thankful for all my other friends... the ones that entertain me, challenge me, make me laugh, make me cry (in a good way)
• I'm thankful for Don...  for lots of reasons.  He's a great daddy, he's ambitious (but not to the detriment of our family), he's funny, he's SO cute, he's disciplined, he has a heart for God's will in his/our life, he's a leader, and he loves me.

• I'm thankful for Sis...  she's so silly, HILARIOUS, sarcastic (in a good way... see HILARIOUS), she's part-child/part-woman, she's beautiful (inside & out), she's smart, she keeps me on my toes.

• I'm thankful for Bub...  he is never still, he's so smart, he never gives up, he's a great cuddler, he's so funny/silly, he has a heart of gold, he's smart

• I'm thankful for coffee... 'nuff said
• I'm thankful that Bub sings every time he's in the shower... it makes me smile every single day
• I'm thankful that Sis has such a gift for art...  she shines in that area!

• I'm thankful that my kids inherited Don's genes for memorizing lyrics...  they crack me up with a concert on a regular basis!

• I'm thankful that I am able to spend more time with my family now.
• I'm thankful that I'm able to cook more often now
• I'm thankful for the internet/Netflix/Facebook/Twitter

• I'm thankful for my health
• I'm thankful for this time of year when I get to see my family more often
• I'm thankful for my car... I love my "mom car!"

• I'm thankful for our cute apartment.  I seriously think we have the cutest apartment in our whole town!

• I'm thankful for traditions... tomorrow Don, the kids & I are volunteering to help put meals together for people who aren't able to get out...  Friday, I'm going shopping in the insane crowds with my sister... all because of traditions.

• I'm thankful for our church and our church family...  what an integral part of our lives!
• I'm thankful that I am able to sing on our Praise Team at church...  I'm glad to be able to use my voice.

• I'm thankful for our military men and women, both past and present...  from the bottom of my heart.  <3

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your families/friends/loved ones.  Remember your blessings.

*The pictures are just pictures I like... a portion of what I'm thankful for!

Reliving the Summer

I've been working on a photo book all evening from our summer trip to Colorado.  We chose Colorado because Don was going to do a 50-mile mountain bike race in Leadville, CO there, anyway... so we decided to make it our vacation!  So, of course, being us, we bought a pop-up camper and made it part of our adventure.  *ahem*

I thought I'd throw up some of the photos from the trip to relive it with you.

We loaded the car UP, and the camper, and the Thule cargo box on top...

Don registering for the race.  We just got in the night before, Bub had thrown up all night (altitude sickness, most likely), and we were ALL a little tired.  What a way to start a race!  Didn't seem to bother Don, though!

Don crossing the finish line...  he did AWESOME!

Right after Don finished his race.  The kids and I were so proud of him!

The kids and I doing what we do... self-portraits

My best friend from college, J, now lives in Denver, so she and her family met us in Leadville for lunch.  :)

J chasing her two youngest, twins... 

We found the cutest, most quaint theater in Breckenridge to go watch the final Harry Potter movie

Leadville has the most gorgeous views from every single angle!

Bub rock-climbing at the Y resort we stayed at in Colorado

Roller Derby Princess

Heading up the mountain for some alpine slide action!

Flipping

Gorgeous sunsets!!!! (I made Don stop at the side of a highway, so I could take some pictures of the sky!)

Archery

We were only a LITTLE competitive!  ha.

Ziplining Bub

Ziplining Sis

This was the biggest deal of all to me.  I'm PETRIFIED of water, so I had to confront some major fears to get out on the water.  ALL DAY.  In Class 4 and 5 rapids!!!!  We had such a great time, though... I'm so glad I didn't let my fear stop me!

It was a wonderful vacation.  Thanks for letting me re-live it with you!

Hotlanta

Part of the joy in no longer working full-time is to (hopefully) be able to travel even more.  Two weeks ago, Don had to go to Atlanta for training, so we pulled the kids out of school (yay for straight A's!) and jumped in the car with him!

During the days (and some of the evenings), Don was of course busy with training and networking, but the kids and I had a great time.

One of the days, we spent the day at The World of Coca Cola.  Even being a Pepsi family, we had a great time!  ha.

Even the lobby was filled with Coca Cola stuff!

There was so much to see!

My gorgeous children

They got to hold actual Olympic Torches from the Olympics held in Atlanta

We saw a 4-D movie (thus the lovely glasses), which the kids LOVED!

I don't remember this "girl" from any Coke ads, but she was in the movie and was walking around afterwards.  She (understandably) freaked the kids out, so I had to get a picture with her so she'd leave the kids alone!

Then that night, we went to dinner with Don and his business cohorts.  It was vendor night (not sure they called it that... that's just what it was... vendors EVERYWHERE), and Bub became quite the hit!  He had vendors chasing him down to give him stuff from their booths.  The boy came back to the room LOADED down with stuff (Sis and I gave up WAY before he and Don did and had already headed back to the room).  We had fun beforehand, though, with a silly photo shoot outside our hotel room.

Finally, we visited the Georgia Aquarium another day.  While that wasn't as fun as the World of Coca Cola (AND it was more expensive!), it was also enjoyable.

This is the weirdest looking fish I've ever seen!  Doesn't it look like a Pixar fish?

SHARK!  (maybe, I'm not sure...)

My posers

It's like a screen saver

Bub

It's not a real trip to a museum until you throw up a few gang signs!

Most of all, our trip was fun because we all got to be together.  Don and I worked out in the hotel gym together, we got to all be silly together, the kids and I got to have adventures together, but most of all, we got to be together.  :)