Happy Birthday KY! (Pt. 1)

Yes, there are multiple parts to this blog because this boy had 2 parties...Yes 2.  We had a "friends" party on top of the family party.  And let me say, I am exhausted thinking about it--but the result was one VERY happy boy.

Before I get into all the details of cake making and the family party, I have to say that Kylan was a very confused boy.  He did not understand how we were having a birthday party for him that was not on his birthday.  We had to keep explaining to him that since his birthday was on Monday it was harder for people to come and celebrate, so we were celebrating the weekend before.  Then he was convinced on Saturday that it was his birthday, and once again we had to burst his little bubble.  Poor kid!  So confusing...

This year we asked Ky what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday.  He has a lot of different interests now, and nothing that he really favors, so I needed his input.  "I want a Lightning McQueen Cake.  I want a chocolate cake with pink frosting on the bottom and marshmallows on top.  And I want oreos."  Hmmm...interesting...Well, ironically (not intentionally planned) he actually sort of got that.  But we will get to that later. 

Thus I began the search for a Lightning McQueen Cake.  Don't you love the internet?  I found this site below that gave step by step instructions on how to make your own McQueen cake. 

http://www.make-fabulous-cakes.com/car-cake.html

So we planned from there.  However, there was ONE problem.  Rob and I had never made or decorated a fondant cake before.  (Fondant is that frosting that you actually roll out with a rolling pin and then place over the cake, it's kind of like a shell on the cake.)  So continued the internet search.  There are a LOT of sites out there about fondant.  And the recipes required glycerin and other stuff that was unbelievable.  Until I found this link.  This lady teaches you how to make easy fondant with marshmallows!  And it was FUN!  (Here is the link if you ever want to make easy fondant.  You know I am recording this in this blog so I can easily look it up later.  I am sensing many more fondant cakes in the future.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p9rlJeJsJR0

The night before the party we worked on the fondant.  Since Auntie Barb's B'day was on the day of Ky's party, we figured we would first experiment with the fondant on a little cake of hers.  It went so well, we got a bit overconfident.  We started adding dye to the remaining fondant for Ky's cake.  And we added dye and more dye and more dye--and well after using a FULL bottle of red food coloring and still having a pink colored fondant, we were done.  So we began rolling out the fondant. Long story short, all the dye changed the consistency of the fondant, so when we placed it on the cake it cracked in the corners.  We now know (of course hindsight) that if we had simply added a little shortening it would have fixed the problem.  Oh, well.  The cake still came out looking pretty good and really amazed Ky.  The look on his face when he saw that cake was worth the late night of decorating.

The day of Ky's party, he was SO excited.  It really brings back memories of being little when you see your own child's excitement.  He was continually asking when people were going to arrive.  And finally the arrivals began! 

Uncle Adam & Aunt Liz were first to arrive, though they detoured through a fair amount of Wisconsin country before they arrived (and reminded us that we need to tour the Jelly Belly factory soon!)  And shortly after that the extended family arrived.  After some visiting and admiration of the carpeted garden, we got the meal going.  Ky was bouncing from family member to family member and playing with his cousin Dominic. And the usual family things were happening:  Richard managed to get a piece of toast stuck in the toaster--and it turned into a long and drawn out ordeal--thank goodness Detective Bloedorn was on the case.  U. Kirk and A. Barb had brought  a book from the 50"s?  on how to make various things --for example how to shoot and slaughter your cow, recipes for bizarre things like cow tongue soup, how to skin a rabbit.  And of course we cannot forget the three grandma's that attempted to change Alaina's diaper and put it on backwards! (again!) Ahh...nothing better than the fond memories of family.

We grilled for Ky's b'day (I think we pretty much do this every b'day).  It was good eats.  Shortly after dinner we pulled out the cake and the look on Ky's face was priceless.  He loved it.  We sang to him and he sat there with the cutest expression on his face.  And then we chowed.  It was pretty good cake.  Alaina kept asking for "more cake." And when she was denied, she cried. 

Then of course the gift opening time came.  And what an excited boy he was.  He got some great books, the Car's video, baseball bat (which is hidden for the time being---yeah...), a bug catching kit with lantern, underwear, cd's, and a Thomas laundry hamper.  (I am sure there were some other things as well..) At that point it was late and many people left.  Ky was bummed, but happy he still had U. Adam & A. Liz to hang out with.  It was neat to see the kids with Liz & Adam--also interesting.  Alaina really bonded with Adam, while Ky really bonded with Liz.  The next morning after a yummy breakfast Ky was very sad to see them go.  (You can see from the pics, he didn't want to smile.)  Ah...but all good things must come to an end.  All in all it was  great 4th b'day party...and Mom & Dad had decided to give Ky his present on his actual b'day--which will be in the next blog entry...

Happy 4th my big kid!  I couldn't have picked a better boy!  God sure paired us together well!