Kate's Family Party "7"

We always have a big family party for Kolten and Kate's birthdays, so twice a year we have both families over for dinner. It usually is about 30 people. My kids can pick out what ever cake they want and it is my personal challenge to create it into a cake. Luckily, with the Internet, it is easier to get ideas. This was my easiest fondant cake, I guess I have figured out how to make it a little better. A class probably would have been nice. We had barbecued pork sandwiches, beans, and chips to eat. Kate had a good time, it is always a little chaotic, but that is expected.

Happy 7th Birthday Kate!

Kate has always had huge birthday parties averaging about 25 kids, usually combined with Erich Heim's birthday{one day apart}. She decided that she just wanted a small girl party this year, and invited just enough girls to fit at her table. It was much easier for me, even though the big parties are fun. She wanted panda bears, so I made little individual cakes, which I already had the molds and had never used. They turned out cute for as much work as they took. It was a fun party, I just can't believe how old she is getting!

Boston! Here Bart comes.

Bart has been training very diligently to attempt to qualify for Boston in the marathon. He needed to get a 3:15.59 to qualify. This was his sixth marathon. His first marathon was the PF Changs race in Phoenix which he got a 3:50. He ran Ogden in May hoping to qualify and got 3:19, which was very disappointing. He put in for St. George, and luckily drew out, I didn't share the enthusiasm, but I drew out too. He has lost weight, and has trained very hard for this. I have had to look at the elevation drawing on the fridge with his goal time since the day of Ogden's race. He did qualify in St. George with a 3:09.21. It rained the entire race (only the 2nd time to rain in the 30 year history of the race- not a sprinkle either!) The rain wasn't so bad, it was just the sloshy shoes. There were people who ran the entire race wearing garbage bags, but it didn't seem to slow anyone down. I finished in 4:04, my first marathon. It actually wasn't as bad as I had anticipated, the miles seem to go a little faster when you are running 26 of them. Sarah and Jonathan were there to cheer us on, which was helpful. Good job Bart, I am really proud of him and I am excited to go cheer him on in Boston, glad to be on the other side.