LAST NAME HONEY

I think this is so cute so I wanted to share. A little while ago I taught Ava that her name is Ava Honey. She loves to tell people her name. And now, she has given pretty much everything her last name, too. She has a little stuffed chihuahua who she has affectionately named "Puppy Honey", and Nanny and Papa gave her a betta fish who is now called, "Fishy honey". If you ask her anything's name, she will tell you what it is and just add "Honey" to the end of it. So, we're just a big happy family over here with Daddy, Mommy, Puppy, Fishy, and every other "Honey" in our house.

WEDDING CAKE

This is the wedding cake that I did for Maren's wedding. I know it's not professional or anything, but I thought I did okay. Oh, and you can see the chocolates in the bottom left of the first picture. Anyways, here they are!!

SORRY GUYS

Okay everyone, sorry I haven't been on in a while. Things around here haven't been too much more busy than usual, I was just having a hard time motivating myself to get anything done. I quit my job at Zumiez because they didn't give me the raise I was promised in January and weren't giving me enough hours. It was actually costing me more in gas to drive to and from work than what I was making working there! I think the not having a job thing is what has had me less than motivated to do.... well, anything really. I enjoyed my time off of working, but am now back on the job hunt (yuck). I like to work- hate looking for it.
Next thing is, I sold Koda. I know I was really excited to get him, but he and I just didn't click. I wanted more of a lap dog like Max was, and Koda had Max's attitude, but Lucy's hyperness- which the hyper thing is why Lucy wasn't my favorite and Max was. I liked that he was content to just sit in your lap and hang out. Not Koda. He was always running around like he was on speed and wanted to go out to the bathroom like every 15 minutes. THAT was annoying! Anyways, I sold him to a small family with two kids that would be happy to run around and wear him out- the task that I was unwilling to perform. It was actually when he made Ava cry that I decided he had to go. I was putting him in his kennel because we were going out, and he started snarling and biting at me (you know- how Maxie used to. lol), and that scared Ava so bad that she started bawling. It took me forever to calm her down. Especially since I was a little unnerved myself.
And then, there was the wedding. Maren (my sister-in-law) and her fiance Larry got married and I was in charge of a lot. As in groom's cake, wedding cake, a dessert, homemade chocolates, and wedding favors. It all turned out really great- but it was a lot of work and took up a lot of time. I had a blast doing it all, and it felt really nice to have achieved something. Everyone loved everything I made, plus Jake helped with a lot of it and it was nice for us to have something to do together. I didn't take pictures of the groom's cake, the favors, or the dessert, but I did take a picture of the wedding cake and you can see the chocolates in the periph of the pic. The groom's cake was a two layer chocolate devil's food cake with caramel ice cream topping in-between layers, frosted in chocolate icing, and covered in chopped up baby ruths. It was a big hit. For the dessert I made chocolate chip cookie bars- no big thing there. The chocolates were white and pink mint and dark chocolate flowers and cordials (the shape- i didn't put a filling), and Jake and I made roughly 300. The favors were four chocolates in a silver and clear striped cello bag with silver star twist ties- and about half way through the reception I realized nobody was taking them because they were at the dessert table and not by the door, so I moved them and kept appointing whoever was loitering by the door to let people know about them as they left. We ended up having extras, but not a ton. Since we didn't decide who was doing the wedding cake until it was too late to order one, I ordered a 6" and a 10" white cake with white buttercream frosting from Albertson's, sent jake out to buy the tiers, and decorated it myself. It was simple- silver ribbon around the bottom and pink and white rose petals on the top of each cake. I'll post pics as soon as I remind Denise to email some to me. But everybody loved all of the things I made (with a ton of help from my sweet hubby), and it felt really great to be able to be such a big help on such an important day for Maren and Larry.
And most recently the parentals were in town, and so were Lisa and Lila. It was a lot of fun, and Ava loved playing with Lila.... for the most part. Hee hee, Lila just wanted to be playing all the time, and when Ava was just waking up from her nap and was grumpy, she didn't want Lila tugging on her leg to get down and play. But when she was fully conscious they had a blast together! It was great to see her and Lisa since we haven't seen them since August. Mom and Dad only stayed a few days, but I'm pushy and always make them stay with me, so we got to spend a lot of time with them during the short amount of time they were here. Jessica was in town at the same time, too- and it was great to see her. We really miss her around here since she moved to California, and Ava misses her "Jetcha". :)
Jake and I are planning a trip to Vegas for his birthday at the end of this month, and I am SO EXCITED! We're going the 27th, 28th, and 29th, even though Jake's birthday isn't until the 30th, because he has to work on his birthday. But going during the week instead of the weekend is going to work out perfectly. We got bungalow hotel rooms for only $28 a night (mind you that's at the Hooters Hotel and Casino, but at that price we're not picky), show tickets are cheaper during the week, and there's not as big of crowds. We're going to see a stomp show called "Stomp Out Loud" that has received great reviews, and we're going to "Club Pure" which has been ranked the #1 nightclub in the country. We have been saving and making sacrifices for this trip, because we haven't been on a vacation together- just Jake and me- ever. Not even a honeymoon. So we want to be able to eat out at nice places and go to shows and all that jazz, and make the most of our three precious days of just the two of us. But we sold my elliptical and Jake's paintball gun to make this trip happen (especially since our tax rebate was $600 less than what we though it was going to be), so we want to make that worth it. Everytime I think about it I get so excited I could almost pee. Ahhhhh. Hanging out with Jake by the pool, eating, seeing shows, checkin' out the nightlife- all Ava and worry free. I love my daughter- don't get me wrong- but who doesn't need a break? Plus this will kind of be a "babymoon" for us, too, since we're starting to try for our second. I'm pretty excited about being prego again.... until I hit that third trimester, in which case I'm sure I'll be crying everyday- just like the last time. Lol. So worth it, though!!
Lastly, Jake was so excited about my Mother's Day gift that he gave it to me early (I want to say last wednesday?). It's my own helmet for when I go for rides with him on his bike. I have been borrowing Denise's or trying to make Jake's work everytime we've gone before, but they are both too big for my tiny head. Plus I like that it has a visor (which Jake's doesn't) and that it doesn't go around my chin (like Denise's does, and makes me feel claustrophobic). I'll post pics of myself in it once I actually wear it. If we don't go for a ride today, we are planning on going out tomorrow- so no worries, I'll get one soon!
I know this is long, but let's not forget that you asked for it! ;) Happy Mother's Day ladies! I love you all and hope that it's a great day for you and that you have enjoyed this last year of motherhood as much as I have! XoXoXoXoXoXoXo

KODA

We got a new Pomeranian today named Koda. He's 3, so he's neutered and house trained and all that- which is great for us to not have to do. I think he looks like a larger version of Max (when Max still had hair), a Pom that I grew up with and had up until a couple of months before I had Ava. Who, by-the-way, loves him! She's been chasing him and petting him and getting kisses from him all day, and LOVES to say his name! I found him on an online ad and while I was showing Ava the picture in it, I told her his name was Koda, and she wouldn't stop saying his name after that. He does just great with Ava- he lived with a little boy her same age before coming to be with us. Anyways, I am so happy about him and wanted to share!

JAKE'S NEW BIKE

Jake and Randall went to California Easter weekend to pick up Jake's new motorcycle, and other than the recent snow we've had, Jake has been loving riding around! It's a Kawasaki Drifter, which is the same build as an Indian. It gets about 40 MPG, so it will be nice for Jake to be able to ride that and i'll be able to take his car instead of spending a fortune filling up the tank on my SUV. I haven't been able to go for a ride on it yet because the bike needs pegs for me first, but I'm looking forward to riding it..... kind of. Ha ha, I'm kind of scared, but on residential streets where the speed limit is only 25 MPH, it shouldn't be too scary!

EASTER PARTY!

The nursing home that Ashton works at had an Easter party and Denise, my friends Tamarah and Karen, and I took Ava. It was so much fun! Ava just LOVED the Easter bunny, and was following her around saying, "Bunny hug? Bunny kiss?". She did an Easter egg hunt, a cupcake walk, went "fishing" and got a wind-up frog (or as she calls it- "bibbit"), and a coloring contest. Really, she just colored a picture- we never put it in the contest. We all had so much fun enjoying Ava's excitement, but when it was time to go, I think we were ALL ready to leave! :D

COHEED AND CAMBRIA AND LINKIN PARK CONCERT

Here we are at the Coheed and Cambria and Linkin Park concert last saturday night. It was so fun! There was this other band at the beginning- a screamer band- and they were awful! Haha! But Coheed was great and Linkin Park was even better! I don't know if they had a different and better sound system than the other two bands, but the sound quality was fantastic! It sounded just like we were listening to the cd, only better, because they were right there! We had really great seats which was awesome for the concert, but not so much for after, because when we left neither one of us could hear each other! Hahaha! Our eardrums were shot! While we were waiting for the concert to start we were playing with the camera on Jake's phone, and found all these features he didn't know he had. (Which explains all the inverted colors and whatnot.) We have some videos, but I didn't want to take up that much room posting them, so I'll just post the links: http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/april_e_honey/Coheed%20and%20Linkin%20Park/?action=view&current=CoheedandLinkinPark040.flv

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/april_e_honey/Coheed%20and%20Linkin%20Park/?action=view&current=CoheedandLinkinPark037.flv

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/april_e_honey/Coheed%20and%20Linkin%20Park/?action=view&current=CoheedandLinkinPark036.flv

http://s226.photobucket.com/albums/dd281/april_e_honey/Coheed%20and%20Linkin%20Park/?action=view&current=CoheedandLinkinPark035.flv