Cupcakes

As much as I love decorating cakes, I also LOVE fiddly little cupcakes, probably because you don't really need an excuse for pretty cupcakes - any event will do! And I can design, bake and decorate in a night if I'm feeling "in the mood"!

So here's a few I was playing around with last night. If you like these, you may like the little plan I'm concocting that I will announce when we're back from Wellington.

Ok so this isn't a cupcake, but any chance to give someone a cake...this is a "man's cake" (practising my terribly manly (ahem) filigree..but NO flowers and NO pink)

Holidays Week 1

Eden wasn't feeling too flash this week. Lily was keen to do the holiday programme now that she's 5, so her and Lachie went along for a day and played rugby, did an obstacle course and went swimming. Eden just hung out...

Sometimes I forget (no not forget, I never forget, I just don't always get around to doing anything about it!) someone's birthday (and every other special event) so a random present is in order! I really hope these biscuits made it in one piece...otherwise, this is what they LOOKED like when they left here! (P.S. There's a lot of bubble wrap too!)

Eden, all better, mid pas de basques (although it's Lily who's got the competition coming up...photos next weekend)

And I've been making bibs too...cowboy style!

The bibs are being used well! A banana muffin with an Easter egg on top - just as well, because I forgot to put sugar in them! We tried every recipe we could to use up Easter eggs but we still haven't finished!Cool place to take photos...and have a sing-song in the middle (awesome acoustics!)

That was Stonehenge Aotearoa if you didn't know. Not a replica of the real Stonehenge, a working Southern hemisphere model of it...even if you're not into all that stuff, I just thought it was a cool spot!
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We love miniture railways...and real trains too, but leaving that for next week!

I really wanted a go on this huge flying fox too, but there were too many kids lined up! Maybe next time!

Amazingly strong arms that boy!

Mt Bruce is pretty cool, although going walking in our local bush is almost the same...aside from the kiwi house, weta hotel and monster eel!

Hand fed kaka...

A young kereru, followed us round - they always follow us, Mike must really sound EXACTLY like one! I'd quite like to be a bird photographer, especially if it means a new camera (I shouldn't be greedy, I now have 4!)On the website the "monster eel" looks seriously huge...a bit of a lesson in perspetive for Lachie! Still, these must be bigger than Mike and Kate's "pets"

Lily was the photographer, Lachie the model...hilarious for the audience (me) to watch the kids shooting photos!Taking it all in...very cruisy boyWatching the Hawks beat the Waikato pistons at basketball, very close and therefore cool game! Cooper, as well as the others (despite Lachie's face here), loved the atmosphere and the noise!; he's going to enjoy the Magpies season (as soon as he gets a jacket!)

Tiara

Had an idea...didn't work the first time...determination set in...tried again...YAY, an icing tiara (on an icing pillow with icing roses). Not perfect, but with practice I will get there!

Eden just saw pretty sparkly thing, so we tried it on...then she got to eat it!If you're trying to work out the size, it's the exact size (diameter) of the peanut butter jar. How cool would a huge one (size of a large coffee tin or bigger) be on top of a cake!!!

Happy Easter!

Four kids ready for an Easter egg hunt - the Easter Bunny's left clues and treasure hiding round our house!

Even criptic clues (like the ones I grew up with!) - here Lachie's clue was "the tree that sounds like a vegetable" - too hard for Mike too!

The little one got a bit left behind :(

A massive amount of excitement here!And the Easter Bunny's last "rule" was no to eat all the treasure in one day! So decided to leave for the day. Went for a walk/ride along the boardwalk in Napier, was very cool. Copper hung out in the buggy, he just can't wait to be able to ride a bike (then we can all ge them!)

Lachie likes this BMX track along the wayStopped at the park, Cooper's very adventurous!

Then went to the Amazing Maze in Maize for a picnic and a walk with Cathie. Lachie made himself a chocolate bunny sandwich. We tried hard to lose Daddy, but the kids are a bit noisy to lose anyone! Although it helped the scarecrows with the chocolate find us!

A ride on the "train" too

Cooper checked out the chooks - he was fascinated...until one bit his finger, poor little dude wasn't happy! (The chicken got a bit of an earfull from me too!)

These two compete over everything!!! ("these two" is Mike and Cathie, not Lily and Eden!)

Then a nice looooong drive home along "Route 66" as Lachie calls it, Highway 50 to eveyone else, then dinner with Nannie and Grand-da (well as much as we could fit in!)