Mardi Gras

King Cakes are a huge part of Mardi Gras traditions throughout the south. The cake's origins date back to the Feast of the Epiphany or Twelfth Night, which honors the three kings present at the Christ child's birth. Which is most likely where the custom of hiding a tiny baby doll in the cake started.
Tradition calls for the person who gets the "lucky" piece of cake with the baby doll inside, to throw the next party or make the next King Cake. The cake closely resembles a rich, sweet bread is decorated in teh traditional Mardi Gras colors: green, representing faith; gold, symbolizing power; purple, dnoting justice.
I made this King Cake for Greg's office - we'll see who gets to make the next one!

OPERATION KLONDIKE!

So this is how the February weekend getaway went.....

• I wanted to know where we were going (up until 2/18)
• He wouldn't tell (more on that later!)
• I told him okay, now I don't want to know and oh by the way, you get to pack for me AND if you pack the wrong clothes, you get to buy me more clothes (SCORE is what I'm thinking!)

mmmmm.......now that I know the entire story.....all I can do is just laugh! We are truly enjoying ourselves and our weekend getaways! I can't wait for March!

So on Wednesday 2/18, I asked Greg where we were going (for the last time). He said, "we're going to Mt. Rainier and doing some snowshoeing." At which I promptly replied "yea, right!"

Well.....it turns out he wasn't kidding! Greg had planned for us to go up to Mt. Rainier when we first decided to do these weekends....so he enlisted Beth and Bryan to help....now, this was clear back in December 2008! Way before I decided on January's getaway! So when I understood where we were going (and it wasn't until Friday night when we were headed down the final stretch to Beth and Bryan's that I believed him), I had a big laugh. Greg and I are so much alike in our thinking sometimes and this was one more example! Here are some pictures of our fabulously wonderful weekend!

Greg named this weekend Operation Klondike when he realized I had planned our January getaway up to Mt. Rainier. He, Beth and Bryan would converse and refer to his plans in the code name to keep me in the dark!

Yes it was Greg's idea first and I have to admit we had an even better time this weekend than in January. Beth and Bryan had their blocks with this phrase already on the mantle when we arrived! How they must have chuckled over keeping these secrets!

This is the place where we rent our snowshoes. In January, there was snow on the ground. It's all gone for now but more snow is predicted for the coming week....

The mountain was majestic and awesome. We were very blessed to have had such a glorious day!

We are dressed in fewer layers on this trip - it was quite warm (at least above freezing) and with the sun out, it was toasty at times! This was one of the steep climbs we undertook. Greg is actually 1/2 way up the hill when he stopped and took pictures of us beginning the ascent. We snowshoed for 4 hours and were exhausted at the end of the trek. Great day it was!

The Carpenters

Lowe's had a workshop just for kids - and here are the budding carpenters! Lauryn even got to make her own jewelry box. She wouldn't let go of it all day! Here are the three before.......

Lauryn loved the hammer and could hit the nail (and Grandma's fingers) quite well!
Meysa liked the googles look! Safety first! Ayden did his own - he woudn't let anyone help!

And here are the three at the end!

"It's a Miracle!"

Little Lauryn, Ryan and Aimee's comedic relief, comes up with another one! Every day each of the kids have chores to do: brush teeth, say prayers, pick up room, get dressed and make bed. So on Saturday morning, Lauryn asked me for some help with her bed. It was quite rumpled and blankets were everywhere! She helped straighten everything and when it was all done, she threw her arms up in the air and stated, "It's a miracle!" It's one of those times I wished I had a camera to capture the pose and expression. But here is the miracle!: