Mama's Birthday Cocoa-Nut Cake

September 30, 2010

After renewing my car tags, my mama and I headed back to Hot Springs for her belated birthday dinner. We had a wonderful time visiting and eating and sitting on the porch. Of course, I baked her a birthday cake. :)

It was a Cocoa-Nut cake (Devil's Food chocolate cake stuffed with coconut and chopped nuts) with cream cheese icing, mums in fall colors of burgundy, orange & goldenrod, and chocolate "dirt" crumbs. It was heavenly! Zach said he thinks it is the prettiest cake I have made so far, and my mama absolutely loved it.

Before dinner, my mama opened her present:

Here we are posing (in my new shirts from Erin and in her birthday sapphire scarf and pin from us) with the cake. Happy birthday, Mama! We loved seeing you!!

I cooked rice, corn & black bean burritos and stuffed tomatoes. The burrito recipe is a definite keeper, especially at 94 cents a serving!

I also added Hobie's name later because September 30 is the anniversary of when Erin and Zach found our fat boy. He's FIVE! :)

We waited for Erin and Josh to get off work and come home before we cut the cake. That's why Mama is in her pajamas. :)

Friday we visited with Momo and took Mama downtown to walk along Bathhouse Row and see West Mountain. On our way, we saw this locksmith. It's awfully nice of them to open your car for free when your kid is locked in!

Our First Wedding Anniversary

September 19, 2010

Happy anniversary...to us!
We have been together for exactly two years and have been married for exactly half of that.
(In case you didn't know, we met on September 19, 2008 and married exactly one year later. : )

We celebrated atop West Mountain with a sunset picnic paired with a bottle of (VERY strong) [cran]Berry Christmas wine from our reception. At home, we squirmed while watching our wedding video (It's just awkward seeing yourself on tape!), and we listened to all the things Alan said that we didn't hear the first time. *lol* We also laughed over our funny wedding pictures and ate a piece of our reception cake--chocolate with cherries, a variation on the very first cake we ever made together.

I cannot wait to use my personalized stationery, and I know Zach liked his Brick Journal book because he already poured over it last night!

Here's to many, many more times together... : )

This is where we had our reception: a former magic theatre turned glow-in-the-dark T-Rex mini golf!

getting ready to open my present: personalized stationery, wax seal set, and Lego rose in a memory box

Zach flipping through his Brick Journal Compendium

We walked along Bathhouse Row...

...and stopped for refreshments in The Arlington, which I first visited when I met Zach's parents in December '08.

the view from West Mountain

our favorite

our wedding cake nine months old...as old as the wine