wedding cakes

Yesterday I went to my dear friend Angel's house to help her decorate her wedding cakes! It was a lot of fun, but it was a bit hot with the oven and no A/C. When we started frosting the cakes I got a bit nervous because they started to crumble a bit.



It all turned out well in the end, though. We covered them with fondant frosting and put strings of pearls on them. She will also put red ribbon around the bottom of the cakes. We ran out of time, otherwise I would have gotten to help with this as well.



Her kitty even helped us decorate. Actually, he was just curious about what was going on but in the end decided sleeping was more fun.

It was good to see her. Angel and I were in high school youth group together, but haven't seen her much since we started college. She is marrying Greg on Saturday. They are such fun people and I know they will have a wonderful life together!



Jesus, please bless Angel and Greg as they prepare to spend the rest of their lives together! (And help the cakes be yummy!)

happy birthday mon!

My dear friend Monica's birthday was today. For short we call her "Mon," so of course we had to have a Jamaican birthday party for her. :) We were instructed to wear island attire and bring something tropical and delicios to eat. Of course Adam (who has been planning this party ever since he discovered that we could call Monica "Mon") went all out with a grass skirt, coconut bra, and rasta wig. So hillarious! Ryan was dressed in his swimming suit, sun glasses, and water shoes and played a tropical guitar song while Adam serenaded anyone who walked through the door.

I love my friends!

See Ruth Ann's blog for another fun account of the party!

birthday prize

I love my birthday!!! I got so many fun prizes, but Ryan gave me roller blades. I have always wanted to roller blade, but never got any because I thought they were like $500. So I was super pleased to get them from my dear love!


He wants to be able to run with me, but I can't breathe and run at the same time. So roller blades were the next best option.

I knew that he was giving me roller blades because he told me and then asked me to try them on at the store. So I tried them on, he bought them, and then left them in my room. This was on the 17th. So for the next week Ryan asked me everyday if I'd tried on my roller blades yet, which I hadn't since I'd already done it at the store.

So on Tueday, the 22nd, I went to his house to "run" with Ryan. I felt awful because as soon as I opened the box, I found a very sweet card from Ryan! We laughed a lot because of it. Better late than never, I suppose!


Jesus, thank you for my dear boyfriend and his generosity!

waltersized

Last night I went to the Walter Trout concert (as part of Nitefall on the River) at People's on Court with the Babbitts. It was a lot of fun. Mike was super excited and kept counting down the minutes until Walter Trout played. (Example: I got a phone call at 8pm the night before saying "Kathleen, this is Mike Babbitt. I just wanted to inform you that in less than 24 hours you are going to be Waltersized." It totally made my night.)

What a fun concert! His three sons played two songs before he did. They were called "Sibling Rivalry" and they were pretty good!

It was a fun evening. And then I went to work and cleaned up vomit and diarrhea all night. :( I wish I was back getting Waltersized.

C'est la vie. Jesus, thank you for good times and times that help us appreciate the good times.

on being a roadie

The boys (Vow of Silence) have been playing a lot of shows lately, which is so fun! I used to go to their shows all of the time before Ryan and I were dating, but for the past two years they hadn't had many shows due to Adam working on their CD. The CD was finally finished this past winter, and it's amazing! So now they're back into the public arena.


Wednesday they played at Vadueville Mews in downtown Des Moines. There weren't very many people there, but the boys that were there formed a mosh pit in the front row, and the girls watching had fun laughing at how excited the boys were.

Then they had another show on Friday at Papa's Corner in Ames that went really well! They have wireless sets and kept running outside playing.


Last night, they were on the local Ames radio station 105.1. Joe has really been doing a lot to get their name back out there. Lots of promotional stuff.

I am just so proud of these boys! I love their music and have so much fun going to their concerts. It's pretty awesome to be a rockstar's girlfriend, I have to admit!

Jesus, thank you for music and for all of the fun that comes along with it!

new baby catholic!

Congratulations to the Davis family and adding another Catholic to this beautiful earth!



Little Clare Elizabeth Davis was baptized yesterday! She looked like she was praying the whole time because her little hands were folded. Super cute! And she had cute little ruffly shoes too!

it's my birthday!

Whew! What a busy week! It was my birthday on Thursday, July 17 and the weekend flew by from there. My actual birthday was not so great. I had to work and it was busy and stressful. After work, however, I went to Bible Study and was able to have food and cake with my friends, which was great.

Then Matt and Alissa got married on Saturday. It's just crazy how many people are getting married this year! Since the beginning of June I've had at least one wedding almost every weekend! It's lots of fun dancing practice, though. ;) Ryan and I got to Polka dance. I didn't have any idea that it involved so much being tossed about, but I loved it.

Now it's back to work. Nice.

fun reportings

The 4th of July weekend was fun. On Friday the 4th I made a birthday cake for Veronica, my Goddaughter's little sister. It was her first birthday! What fun! I was informed while dropping off the cake that it only had 40 stars and 9 stripes. Twice. :) Now I know.

For dinner, my sister, her boyfriend, and Ryan and I went to a park to have a picnic and play croquet. Ryan snuck up and beat me at the last minute. Poor Emily lost horribly. Actually, she never finished because everyone else was done and she still had two more rings to go. I think it was due to the "Emily Swing". [This unique swing involves locking your arms and violently swinging your entire torso and arms in one swooping motion. Usually, unfortunately, the Emily Swing does not hit the ball very far, despite its fierce momentum.]

The next day (on the 5th) we all went to Christina's parent's house for our traditional 4th of July party. Always a good time. And I got to meet Chrissy's new boyfriend Jon! (Not pictured, sadly.) Quality guy and a great couple! So happy for you Chrissy!

This past Wednesday, Emily, Grant, Ryan and I went on our second double date to the Zoo Brew at Blank Park Zoo. Before that, however, we ate at Spaghetti Works.

Ryan ordered the sampler platter of all the pasta sauces. It was a serving platter and he ate it all! He was so proud of himself that the waitress wrote "All Gone!" with a smiley face on his receipt! So funny!

More fun Spaghetti Works moments: There is a "Love Strength Tester" machine there. As we were walking by on our way out, Grant challenged Emily "I bet you can't get past 'clammy.'" Never challenge a Balch woman. She got "Hot Stuff" and Grant got "Clammy."

I hadn't been to the Des Moines Zoo since I was probably 6 years old. It was a lot smaller than I remembered, but still fun. My favorite thing to do (then and now) was play in the prairie dog crawl space.

Jesus, Thank you for good times!

another one...

This is a crazy time in life! It seems like everyone is getting married! I have had a wedding (or two) almost ever weekend from June to the middle of August! And people are getting engaged all over the place! Most recently, my dear sister Nikki from NET got engaged! I am so happy for her!

This is a new phase in life, to be sure!

we all need a little prize

So about a month ago I was at Kohl's buying a baby gift for my cousin when I found an adorable little dress that I know my Goddaughter Cecilia would love. For the past month I have had is carefully wrapped in the trunk of my car waiting for an opportunity to give it to her.

Of course, with five siblings, I also had to buy presents for the other kids. So I found gummy lunchables at HyVee for the five oldest kids and some little finger food cereals for the baby.

I love brining boxes of joy to that family! The kids are so great and appreciate whatever you do for them. Libbie (the one who cut Cecie's hair) was a little upset, however that she didn't get a dress. Her mom had to explain to her that her Godmother had given Libbie a present for her preschool graduation and Cecilia didn't get one. Godmothers have a special obligation to their Godchildren and we don't always get presents from other people's Godparents.

But she cheered up a little when I made a special hair ribbon for her out of the bow from the present.

Then Sue (the mom) asked me to bake and decorate a 4th of July cake for the baby's first birthday, so I'm excited about that! I think I'll make sparkler candles for it!

Have a great day!

newest little catholic

Sunday Suzee and Phillip Stone's son Joseph was baptized! It was so cute to see how excited Suzee and Phil were. They just kept looking at their son with beaming smiles. Very happy day.

It made me so happy! I can hardly wait for when I have a child of my own to celebrate their baptism!