Miss Sydney is...

Very happy to be turning six. Seana came to visit us at the gardens and brought miniature cakes, frosting, candies to decorate with and candles. Kate was at her bookclub and hence missed the festivities. Sydney wanted to make sure that she shared her cake with Ms. Olga and Mr. Matt. Needless to say frosting was liberally applied.Happiness...that's what that rare face is on my girl.

Six candles on a small cake lead to a small firehazard.....it took her a long time to make her wish can you tell?

Miss Olga...we work in the gardens together. She's sassy so I love her. Mr. Matt a horticulturalist at TBG and the girls favorite person to see.

Last but not least the amazing Miss Seana. Thank you friend for making her birthday so very special. Although how you'll top it next year I just don't know.

Next we had lunch at home and were off to Mall for Sydney's gift....Pierced Ears. I didn't lie to her I told her it would hurt. She said that if Addison her two year old cousin could do it she could too.

Kate holding Syd's hands in preparation for the big moment. She she can actually be an amazingly sweet big sister.

These tears lasted about a minute until I told her to go pick out her new earrings. She was proud to show off her newly pierced ears to Mr. Matt who happened to come to the mall on the same day. Showing up right when we needed a distraction from the trauma. Being able to pick out shiny new jewelry helped too. Happy Birthday Syd!

I made this...

Remember this post? Well here is the completed project for girls camp... it took four hours to paint. I love to paint and love these colors so this was a fun little project. Syd was happy to volunteer to be my model. The girls friend Kevin walked by and said, "Cool! Your mom really knows how to paint good." High praise from a ten year old.

Miniature happiness...

This sweet rosebush may be tiny but it produces these beautiful soft pink blooms all summer long. Thought I'd share.

Going, going, gone

I found this ruby beauty right on my back porch steps. Not twenty minutes later it was gone! As in Paige stole it right out from under my nose. Glad I snapped the photo before snack time. I love the strawberry jar you can see a smidgin of. Made by my grandmother, loved by me.

More ladybugs...

All of the eggs have almost hatched. Our little ladybug larva are almost gone. We have had a lot of fun watching them grow and change. Paige checks on them every day. She loves her ladybug babies.

Berry good time...

Kate, Sydney, Paige and their partners in crime Faith and Hope, decided to pick some berries. These are "the fruits" of their labors...I know me... so very punny... mulberries and wild strawberries from our yard.

Mulberries fall out of the trees everywhere. The concensus of all the small people is that they are delicious. The wild strawberries didn't meet with the same approval. Paige announced that they were just "TOO LITTLE". She should know! The little minx has been picking all of my strawberries ripe or not, all season. We'll see if I actually get any into the house. Really bunnies actually do less damage than Paige!

This is little miss minxlet's hand. You can tell that the berries are way small. I had to stop her from eating them long enough to grab a photo. Tiny little berry with huge seeds.

These are what Rappling feet look like during Mulberry Season.


P.S. These berries met a seriously amazing demise. They were made into all sorts of concoctions that I was privileged "to judge." Hard to choose. Really, really hard. Kate and Faith made sure to clean up as they went. Smart, smart girls.
P.P.S. I love summer.

Happy Birthday Dad!

What do you get for a dad who doesn't "need" anything and really doesn't expect a Birthday gift? A photo you say. Well my dad has five daughters and one son who are really into photography... and he has no more room for new photos. Except to replace the old ones. Which is another project not to be tackled today. When I lived at home and had no dollars I would bake for my dad.I thought since today I have technically no dollars and a rockin new giant cupcake pan to use, I would again bake for my dad. My dad love Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I had to figure out how to make those flavors into a cupcake. Here are the recipes I used...

Moist and Easy Pineapple Cake

Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup vegetable oil, such as canola, corn oil, or safflower oil
3 large eggs
1 cake mix (18.5 ounces) butter cake mix with pudding in the mix
1 can (15 1/4 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation:
Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt cake pan. Heat oven to 325°.
In a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat cream cheese with oil and eggs until well blended. Blend in the cake mix and beat on high speed for 2 minutes. Beat in drained pineapple and lemon juice. Spoon into a Bundt cake pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 15 minutes. Carefully invert onto a cake plate to cool completely. Frost or dust with powdered sugar.

Creamy Brown Sugar Icing

Ingredients
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed(I used lemon juice. Meant to use the pineapple juice from the cake but I forgot to save it!

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl until fluffy. Add brown sugar; beat until well blended. Add powdered sugar 1/2 cup (scant) at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in orange juice concentrate and vanilla. Chill until firm enough to spread, about 30 minutes.
yield: Makes about 3 1/2 cups

Dad's favorite color...Orange. We created orange frosting and used orange sprinkles and orange "sparkly sugar." The cake and frosting were delicious. We all took turns frosting the cake. Okay, I actually let the girls each frost one knifeful a piece... then took over due to my perfectionism and lack of patience on a Sunday afternoon. The results were as seen below.

Yes, I made this. Yes, it does look like a kindergarten project gone wrong. Can you tell I have ZERO cake decorating skills. Nope not one. Really the frosting got warm and started to slide down the edges. Note the small drips. The "Sparkly Sugar" was a big hit with the girls. Especially when I wound up wearing most of it. Open car windows and sparkly sugar don't go together well. I just love being sparkly and sweet! Dad loved the cake, as much as my dad can love a cake. The girls loved gifting it. I, well, I learned a lot about what not to do when frosting a giant 3 dimensional cupcake. Can't wait to try again!

The Rapps Ingredients for a great Fourth of July...

1. Show up early, 7:30 p.m.

Stake out a spot and get ready to party! 2. Snacks....snacks and more snacks...

This years favorite...Slim Jims and Peanut Butter Cups.

My favorite Cherries on sale for 98 cents a pound. 3. Some type of game...our girls prefer catch.

The nets that came with the balls were hard to use...

All of the effort was worth it, when the ball would rocket out of the net.4. Injuries. We never fail to have an "injury,"

always minor but adds extra drama to the evening.

Usually complete with pouting.

This year we had only one.

John popped Kate in the left eye with the ball.

That's what she gets for turning around

when Dad was trying to peg her in the head.

So she gave herself some alone time,

in the van and then rejoined the party for sparklers.Paige was incredibly worried about Kate.

She really loves her big sister.5. Making it's debut this year is Nail Polish.

The Rapplings love having their nails painted!

A new sparkly, patriotic red

was perfect for the occasion.

Next time I need to remove

nail polish earlier in the day.

This project was a big hit with all the girlies.

6. Don't forget Sparklers! We love them...even Paige.

Paige tried to blow a few out.

Her effort was, of course, in vain.

Wonder twins powers activate!!!

Really I couldn't help myself.

I had to go there.

Miss Kathryn click here so you know what I'm talking about.

7. Lastly you need fireworks.

No one was scared this year!!!

As usual Sylvania put on another great show!

Happy Birthday America!!!

Ladybug factory...

Today I made an amazing discovery! While in the process of relocating my ornamental grasses I found this little guy. He may look "like an alligator" according to the Rapplings but he turns into one of our favorite beneficial garden buddies. Paige holding her "little larva buddy."

Eggs are flat and yellow... they are EVERYWHERE. Paige wanted to eat some eggs. "No sweetie, those aren't like the chicken eggs that we eat." That child will put anything in her mouth. Mr. Matt, a horticulturalist at TBG, discovered her trying to eat Milkweed today....yep, a little poisonous. We have to watch her every second.

One more Larva...
This is the Pupa stage of the Lady Beetle. They are stuck to the blades of grass. Kind of like a chrysalis.
Here is the process come full circle. I was just so excited to have these visitors. I remember my dad buying ladybugs by mail order when I was little. I feel like I just had Christmas. It doesn't take a lot to make my day, just thought I'd share.

Chance of rain...

Kate woke up this morning and said to me..."Mom, There's a 30, 30, 30, 30, 50, 50, 50, 50, 30, 30, 30, 30, 30 percent chance of rain today." We definitely use the Weather Channel a little too much in this family.
These photos were taken two weeks ago. The Botanical Gardens have these beautiful Caladiums growing in the shade garden. These shade loving plants originally hail from South America. I love that you can find your favorite color combination out of the 100's of named cultivars.

I was a little frustrated that my camera kept focusing on the trees and not on the leaves. I'll try again. This time I hopefully won't have to stop taking pictures to negotiate a peace treaty for the littlest Rapplings.