'When is grandma-Judy coming back?"

Sorry about the lag...but between illness and the weekends festivities there has been no time. So here is a longer one covering most of the action...

Grandma Judy's Visit: So in her regular tradition, Grandma Judy made the quick trip out for Kade's birthday. It was a nice trip and the kids really enjoyed having her around especially Kade. He really put her to the test keeping her busy playing castle, cars, kitchen and other various games. Here are a few pics of her and the kiddos having a good time. And then she was off as fast as she came...next visit is in May ;-)

The big Penguin Party: So Kade's 3 year birthday party in CO was this weekend. In an effort to integrate the lovely weather that we have had lately we decided to make it a winter party theme with the main event being a trip to the local sled hill. It was an absolute blast and I can honestly say that everyone appeared to have a great time. I have attached some pictures here just so you can see for yourself...Thanks to grandma Judy for slogging the 7 disk sleds out from CT...they were an absolute hit with the kids and adults as they were the fastest sleds on the hill! (I will post about the camera taking these pictures...our new digital Canon XTi camera with 300mm lens soon...it is awesome! I plan to do some comparison test shots with our 4 cameras)



Bloody Mary: Now for those of you following along, most of the Cavitation family has been a bit under the weather lately. Rob decided to power his way through the penguin party with the help of our old friend Mary. Given the fact that I can not taste a thing, Mary really fit the bill. If you just add enough Tabasco sauce...then you can actually feel the drink - clears the sinuses too...bonus!! Add in a bit of our friend Mr. Robitussin and you pretty much have yourself the perfect 6 hour solution to a serious head cold.


The Cake: Every year Jen and I make it a point to try and make a special cake for the kiddo's birthday. Once the theme is chosen...Rob makes it his mission to find a way to bring that to life. This year was no exception and the resultant was "Kade's Sledding Hill - 2007" - in accordance with our winter sledding party theme. Here are a few pictures showing the creation. Please note the tobogganers flying through the air at the bottom of the hill and the tuber stuck head first in the hill just below the sled ramp ;-) Ingredients:

• Mountain and ski/sled ramp: White Funfetti® cake
• Snow: White frosting, coconut and sugar
• Tubers: Gummy bears and gummy life savers
• Tobboganers: Gummy bears and blueberry tape gum

For those of you who have not seen the creation from last year..."Kade's Engine and M&M tender - 2006"...here is a quick picture. It was built using yellow cake with chocolate frosting, twizzlers, graham cracker sticks, M&Ms, chocolate cupcakes, marshmallows, gumdrops and various food coloring colored frostings.

Kade Sayings: From the mouth of our 3 year old...

• Chinese Restaurant: After the madness of the "Penguin party", we all decided to opt out of making dinner and brave the cold. We finally landed at a local Chinese restaurant where there is never a wait (a real plus with a 3 year old and a cranky dad). The food came out quick and given my inability to taste anything (due to this damned cold) the food was quite good!! While Kade and I were going through the contents of my soup, we found one of those baby corn things. Kade immediately grabbed it, looked at it and proclaimed that is was in fact corn. While I basked in the glory of having such a brilliant son...he then proceeded to tell me that "little corn comes from a cow's butt". And there you have it - the truth behind the little corn.
• Grandma-Judy: So this morning was the first morning without Grandma Judy at the house. Kade was following his typical routine of watching cartoons while I took my shower. Then we went downstairs for breakfast. When we were halfway down the stairs Kade looked at me and asked "When is grandma-Judy coming back?". So ma, I guess you know where you stand now ;-) That afternoon of laying on your back trying to get into the castle WAS worth it after all...now where are those damned Doan's pills.
• The other night when we were returning from the Chinese restaurant Payton started crying in the car. Kade turned to her and said "Oh sweetie [pause] it's OK, we are almost home". That one must have come from Jen ;-)
• Finally, this morning I woke up and found Jen on my side of the bed and Kade taking up the other side of the bed. Payton was starting to stir so I got up to go get her before she started crying. Once I got in there and put her on her changing table, she saw her bottle from the previous night. Seeing as she has no patience when it comes to food - she immediately had a breakdown because I would not let her have the 12hr old bottle. Much to my surprise, Kade was running own the hallway at a full sprint...seeing as he was just out cold a minute before. Jen was laughing and she informed me that Kade (upon hearing Payton crying) had woken up, rolled out of bed, looked at her, said "Payton NEEDS me" and then bolted out the door. Too funny!

It is late and I did not proof read everything above...so there are probably mistakes...eso es la vida!