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A Perfect Day with Family (topped off with a marble pound cake)

This past Saturday was just Awesome!

Granted I woke up exhausted from Friday's birthday excitement. Is this what it feels like to be hung-over? Because it just stinks.  Luckily I felt better as the day progressed. Like I said in yesterday's post, Marshall awoke early to play with his airplane and we both walked over to Centennial Park to have his first flight at 8 AM. The skies were clear and he did a great job for his first time in flight. It made me happy how much he loved that thing!


At 9:30 AM, we drove to the Kansas City Temple. It was a special day for our family because his younger brother Hyrum (I can't say little because Hyrum is taller than Marshall...) was going through for the first time. The neat thing is that there were 25 family members there at the same time all in support of him! Grandparents, Mom and Dad, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, and cousins. It is definitely true that the Temple is made for families.




 After the temple, Marshall's parents and Hyrum and younger sister, Lilly, all came over to our place in Lawrence for dinner and to see our home. In the 3.5 years that we have been married, they have never been to our home. It was fun to have family over and to cook for them.

I made chili on Friday (everyone knows chili tastes better the next day anyways!) and put potatoes in the crock pot in the morning--after 6 hours on low they were perfectly tender and I didn't have to heat up the oven. I also made a two layer marble pound cake for Hyrum as a celebratory dessert. He requested marble cake, so this is what he got. It was supposed to be a three layer cake, but I didn't want to make all that frosting, so we settled with a two layer cake and a dozen un-frosted cupcakes. The cake was pretty delicious, but I suppose it should be with a dozen eggs and two pounds of butter! I was happy the frosting turned out delicious too because I had altered the chocolate frosting to use honey instead of powdered sugar. It was yummy!! Never be afraid of altering and trying new things. You may get a mistake, but you also may discover a delicious creation. Either way, you've learned something new. I always try to remember that.


I know you're basking in the loveliness of my awesome cake platter. Ya, it's pretty cool I know. An upside down cookie sheet.


I think time with family is so important! Being able to invite them over to our home for three hours of relaxation, quiet, and food was very therapeutic. We enjoyed laughter and stories, and it was a great time to spend one last afternoon with Hyrum before he heads out to serve a mission in Las Vegas for two years next week.

You know a secret? The day would have been just as good even if I hadn't spent six hours on a fancy cake. But it sure made it fun.

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