The Dodd Squad

One of my favorite things to do is decorate cakes for the kids' birthdays. (I love to eat cake too!) One of my good 2nd grade teacher friends also likes decorating cakes. So, we took a class together. We took the Fondant I class at Sweet Wise. It was so much fun, I learned a lot, and now I can't wait to decorate more cakes!

Kristina and I with our finished cakes...

Here is my cake...

Here is Kristina's cake...

And here are my kiddos enjoying my finished product...

Now I am in cake decorating mode. This is a problem as I need to be in back to school mode! Maybe Kristina and I could create a back to school cake in our spare time? (yeah right!) I really am excited about decorating more cakes and taking more classes to learn more. I am going to start saving my money as the supplies are endless in the cake decorating world. IT IS SO MUCH FUN!!!

We celebrated Logan's birthday with our family and neighborhood friends at our pool. It was fun and extra special because we could celebrate on Logan's actual birthday. Summer birthdays are tricky because the kids are either younger or older (compared to other kids in their grade level) and they miss out on celebrating at school. Oh well because summer birthdays are SO MUCH fun to celebrate at the pool with a mommy who has energy rather than being wiped out from school!!!



Ready to open presents...

Logan wanted me to make him a football cake. He was happy with this one and even happier because it was a chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Too rich for me but he was all smiles!

Aunt Jenn with the birthday boy...

Like father like son...

Sam loved the rich, chocolate cake too...

He also loved hanging with his Uncle David...

Claire and Addie have the same swimsuits and it wasn't even planned. They are the cutest!

And here are two of our favorite cousins that we love...

Logan opted for a big friend party this year instead of getting a present from us. So, we had a big bash at the Glow Galaxy. It is an indoor fun zone with inflatables, miniature golf, games, and dancing. The best part about it is everything glows in the dark. It is super cool and even better because David and I just sat back and watched the fun!

The birthday boy got a tye-dyed shirt (or dye-tye as Logan says) and gets to run through a bunch of screaming boys. FUN...let me tell ya...

The party bunch...(Addie hung well with all of the boys and 2 girls)

Yes, I made another cake. This time Logan wanted a Saints cake. I worked hard on it and Logan loved it. Only, the Saints are black and gold. I knew this but got a little carried away coloring the gold and it turned to orange when it hardened. David couldn't stop laughing at me but Logan was sweet. He told me it was a Saints cake and he liked it. (Oh...one little boy did say he thought the Bengals were Black and Orange...not the Saints. I acted like he was a little color blind. :)

Another cool part was sitting in the throne to open up presents. Logan was so happy and excited!

The 7 year old had double the fun with his parties. Here he is all decked out in some of his favorite birthday presents. He is a HUGE Saints fan so he was super excited to get a Drew Brees jersey from his PawDaddy and he picked out a Saints hat with a gift certificate from his Nana and Pop. He also wears a UT t-shirt non-stop that his Grammy and Papa Skip gave him. Do you see a trend here? Logan is a SPORTS FAN! He just can't get enough!

7 fun things about Logan:

1. He loves sports.
2. He loves ice cream. Cookies 'n Cream is his favorite.

3. Did I mention he loves sports? He would much rather watch sports over cartoons.

4. He would rather play outside over inside. When he does play inside, he loves to play with his Legos. This is something he is just starting to get really into!

5. Did I mention he loves sports? He watches sports clips on the computer rather than play games on the computer.

6. He is super sweet when he wants to be but he is very hard headed when he wants to be.

7. Did I mention that HE IS A SPORTS NUT! :)

We love you Logan and are so proud of you! It's been a sweet and fun 7 years!

Gina and Robby are still in Africa. They will be there a couple more days. Internet is bad so she hasn't been able to update her blog. I have been keeping up with them through the Ordinary Hero blog. You can read it if you click HERE. It makes me cry just reading the posts and seeing the pictures so I cannot even imagine what they must feel. They are AMAZING! I have been praying for them as well as the whole group that is there. I can't wait to hear all about it when they get back!

I stole this picture from the Ordinary Hero blog. It just made me happy to see their smiling faces...

We love you Gina and Robby and are praying for you all.

We celebrated the 4th of July weekend at Mom and Skip's as one BIG family! All of my brothers and sisters were able to make it along with our families (minus Philip who had to work). My aunt and uncle also have a cabin so their 3 kids were there along with their families. This was our 2nd year to all meet up on the river for the 4th and I'm so glad we did it! It was fun to see how much all of the kids have grown over the year, plus meet my cousin's newest baby girl. You can click here to see the post with pictures from last year.

Now for the pictures from this year...

We tried to get a picture of the whole gang but my 2 brothers and their families had already headed back home. Oh well...here we ALMOST all are...

Logan and Nate were so excited to be together again! Aren't they the cutest All American Boys!!

And how about this cute All American Boy?

Madison, Claire, and Addie---All American Girls...

Papa Skip, Grammy, and Sam...

The five of us...

Addie could swing for hours (if it weren't so HOT!)...

My cousin Shannon and her youngest, Molly. Shannon has 5 beautiful and smart children!

Another of Shannon's precious baby girls, Grace...

My nephew, Austin, and my cousin Karen's daughter, Katie. Karen was pregnant with Katie when we were all together last year. Isn't she a doll... (and how about my handsome nephew who is taller than me!!!!)

Group shot of some of us on the boat...

David and Logan took the jet ski out for us...

Do you see them in the background...

Sam and I snacking on the boat...

Best buds still having fun...

Claire with my nephew Brody in the background...CUTE, CUTE, CUTE...

This is my niece, sweet Savannah...

and her big sister, Madison...

Addie got to ride the jet ski this year and she LOVED it...

Sam had fun digging in the TN river mud...

and they all had fun playing in the TN river water...

YAY for spending the weekend with our big family! We can't wait to see everybody again next year!

Today is a special day in our house!!!! Happy 7th Birthday Logan!

The San Diego Chicken was visiting the Sounds on the same night we celebrated Nana's Birthday at the Sounds. (see next post) When we got there, Addie was asked if she would like to help out the San Diego Chicken. Of course she wanted to and it was so cute. Plus, it was Nana's birthday so it was a great bonus birthday present!

Do you know who the San Diego Chicken is? I really did not but he is a very, very, very famous mascot who goes way back. Click here to read his biography. (Fun Fact about him: He was named one the Top 100 Most Powerful People in Sports of the 20th Century by the Sporting News Editors, just like Babe Ruth and Muhammad Ali.) Here are some pictures we found of him...

We laughed so hard when we found this one...

Here is little Miss Addie as the San Diego Chicken's baby chick...

While they were waiting to go be silly on the field, Ozzie gave them some love...

The San Diego Chicken led them around the field to slap the catcher on the bottom, send the visiting team some bad vibes, and to then lift their leg (as if they were peeing) on the umpire. It was cute!

Addie also got to go out on the field another time to try and hit water balloons from the San Diego Chicken. She didn't hit one because it turns out he was throwing them at a guy from the visiting team. It was too cute and she did great!

She even made it on the news, slapping the catcher on the bottom. Way to go Addie! You are the cutest baby chick I have ever seen!