For the last month, I've been taking another cake class.... this time to learn how to make fondant cakes and this time with a friend (Meghann).  It was much more fun that way.  Fondant cakes are pretty easy and they turn out better in the end (compared to normal frosting), but they are more time consuming, which I was hoping would NOT be the case.  I guess that just means I need to have a lot of practice so I can get faster at it.

Anyway, here's the final product....




We also learned how to do these flowers....


And this bow....

In order to get in the practice that I need, I will gladly make a cake for free for anyone who wants it!  Just let me know :)

After that, we all piled into Brad and Vanessa's mini van (again, notice the seating order) and drove out to the BioSphere.


In short, the BioSphere, (for those that are interested) is basically an experiment to see if it's possible to create a sustainable living environment by manually controlling the temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall etc. for different ecosystems. In other words, it's a giant greenhouse.  But what's cool is there was a rain forest, savanna, wetlands, desert and even an 'ocean' all in different rooms of the same building.  They mostly use this facility for research (and have even questioned whether this type of structure could sustain life on Mars or the Moon or some other planet--  they concluded that it would not).  Anyway, it was pretty interesting, even though the tour was a little long-winded.


After that, we went shopping and discovered the most amazing store that ever existed! (for women, that is) or at least I thought it was pretty cool.  It's called Charming Charlie and it's a huge accessory store.  The thing that made me like it so much though, was this story:  Me and Meghann found some cute wallets for $15 but when Meghann went to check out, hers rang up as $3.90!!!!  Sweet!  So that got me really excited, but the excitement went away quickly when mine turned out to be the full $15.  As I sat there contemplating what to do (just buy it, or go find a cheaper one), the cashier pointed at the screen which now showed the total as $5.42.  Score!  Not sure what just happened there, but I'll take it!!  So after that, I was really excited about this new store that just came into my life.  (I love getting a good deal!)


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And it wouldn't be a vacation without a little hot tub action!  We spent an hour each night in this thing and loved every minute of it (especially since the hot tub at our apartment in Glendale has been broken all winter!)



On a little side note, I have to tell you about this awesome website that was created by one of Brody's friends here at Thunderbird.  It's called Workables.com and it's basically like an Ebay for random part-time/side jobs.  For example, we couldn't bring Salomon to Tucson with us (and we didn't want to pay the $60 to take him to a 'dog hotel') so we put an ad in Workables for the Phoenix area.  The first person to 'bid' said they'd watch him for $55, the next person said they'd do it for $50 and so on.  It ended at $35, which we were happy with so it all worked out great!  You can use the sight to post a job, or find a job.  It's pretty new, but I think it's a great idea, so check it out if you ever need help, or want something to do.

You can't live in Arizona and not attend a Spring Training game!  We missed our chance last year, so we had to make sure it happened this time around.  So last week, we got ourselves some tickets (which were FREE because we're cool like that.... and because we know a guy in our ward who works at the Spring Training facility near our house) and went to a game between the Kansas City Royals and the San Diego Padres (Padres got KILLED 10-2).  We had great seats- 5th row behind home plate and the weather was perfect!  Brody and I indulged ourselves with the biggest hot dog they had and we very much enjoyed it.  We had a lot of fun, especially since I've never been to a pro-sports game in my life, of any kind.  (And I'm not sure if this counts either, since it was only 'training'...... so I guess we'll just have to go to a Diamondbacks game as well! Works for me.)

2 years ago to this very day we found out that Brody got into Thunderbird (He was really excited. So was Sal)



Exactly 1 year ago today, we were sitting on a plane on our way to Prague to live for 2 months.



I sure do miss this place.

Superbowl Party:

Back in the beginning of the month, we had a fun Superbowl Party with some friends.  We had lots of yummy food, and I practiced my cake making skills by making this lovely 'field' cake:




Baby Shower:

Meghann and I threw a baby shower for our friend Melissa who is due in April with a baby boy.  We had fun putting it together, and we thought it turned out pretty good!

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Click here for the brownie cupcakes recipe (I skipped the cherry part).  Meghann made the lemon ones, you'll have to contact her for the recipe.  They were both so good!


Melissa was so cute and got a lot of good stuff.


Congratulations Robert and Melissa!




Cam's Injury:

This event didn't happened to us, but it's still crazy enough to share.... Well I think it is, anyway.

My little brother Cam (age 14) was in a snowboarding accident this last Saturday.  He hit a tree branch that gave him a huge gash right above his forehead.  It went from his eyebrow to his hairline and all the way down to the bone.  He had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance and the ski patrol lady that found him said if he would have been going any faster, he probably would have been killed.  The scary thing is--  he was wearing a helmet AND goggles.  I guess the tree branch just happened to find the tiny gap in between the two.

Anyway, he's alright now (well, getting there), but the cool thing is... he'll have a Harry Potter scar!!  He is a real-life "boy who lived"!!!






The ski patrol lady came to visit Cam later, and brought him the tree branch that he hit... ha ha. It's more like a small tree!



Get well soon Cam!