Happy Birthday, Elissa!

Despite not being in the office on the day we were celebrating Elissa's big 4-0, I wanted to bake a cake to share at her surprise party at work. I was able to get the ingredients but when it came to finding time to bake the cake close enough to the party to not be stale, I was defeated by a mountain of reading, learning z-scores, and work deadlines. Luckily, Dexter and Ben came to my rescue!  I had requested that they make one round cake and 6 cupcakes - the plan was to place the cupcakes around the circle like petals on a flower. I could smell the chocolate when I got home after school and was so pleased that my guys had helped me out in this way.


Dexter excitedly told me all about making a birthday cake for Elissa! "Surprise, Mommy! We made a birthday cake for Elissa! Can we eat it now?"






Unfortunately, they filled the cupcake pans a bit too high and we had exploding cupcakes that, while delicious, would not pretty flower petals make. Elissa ended up with a big round sun birthday cake and Dexter, Ben, and I got to enjoy some strange shaped cupcakes. The surprise was almost ruined when Dexter called Elissa on her actual birthday (before the surprise party at the office) and asked her if she wanted to see his chocolate cupcakes.

Best In-Laws in the World

Grandma and Gunker try to visit us a few times a year. This fall, they planned to visit us in early October and then Ben's sister's family later in October so they could see Amanda's last soccer game of the season.  Unfortunately, I had plans for a meeting in DC during the same weekend that they had originally planned to visit Steph's family. Luckily for us, Ben's parents (and his sister and Amanda!) agreed to change their plans so that Grandma and Gunker could be here to help Ben out while I'm away (they'll catch one of Amanda's soccer games during their visit to Steph's but it won't be the last game of the season). I couldn't be more grateful to have married into such a supportive family.