FIGHT WITH A BIRTHDAY CAKE
Before I forget, I have to post about the ugliest birthday cake I've ever made. Instead of a plain old cake mix with buttercream frosting, I decided to make something a little more gourmet. I found recipe for a Black Forest cake that sounded so yummy!
Jared helped me make the cake and mix the pudding topping and the cherry fillings. When the cake was cooled enough, I put one layer on the cake plate and poured the yummy, gooey cherries on top, then spooned the pudding mixture on top. It seemed too runny, and that was my first hint that something wasn't right. I hurried and put the second layer on top, naively thinking that would hold it together better. Uh, no, it squished it out faster! What else could I do but finish pouring things on top of the cake? Well, in hind-sight, I could have put the pudding in the fridge to firm up instead of pouring it on top. Oh well. So I put the cherries on the very top, then spooned on the pudding. The cherries stayed fine until I added the pudding. Then they started sliding off. Jared was laughing his head off as I tried to keep them on. He called it a "cake fall" as in a waterfall, as all our hard work just slid right off the cake.
Finally I got out the candles and made a ring around the cake, then strategically placed one cherry behind each candle. Phew! It worked!
Still, the cake looked awful! It tasted okay, but not as super-yummy as I wanted, either. You should see Zach chow it down, though!

We gave poor Ryan way too many framed photos. One of our family to take to work, one of Kolob Canyon from our stop there after his BYU graduation, and Havasu Falls from his trip to Havasupai. He says I need to go visit him at work so I can decide where to hang them. He does'nt like making those decisions, I think! We also gave him new temple pants and a promise of a new BYU polo shirt when we go to Utah next month. Happy birthday, Ryan!!!