Road-Trippin' for the Birthday Girl...

Birthdays are kind-of a big deal in my family. Like, super big deal.

I remember growing up, I always knew that I would wake up to a decorated house - not have to clean a single thing that day - and get to choose whatever food we would consume that day. It was the best.

Through the years, I have found something I like even more than being pampered on my birthday. I like to pamper! It is seriously so much fun for me to make someone's day special. To make banners and decorate the house, and make the cake - it is all too much fun.

My baby sister turned 14 on Tuesday. I am still in shock. She should be maybe like turning 6, but nowhere close to 14! sigh. Being 11 years older than her, I have gotten to be involved in a lot of party planning and birthday celebrating for this little girl, and this year was no different.

Baby girl woke up to a completely decorated house and doughnuts for breakfast.

Later that night we had brownie ice-cream cake! (blogged about it here)

And then....we went to Magic Mountain on Saturday! It was such a fun trip! We drove over on Friday night, and stayed in a Hotel. We burned cds to listen to on the way there, that included, Backstreet boys, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, and Jenny by Flight of the Conchords! Needless to say, we sang our hearts out the whole way. When we got to the hotel, we went swimming and took a gazillion pictures flipping our hair. 

We woke up Saturday morning and headed to Six Flags! We may have got there a little early and had to sit in line, but we were too excited to wait any longer. We got to ride quite a few rides, and had such a fun "girls day" together! 

We all had such a fun time celebrating this gal's birthday WEEK! I love you Tia-Roo and am so glad I was able to spend yet another epic birthday with you. I love you so much.

Ice-Cream cake for the Cake hating girl.

My little bitty BABY sister turned 14. 

I like making cakes, so I started thinking of what I would make her early on. She is one of those crazy freaks who don't like cake, so figuring out what to make her can be a challenge. One year we had muffins, another year a stack of doughnuts. 

This year I decided to try out an ice-cream cake. So, I went searching on my ever-handy pinterest and found the perfect recipe. It had a brownie bottom, fudge layer, ice-cream (duh) and topped with whipped cream and sprinkles...sounds perfect right? 

It really was super simple, but turned out soooo good. 

You bake up some brownies. You could go the from scratch route, but I totally used a box mix! Bake them in an 8x8 or 11x7 pan, just make sure the pan has deep sides so you can pile everything else on top. 

Let the brownies cool completely, then slather on some chocolate frosting. 

Again, this could be homemade...but I used canned frosting. 

After you've slathered the frosting on, pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes. While they were in the fridge, I took the ice-cream out of the freezer so that it could soften up. 

Oh, and I licked the rest of the chocolate frosting out of the container of course. Don't judge. 

I used Extreme Moose Tracks because it is Tia's favorite, but any type of ice-cream would work. 

After the 30 minutes, scoop all of the ice-cream on top of the brownies. Use the whole 1.5 quart container. 

Every last drop.

When you are done spreading your ice-cream on, cover it with foil and stick it in the freezer for at least 3 hours. 

When you are ready to serve it, top it with whipped cream and don't forget the pretty sprinkles. 

I made a cake bunting banner to place on top, but it was pretty even without it.     

 

And even more importantly, it was seriously so good.  

Tia loved it, and we had an amazing time celebrating her birthday. Such a good recipe, and so easy to make....Go make it! 

Happy Birthday, pretty girl. 

California Dreamin'

I am super late at writing this post, but just in case anyone does not know yet...I am Home! Yes, I do realize that I live in Brazil, but this little town in the middle of nowhere, has remained the place my heart (will probably always) call home.

So, I have been here for about a month now....(see, I told you I was super late at posting this) and I am enjoying this visit so much! So many new babies, and growing babies to cuddle...my heart is exploding with love for all these boys! Being an auntie is seriously so much fun.

my blue-eyed nephews are the cutest. period. 

I decided I was going to come home for a visit in June, and told absolutely no one that I was coming, except for my Mama. I have been missing family and friends a ton, plus there were some things with my Visa that I needed to come home to take care of, so I am killing two birds with one stone! It was extremely difficult to keep it a secret for those two months...but the surprise was so worth it! From my crying sister, to the double-takes when people first saw me...I think surprise trips home are the best!

Auntie loves these stud-muffins! 

The only super huge downside of this whole trip, is that my best guy was not able to come with me. :( Yes, my hard-working studly husband had to stay and hold down the fort at Hope Mountain. We are making it through with all-day-long messages back and forth through Facebook, and lots of Skype calls. Takes us back to our long distance dating....only, its way worse being separated after marriage. There are constant "If Isanon were here...." thoughts that pop into my little head on a daily basis. That Kid is seriously my favorite person.  Distance makes the heart grow fonder, and stronger, and all those wonderful things that are needed for a marriage to work...so we shall make it through this! 

Airport Goodbyes. 

Okay, enough of my sappiness! I just get overwhelmed sometimes at how blessed I am with the husband that God saved for me, and the love and friendship I have found in him. One thing that this visit home has reminded me of, is truly how blessed I am by the family and friends that I have.