Happy Birthday Ray

Ray's birthday was on the 28th of July, but we had planned a huge birthday party for him on the 29th. So we pretended it wasn't his birthday, which thankfully he was fine with. For about two weeks before his birthday I had been making big plans. I had decided on a Mario theme and thought it would be fun to have cut outs of Mario characters all over the walls. So I went out and bought a whole bunch of posterboard. I thought I could find a picture online and make it super big so I could just trace it. Well I really don't know what I was thinking. First of all, posterboard is too thick to trace anything and secondly, there was no way I could blow up the picture even half of what I really wanted. So instead of giving up my idea and doing something else, I decided to draw and color all the characters. And it actually didn't turn out too bad. Here's some pictures of the finishing products:
This guy actually hung on the door outside. I didn't get a picture of him before, so the sun, wind, and rain got to him before my camera did; which is why he looks the way he does.
My next big project was the cake and cupcakes. I have a friend and cousin who has made such amazing cakes with fondant. It didn't look too difficult, so I decided to try it out. My good friend, Alicia came over for dinner that night and helped me with some of the characters. She did such an amazing job. She did Mario, Toad, and the turtle. Check them out:So while she was doing those hard ones, I did the easier ones, like the boxes, the flower pipe things, the big bomb guy, and the little brown and white goompas: I also decided to make a Luigi, and then found that Alicia's guys were a little too big to go on the cake, so I made another Mario. Her's was so much better though. The day before the party, my friend Kylee and Ada came over and helped me put the fondant on the cake, make more characters, chat, and laugh. It was a fun night. Ada made the star for me and Kylee made Princess Peach:
After the cakes were made and they went home and I finished the rest of the cake and cupcakes. It took a while to put everything on and make them stay but it turned out pretty good for my first time I think. Here's some pictures:
Everything turned out great. We had so many people show up, which was good because I made quite a bit of BBQ turkey. I should have made more salad and potatoes but I didn't think we'd have such a good turn out. It was so much fun though. Our really good friends from Provo/Orem area came down to spend the weekend with us and were able to celebrate with us. Which was super fun.

Thank you everyone for making Ray feel super special and celebrating with us! Thank you Ada, Alicia, and Kylee for helping me out with the cake. I couldn't have done it without you!

Ray - happy birthday my love! You mean everything to me, and I had so much fun planning your party! Thank you so much for everything you to for Mady and me. I love you so much!! Here's to many more birthdays to come!