Summer in Chicagoland

This summer we ended up spending time with both sides of the family. Chris had an opportunity to give a talk/seminar about some of his research at Fermi lab near Chicago, and so we were able to make a vacation out of it. The talk was a pretty big deal so Chris didn't actually get to do anything fun and worked the almost the whole time, but the kids, grandparents, and I got to do some fun things. The weather was amazing, nice and mild and not humid. We went on a lot of walks, played in the little pool, and explored the river. We went to an amazing arboretum with so many great kid activities, saw other gardens, and took a trip to the local “beach”.

This year was a big year in Chris's family with so many milestone birthdays: Chris's mom's 60^th, Chris's 30^th, and Chris's brother's 20^th.  And so there was a party. Chris's sister and family were able to come out from California and our stay's only overlapped a day and a half, but it was still nice to see them and meet Avalyn, the first cousin on the Verhaaren side.

At the end of our week we drove the 13 hour drive back to Maryland, only to leave for Seattle four days later.

 I love Jack's face here

Cakes

Sometimes I make cakes, and these are some of them.

A spy cake for a friends party, trying out something new for the inside.

 A simple fondant wedding cake for a friend's sister.

A cake for Chris's side of the family, three different birthdays, and three different delicious flavors.

Rubix cube cake for an 80's party.

Disc world cake for Chris's 30^th birthday. I kind of ran out of steam for this one, but the map is make of chocolate plastic and edible.

King cake from way back in March for Mardi Gras. It's not much to see but it was the most delicious king cake that I've ever had. The recipe is a keeper and I look forward to making it ever year from now on.

 Another new dessert for us is crème brulee. I'm hooked.

Although not a cake, here's a sleeping Juliet for good measure.