Camping and Cakes

 The Branch had a Camp Out. I do not like to camp. I do not like to voluntarily sleep poorly, so I do not like camping.  I probably would have gone out and then retuned home late, but the gates closed at 8pm and you had to have your car on the outside by then, or stay the night.  Plus, there was a lack of enthusiasm from everyone but Callie.  The night before, Dan committed to go and take Josh and Callie.  So the three of them went, and had a good time, although Josh was bitter that the promised camp fire did not appear.  I guess there were no fire pits.  So he was disappointed.  Josh slept in his hammock, Callie slept in the tent, and Dan slept in the van.  All of them had a good time.

For a YW Activity, the girls decorated cakes.  Well, cakes made out of rice krispies. The point was to hone decorating skills.  They enjoyed it a lot.  Callie replicated a cake she made the last time she decorated a cake- that cake had the misfortune of being dropped on the doorstep.  this cake made it home to be enjoyed.  Marian made a spectacular "Big Yellow" Cake and included the inside joke word of "Crispy" on it.  Which made me laugh.

Honor Roll... and a dog

This kid worked really really hard and got top honors.  I got to attend her assembly, and got a few dreadful, too-far-away pictures and she grudgingly agreed to let me take this photo.  She's a good one. 

 Marian also got an honor roll award.  Th assembly was short and sweet and Marian felt it a waste of her time.  But she was there.

She even managed a sort of smile for me.  I like her.

 Josh just managed to hold onto a 3.0 this semester.

You can see that he is thrilled to be there.  Actually he was probably very happy to miss class to hang out with the smart kids.

The girls put a fedora on Levi.  Because, why not?

The kids have had so much fun in the hammock, that they thought Levi would enjoy a turn as well.  

Delaney had a Birthday

Delaney was off on her exciting trip over her birthday, so we celebrated when she got back.   

 Her loot pile was hefty and her joy was full with all the lovely gifts.

 She was especially delighted with a box of fabric from her grandparents.  Long swaths to have much fun sewing.

Callie did not want a photo taken. 

But Delaney was having a marvelous birthday and having a very good time. 

She was pleased with all her gifts and happy to receive so many things she wanted.  

And.... the cake....... It has a story!  Delaney wanted a blue cake with purple frosting.  And it did look better in real life.  Anyway, I googled "blue Velvet cake" and found a promising recipe.  I was about done when I realized they required GEL food coloring, not the regular stuff.  Which explained why their cake was significantly more blue than I had thought you could make a cake.  I just poured in the entire container of blue.  And it was blue...ish.  When I got to the frosting, I discovered I had made a tactical error in using ALL the blue food coloring, because one cannot make purple without blue.  Oops.  And the commissary was out of food coloring.  No problem!  I googled "Kool Aid Frosting" and discovered that indeed, you can use grape Kool Aid to make frosting.  Unfortunately, it was quite lip-puckeringly tart and very, very grape. Not something I would ever do again!

Dan and Delaney's Taiwan Trip: Last Day

There was a koi pond out front

This was a stone horse head statue

The front of the museum

The airport had some fun statues

'Kung Fu Massage'? I need that!

Dan and Delaney's Taiwan Trip: Day 3

The breakfast buffet had lots of choices from noodles to fruit and rolls and other fun stuff.

This was a quick shot on the metro line down to the zoo.

The water pump was worth a jiggle.

She was mugging left and right for the first hour or two.

Make sure you look at this one closely.  This was the most illustrative sign I saw in Taipei.  Message is priceless.

The lounging bear was inviting this kind of pose.

The inside museum was a highlight.  Much fewer people and 100% shade.

??.  She was feelin' it so I snapped the picture.

A stuffed elephant.

These stationary things were popular.

The backside of the Taipei temple.  It was closed for cleaning that week.

My favorite picture of the trip.  I can't believe what a lucky Dad I am.

Obligatory Moroni statue shot.

The Shalin Night Market.  CROWDED!

Did I tell you it was crowded?

This was like something out of a CNN Asia special or documentary.  We were lucky to find an empty seat.  People walking constantly around these low end cook and eat right in front of you places.

Shrimp rolls and pan friend dumplings.  She ate fried rice.  This was the third time she ordered fried rice on the trip.  She did try things, but in small doses.