turning 5

Callan's 5th birthday didn't consist of a party with all his friends, but rather a four-day long playdate with one of his best friends.  Our good friends moved to TN last year, so we paid them a visit during Spring Break last week.  We got the idea when Gene found out that his hockey team (the Nashville Predators) was playing Callan's favorite team (the Phoenix Coyotes) in Nashville over Spring Break.  So, his gift this year was to go see his team play a real hockey game.

We traveled to Knoxville where we stayed for a few nights, visiting our friends, Steve & Beth and their two boys, Noah and Drew.  Noah, Steve, Gene and Callan headed to Nashville for the game on Thursday night.  Unfortunately, Noah got sick and so Steve and Noah spent most of the game in the car, but Gene and Callan had fun rooting against each other.

I've known Beth for almost 9 years now, and I just found out during our trip that she has a hidden talent...cake decorating!  How lucky for me, as I needed help making an Angry Bird birthday cake for Callan while we were there.  Beth introduced me to a new, easy type of cake decorating.  If you have a child who's demanding a particular cartoon character or sports logo, etc. on their next birthday cake, try out this cake decorating tutorial.  The results look impressive indeed!

The short version is that you print off the image that you want from the computer, cover it with wax paper, put it onto a hard surface, and "color" the image with various colors of icing.  Let it harden in the freezer and then peel it off and put it on top of your cake!  It's like making a decal for the top of your cake.  

Kinsley wanted to help, too!  Whenever there is cake around, you can be sure her sweet tooth is not too far behind!

He was happy to see his favorite angry bird on his cake.  It was a surprise!

We arrived back home in MD before Callan's actual birthday day, so I asked him what he wanted as his birthday dinner.  He chose broccoli, salmon, rice and mac 'n cheese (for his sister).  Gene found some potatoes in the bottom of the pantry and decided to cook some little "french fries", too.  Talk about a full plate of food!

This about sums it up!