{pretty, happy funny, real}

{pretty} 

Joining my parents on their nightly walk in our suburb of Orlando where I grew up. That mulberry tree in the second picture is still a favorite of mine - I have eaten mulberries for years and even made a mulberry pie! If I can beat the birds to the harvest, they're one of my favorite twice-yearly treats.

{happy} 

Zuzu was re-united with one of her best friends, Nala, at a splash pad last week in Orlando. Her joy at their meeting was really wonderful to behold! Even though they are complete opposites in personality, they love one another so and had a great time playing Ring Around the Rosy and ignoring all the other kids that were there. 

{funny} 

Ever know someone who makes funny faces when they're trying to smile for the camera? Zuzu inherited it from Tom, unfortunately - but at least their faces when caught candidly are exceptional! ;) 

{real} 

This cake, although lovely, is the Pentecost cake...that I finally got around to making on Tuesday! 

I had gotten all the ingredients and planned to make it on Sunday for dinner, but once Zuzu got sick, all of my time with hands not filled with children went out the window. I actually baked the cake on Monday, but then had to put the layers in the fridge because I ran out of time to make the frosting and assemble...so this is the cake that was four days in the making! 

Even more {real}, I wasn't totally happy with the results. Anybody have a really good yellow or white cake recipe? This was Betty Crocker's standard and I was unimpressed.