The Party That Almost Wasn't

Otherwise known as: More Cake for Us!

Do you have any idea of just how long it takes to make a cake, from scratch, while nursing twins?

All bloody day, that's how long!

I started somewhere around 10 am and finished just past 6 pm. It has been a marathon cake making session, but I did it!

Remember that blizzard we weren't getting here? Well we've gotten it and how! We received several phone calls from friends letting us know that they weren't coming because it's too crazy to drive out there. So the only people that are out driving are those that are crazier than the weather. This explains why Herb, Scott and Sierra were the only ones to make it to our house tonight! To make the trip worth it, they were feted with cake and gelato and forced to watch my homage to 40 Years of Eric.

For those of you that weren't able to make it due to distance or disastrous weather, here it is in pictures.

A small sampling of pictures from the presentation (Thanks for the photos, Linda!):

Eric was destined to become a Phone Phreak from a very young age.

You can see both Logan and Emma in his face here.

So cute! I think those overalls are back in style now, too.

Back to the present!

The cake.

This is a Devil's Food cake with vanilla buttercream icing. There are 8 ounces of chocolate (4 oz Dutch processed Callebaut and 4 oz unsweetened Ghirardelli) in the cake and one pound of butter in the buttercream. I ruined the first attempt at the sugar syrup when I brought it past 240 degrees and then tried to cool it down since the eggs weren't whipped yet. Whoops! It crystallized and looked just like the snow outside only hotter. Fortunately my second attempt worked just fine.

Caitlin assists.

Wouldn't you know it? I couldn't find a single plain candle in the entire house, so I settled for the #1 candle and left it at that. Caitlin leapt in to help Eric blow it out because, clearly the geezer needs help.

Making a wish. Retroactively wishing for a Porsche?

Cutting the cake.

A little slice.

Waiting for me to sit down already!

Rare Hatchet photo. Scott insisted.

The cake was yummy, everyone enjoyed it. After a bit of jovial conversation everyone not living on the premises hit the snowy roads and we retired to the basement and attempted to knock the twins out.

Eric and Emma.

I was noticing that I have few images of Eric and Emma. He holds her, too, not just Logan! I'm just usually nursing Logan while this is going on which makes it a little difficult to photograph them. Between that and the fact that Logan sleeps less than Emma ensures there will be more photos of him floating around. Maybe he's just a ham for the camera?

Logan.

Ayup, he's a ham. Takes after his dad.

Updated to add: Having heard that it's not a party until someone throws up, Logan obliged.