That first week doesn't really count does it?

I am not quite on top of my game for all this summer stuff. I felt much more prepared last summer! I have all my ideas, and lists...it's just a matter of carrying it all out! The first week of summer has already passed us by; but since it was a holiday weekend, I am going to pretend it just didn't count as "actual summer days". Whose with me?

Memorial Day has always felt like a holiday to me, until my Dad passed away in April. This year was particularly unique since Monday was also my sweet Hubby's birthday. It was a quiet and low-key day, spent with just our little family. I wasn't quite ready to head back up to dad's grave yet, so we spent the day chatting about Grampa Jay and then celebrating our Daddy.

Our family tradition is to have the Birthday Boy pick their favorite meal which I make, and then decorate a cake for them. Our Daddy loves marinated BBQ chicken and summer sausage salad with lots of fresh veggies chopped up in it. That was all pretty easy. But if you know me, you know that cakes are kind of a big deal to me...so, when you see the picture of the hideous blob he requested, you'll understand my hesitation to even show it! ;) While it tasted divine, it is as ugly as dirt...in fact, it rather resembles dirt. See for yourself:

Looks like the perfect little mound of dirt, doesn't it? I guess it was nice to have an easy request, but like I said...cakes are kind of my "thing". This is a yellow cake with raspberry jam slathered between the two layers and topped with chocolate pudding, whip cream frosting with a bit more jam; refrigerated until nice and cold. So very yummy, and did I mention ugly? :)

Moving on.

This past weekend I did attempt to kick off our summer with some organized fun. While the 2 oldest fellas were away with the Young Men on a retreat up the canyon, I had some fun with the younger members of our crew.

First we set a new record for play time at a park and managed to enjoy over 3 hours at a local playground with some cute friends. Then, since Daddy was working late...we picked a movie on netflix and set to work making some yummy treats. The original plan was to make s'mores pops. (Marshmallows on a stick, dipped in melted chocolate and sprinkled with crushed graham crackers.) However, as we got going, I found some red candy melts and some fun sprinkles so we ended up with a variety of mallows. My favorite remains the s'mores kind though.

Here is a look at some of our combinations:

All set up and ready to dip!

Red candy melt with green sugar crystals

Dipping his s'mores pop

The finished product...no fire necessary!

This takes great concentration...obviously!

All hardened up in the fridge and ready to enjoy!

We enjoyed our mallows while we ALL sat on the lovesac together and watched Your, Mine, and Ours; the newer on with Dennis Quaid. :) It was a fun night and got me in the mood to be ready for the rest of our summer fun!