Mizzou Cake Challenge

So I didn't win the Mizzou cake challenge, but I did have an awesome time and get to meet Duff from Ace of Cakes, so that was pretty great. Here's some pics of the cake. Also, I launched my cake website, so if you or someone you know needs a cake and wants a cheaper price than a professional bakery, with the same excellent quality, check it out. www.keliescreations.blogspot.com



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Location:Columbia, MO

Well, I'm Famous...

Well, T minus 6 days until the Missouri Cake Challenge and my very own beloved Duff from Ace of Cakes will be coming to judge the competition. I started working on my cake a couple days ago. I'll be doing the Engineers Shamrock courtyard to fit the theme, "Spring at Mizzou." It wont be your traditional three teared type cake, it will be more like a "scene" with a lot of gumpaste figures and sugar work. Unfortunately, the base size can be no bigger than 15 inches...so that's pretty much tiny.

Two days ago a photographer from Vox magazine (a local Columbia mag) came over and took pictures of me working on some gumpaste figures and then tomorrow and photographer and reporter from the Tribune are coming over to interview me and take pictures. So basically, I'm famous. I'll try to remember where I came from when I'm a huge Food Network superstar. ;)

Pics to come next week when I've got it all assembled and it actually looks like something.

Current Obsession....

Have you watched this show? Or I suppose I should day, did you watch this show, since it's been over and done with for a couple years. Seriously, I would be a bad friend if I didn't try my hardest to get you addicted to this show, as I am. My sister owes me very dearly for bringing her attention to THE BEST SHOW EVER. It you have Netflix, you can watch all three seasons on instant view. It's a show from England that aired on the BBC starting in 2006 I think. I freaking love this show...and by this show...I mean Robin, aka Jonas Armstrong. Ok, end of gushing about my school girl crush. Watch it, love him, you will thank me.

Healthy Living Challenge...

In an effort to encourage health in his family (mostly himself!) Matt initiated a Biggest Loser Challenge with all of his adult family members. Anyone who wanted to participate had to pay $15 and at the end of THREE MONTHS, the first, second and third place winners get the cash.

Here are the rules in case you or your family is interested:

• Each week you get 1 point for each hour of exercise you do (up to 6 hours...I think they set that cap for me! lol).
• Each day you get 1 point if you've eaten 2 fruits and 2 veggies.
• At the end of the week, the person with the highest percentage of weight loss receives one bonus point.
• So that means 13 points are possible each week, with a bonus 1 point going to the person with that's weeks highest percentage weight loss. At the end of the three months the person with the most points win the cash!

Well, we are half way through and here's the update on Matt and I: Matt has lost 14 pounds, but the poor guy has never won the week so he's never gotten a bonus point. He's gotten all his other points though. I've lost 5 pounds (no bonus points), but I've gotten all my other points as well.

The real shocker in all of this, is that almost exactly as this competition was starting (6 weeks ago) I tore my Achilles during a step class on a slick floor at the gym. Since then, I've been banned from Step/Running...pretty much anything that uses my Achilles...which is, um, EVERYTHING! I've been doing strength training and BODYPUMP to get my hours of exercise, but my 5 pounds weight loss has been without any cardio! Guess how I did it??

Eating loads and loads of fruits and veggies.

Is this statement shocking? Well, it should be. I hate fruits and veggies. So after 6 weeks have my feelings changed? A little, I must say. This has been really good for our family and me especially. It's gotten me in the frame of mind where my first thought for a snack is now a fruit or a veggie, and not some crappy processed food (delicious as those can be!)

So peeps, if you've been wondering what the hey is going on with the Morgan Fam, there you have it. We're getting loads of fiber, wearing out our tennis shoes and going through lots of tp and deodorant.

Texas, Revisited

Last year, about this time, Matt and I took a kid free trip down to Texas to watch the most amazing football game ever: BYU vs. OU in Dallas Cowboys stadium. This year, we went down for a slightly less impressive game, but had tons of fun nevertheless! We met up with our great friends from Columbia that recently moved to Arkansas. First we did a little of this.

Then we ate a little of these.

Then we worked on our tans while we watched a little football and cheered on our former missionary Austin Holt, #88.

Then I got a little ghetto (and also sang the Fight Song twice pretty much entirely by myself. Phillip claims to have sung along, but I never heard him, and he certainly didn't Rise and Shout).

Then I got a hug from my favorite player (2 times).

20 hours of round trip driving, but it was totally worth one fun-filled day with great friends. Just remember people, Matt and I are always up for a party, so if you live within a days drive (and preferably if BYU football is involved), let's get something in the books!

Going Ons

Life is life. And it's busy. This picture cracked me up: Jenna "helping" Brooke pose correctly for their picture on Brooke's first day of Preschool.

Last weekend we (my sister and I) surprised my mom and took her to see So You Think You Can Dance on tour in Kansas City. We also surprised her by having my other sister from Utah fly out and meet us there. I know what you're thinking...Daughters of the Year Award. Don't worry, I've already submitted our names for consideration. My little sister took some awesome pics from that weekend, so I'll post some pics when I get some....hint hint Nikki.

We have some fun up-coming events to look forward to: Matt and I are going to Dallas to watch the BYU v. TCU game and meet up with some good friends for the weekend. We're also going on a family trip to Tan-Tar-A with my parents for a few days, possibly Branson with some friends and then I'm going to Springfield for a gym training. All in October. Maybe we'll skip Halloween. You all know I don't like it anyway. I'm sure a king size bag of starbursts would assuage my children's sadness over missing it. Everyday is "dress up" day here anyway.

So I guess what I'm saying is, maybe I'll have some real stuff to blog about pretty soon.

Maybe.

Trip to UT and first day of school

So I think pretty much every blog I've read this week as had these two blog topics: "My trip to Utah" and "First Day of School." So look how nice I am that I've combined them both into one for you. You can thank me later.

The Trip:
Started by driving through the night to Utah. Left at 3pm Missouri time. Arrived in Oakley, Utah at 9am. Funniest dang story about the whole thing was that I wasn't feeling very well and I wanted to stop at a hotel. Matt, Mr. I'm-Not-Paying-$100-for-a-Crappy-La Quinta, insisted that he could drive solo through the night and be just fine. So he did; and he was (thanks in no small part to 5 Hour Energy shots). Well, we stopped for some McD's bfast at around 5:30am and I had been "sleeping" (aka tossing and turning in the back seat). So Matt says to me, "I'm really starting to feel dead, do you think you could drive for a while." Of course, I say, because I'm so loving and compassionate. So Matt climbs in back and falls fast asleep. Meanwhile, I'm driving along and a good while goes by...I'm talking 20, maybe 30 minutes and I just start feeling like I'm going to fall asleep and crash us into a Exit sign or something so I call back to Matt, "Honey, I'm getting kind of sleepy up here....do you think we could switch?" Matt: "Yah sure, how long have I been out?" Me, "Um....30 minutes...." Matt: "You've got to be kidding me, right?!?!?"
Oh man, that gives me the biggest laugh. I'm a huge baby. What can I say? Okay, first stop: Oakley, Utah. Home of the Oakley Rodeo and whole bunch of cowboy stuff and nature. Look how countrified my girls are, climbing on hay bails and such.

The highlight though was when their uncle Cody saddled up the horses and we all got to take them out for a ride (YES! Myself included (for like 1 minute)). This is Brooke with her cousin Mariah.

This pic cracks me up! City Slicker!

Okay, stop number 2: Provo. We stayed with my grandma and granddad and visited with my sister Nikki. She even scored us FREE tickets to 7 Peaks. Beuno.

Notice my Dippin Dots. Heck yes. $6 well spent I say.

And the trip highlight: BYU preseason football practice. That's right people, we went two days in a row and sat in the 90 degree heat to watch BYU practice. They did actually scrimmage a bit, so that was fun. Notice in this picture my two BFFs. That would be number 88 Austin Holt (because he served his mission in our ward) and poor posture Bronco himself. Ahh, my besties. So fun. I have some other pics on my iphone that I might load on here, they're on facebook already though, so....probably not.

ON TO......

The First Day O' School

The first day was a little anticlimactic because Jenna went to summer school Kindergarten and for the fall she has her same teacher and same school and everything....so it really made things easy. Full day Kindergarten here people, that's right, feel free to be jealous. :)

No tears from this mama. I was so excited for Jenna to start Kindergarten! Not because I wanted her gone all day long (okay, well not entirely), but because she is SO ready to be out and about and learning and meeting new people. She's so social and such a quick learner that I think she'll just thrive. She's going to a school called Lee Expressive Arts school. They have an emphasis on the fine arts and Matt and I think it will be great for her. Can't wait to see what the year holds. Brooke will be starting as a peer model at the same preschool Jenna mentored at on September 7th! More to come on that... Peace people.