Black and White Party

My work Christmas party this year was a black and white casino night.  One of my amazing coworkers opens her house to all of us and sets her house up with casino tables.  Not only does she do all that but she provides prizes!  I won a peppermint martini kit.  Yummy!

I love to bake so I volunteered to make dessert.  I was rummaging around in the cupboard and found a cake pop kit Aaron got me last year for Christmas that I hadn't used yet.  So not being very smart I decided to try something new for the party.  I've made cake pops before but I used a different recipe and process.  I'm not sure why I attempted these for the first time the afternoon of the party...  

This is what they looked like coming out of the oven.  Cake turds, as I called them.  So with that being said, I decided I had better whip up Ol' Faithful.  So now I've started the cake pops and cupcakes and only have a couple hours to produce something pretty for the black and white party.

I must say with all the disaster and mess I made they actually turned out pretty and delicious.  These were some of the pretty ones.  I won't waste your time looking at all the misfits.  So we will pretend they ALL turned out like this.  

 And here are Ol' Faithful.  Funfetti or devils food cake with butter cream frosting.  Yes, I use a box cake cause they are delicious, don't judge.  Until I find a better recipe, this is way easier.  I do make my own butter cream frosting cause that is the only way to go.  It is amazing!

Note to self, don't attempt new desserts with limited time for a big event.

What I woke up to

This is what I woke up to on my birthday.  My sweet hubby making me a yummy coffee and my baby girl helping on the counter. 

 

Oh and getting whip cream shots.  Isn't that the best little face to come down to?

 

North Pole Experience

We headed up to Flagstaff for a little adventure.  We decided to try out the North Pole Experience this year.  We have done the Polar Express in the past and this one is hands down the best Christmas adventure.  We took a little risk on our hotel room that was $12 a night.  Yes, you read it right.  It was either a little gem or going to be a huge nasty disaster.  We lucked out, it was clean, had a warm shower, and I get a free 8x8 photo book from Shutterfly.  Which was a nice little bonus.  Back to our winter adventure..

Matching jammies was a necessity.  It is a bit of a challenge to find cute jammies that range from 2-10 but I found some at Carters and made some super cute hair bows to match.  

Just a fun little picture with faux Santa.

Maybe the cutest bows ever!  Thanks Kyna for helping.

Chloe wasn't so sure about the trolley ride to the North Pole.  She insisted on being check to check the entire ride.  I have to admit I totally enjoyed it.  

 

Each room was amazing.  The decorations were unbelievable   Every room smelled of amazing Christmas scents, and it was entertaining and engaging for everyone.  

You always have to have a picture with Santa where someone is super upset...
At least Glen is happy in the picture!

 

We woke up and headed to the breakfast with Santa.  I must say that everything was so well organized and I was so happy that we didn't have to wait in any lines.  Because waiting is lines with 3 little kids is one of my least favorite things.  Santa made his way to every table and visited with the kids.  He signed their ornaments we bought the night before.  One of our traditions is to always buy an ornament on vacations or for special events.  Our tree is filled with tons of amazing memories.   

 We had some play time on the Sinclair dinosaur before we headed home.  

 I highly recommend this adventure.  It was amazing.  

Sunday Sync