The 2012 Christmas Card Part 3

In 2012….

After a month of working on this year’s video card, I have decided to follow the lead of Peter Jackson. Why spend a solid work week of time editing and simplifying a painfully long movie, when I can break it into several movies? In the case of the annual Maguire Christmas Card, you don’t have to pay for the extra admission tickets. Such is my loss.

Movie synopsis: Ted and Josie were Brave, they are The Lucky One(s), I hope they have Total Recall of the Beauty and the Beast(s) on this Journey to The Mysterious Island Continent. Spencer and I found that the Dark Knight Rises at work, but Skyfall and Argo are just movies. Sound tracks provided by Teddy’s and Josie’s Dance Party playlist 2012.

Hunger Games: Maybe we shouldn’t get out of the car

Marveling at the Avengers: Teddy Danger and Princess Josephine Conquer the World

American Reunion: Different places, same old life

There and Back Again: The hobbit and his family’s journey from Lesotho to the United States Hitting theaters July 2013.

The 2011 card can be viewed here http://travelingmaguires.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-in-africa-southern-africa.html 

More cakes

I found a picture of Ted's cake. It was gross, but he was happy.

Straight-haired Josephine

What happens when older girls have a live doll to play with? They paint her nails and straighten her hair!  I barely recognize my little one.

Straight-haired Josie- the video

Cake Decorating at High Altitude

The altitude kills all of my cakes. Pies are fine, but my poor cakes. Even brownies sink, but I figured out the trick, large pan and very thin brownies. Spencer of course got triple chocolate brownies for his birthday. I made cakes for my and Josie's birthdays. Spencer surprised Ted with a Spiderman cake for his birthday hoping that it would save me heartache.

The cakes I made were tasty, but were sad and pathetic in their own right. I made little cake pan sized ones for my birthday. 4 of these turned out and we each decorated one. I think the kids did a great job coloring. The icing was perfect, straight from a plastic can. 

Josie's cakes were a different story altogether. I failed on three. Yes, three. They all either fell or didn't cook right due to the altitude. Not only did I want to give Josie a nice birthday cake, but had invited all the kids and parents I knew in Lesotho to the party. Possible exaggeration here, but I truly had stressed myself out over a second birthday. 

After so many failures, I had to call in the expert. Tebbie at Teb's baked goods. This is the perfect time to plug her little business. Call Teb at 5888 6824 for all your baked good needs, carrot cakes, red velvet cakes, I have to stop I am getting hungry. She totally came through the day before the party with cupcakes. She gave me a large container of the most amazing lemon icing and let me decorate at will. 

Josie is obsessed with birds and over did it just a little on the bird theme. Still, the only cake that survived my kitchen and Teb's cupcakes looked great when I was done. Shame she won't remember her second birthday party. I am sure it will be the prettiest.

The store bought cake was disgusting. The frosting just isn't American style butter creme. It may possibly have been a whipped creme frosting of some kind, though extremely thick and totally inedible. The frosting between the two layers was actually granadia, passion-fruit. It was jelly-like and still had the seeds. Again, not something that my sweet tooth was capable of handling. The cake itself was like sand. Never again. We didn't take a picture of that one, Ted’s party was at school not home.