if you bake it ...

they will come ...

this weekend we were consumed with baking ... or perhaps we consumed a lot of baking (oh thank goodness i'm off to the gym this morning) ...

jake and i made a cake for his cub scout cake walk ... he's recently taken up karate and so he wanted to inspire other kids to do the same ... he made a white belt cake with a black stripe (which means the wearer of the white belt is ready to test and hopefully advance) ...

sweet and simple ...

here's the pastry chef with his piece de resistance ...

it was a "delicious cake" according to the recipe with yummy buttery icing on top ... and did i mention homemade ...

well lucky jake's number came up first on the cake walk draw which meant he had the choice of ANY cake his heart desired ... so naturally he went straight for the safeway cake with oreos ...

meanwhile back at the house ...

while my recently temporarily retired groom was traveling to the great white north also known as canada for business and pleasure ...

the kids and i carried on ... with the usual weekly activities ...

there was some chilly fun when nearby ponds froze over and amy and friends were able to slide around on them ...

yesterday, i put on some christmas music, lit the candles and made some of my favorite cookies from childhood ... the scotch cakes ...

we made circles and rectangles using mom's old cookie cutters ...

don't they look delicious ...

amy had a friend over and they added the icing and sprinkles ... it took me a while as a mom to figure out that this is the part the kids enjoyed the most ... not the baking but the decorating ...

we are counting down the days to when school gets out ... and until santa arrives ... it will be lovely to take the kids skiing and skating and we may even brave the tubing hills ...

hope you are enjoying the season with friends and family ... and that your holiday season is as sweet as ours has been ...

next thing on the list ... tree and lights on the house ...

and did someone say "christmas cards" ...