Once again, time just flies and then I realize we have not posted! What have the Komacs been doing?

Kevin and I successfully completed the MS150, riding 130 miles on our bikes over two days. The assorted aches and pains of being in our 40’s dogged us a bit, but we triumphed in the end!

One of Ashley’s goals for the summer was to make cupcakes, from scratch, by herself. We set out to do this for the 4th of July picnic at Kevin’s mom’s house. Ashley did almost everything herself, except for the jobs she delegated to her sous-chef (me).

She found a recipe for white cake in a cookbook I have. She did all of the measuring and mixing. This was not an easy recipe, calling for egg whites to be folded into a batter. She did well with it, then I split the batter into thirds, tinting them blue and red and leaving one white. Ashley spooned her colored batters into cups, starting with blue…

Then layering white on top…

Then finishing with red. She put them into the oven and pulled them out herself.

She asked me to make the fresh buttercream frosting for her, which she then piped onto the top of her cakes. 

To decorate the cupcakes, she had me melt white chocolate and cool it again, cutting it into squares. I then mixed and tinted a thick powder sugar glaze that she used to paint the white chocolate (white chocolate seizes if you try to tint it directly).

   Finished decorations placed on finished cakes! Off to the picnic!

  Our daring chef prepares to taste her creation.

This is what the inside looked like. Yum!

Kayla’s main focus has been preparing to go on her annual church retreat, the Great Escape. The junior high kids spend a week in Green Lake, Wisconsin. They stay up too late, get up too early, eat all kinds of things at crazy hours. They also spend time in prayer & reflection, deciding where their faith lies and how they make it part of their lives. It’s a great time, and we will miss her (she won’t miss us)! She leaves tomorrow morning and comes back on Saturday.

This past week was “Bring a Friend Free” week at Great America. The girls brought friends earlier in the week, but we saved two tickets for some special someones. The day started with lunch. My trunk makes a nice place to sit and put on shoes!

First stop, double-decker carousel! Caleb was not so sure at first, but he liked it fine. Rhys cried when we got off the carousel!

We rode the balloon ride. Caleb was with his cousins, Rhys rode with the moms.

The park was pretty busy that day, with long lines. We didn’t ride too many things. Whizzer’s line was WAY too long, so they all rode the Fun Machine instead.

Next up…..family vacation! Kevin is in Orlando this week for a work event. When he gets back, we are preparing for our big trip – back to Orlando for Harry Potter overload at Universal Studios! Here’s hoping Kayla and Kevin come back from their trips healthy….

One final note: Kevin has been really getting into a place here called Tactical Combat. It is an indoor laser tag facility. What makes it special is that the weapons used are authentic replica, military style rifles and such. They have the same heft as a real weapon, load like a real one, and “fire”. Each person wears a head band as a targeting device. Kevin often ends up ranked #1 when he is there, as he was a very accurate shot when he was in the National Guard way back when. One day, he took Kayla. She LOVED it! Kevin has a picture of her holding her weapon. It’s just that the picture is on his work phone, and he has not yet figured out how to send that to me. Once I get it, I will post it.

The girls and I are home from our week-long trip out west. It was a really nice week, with adventures and tie-dyeing and legos. The girls had a good time with their little boy cousins, and we all had fun visiting the Grand Canyon for the first time. Some photos from our adventures, courtesy of the camera Tiffanie lent me (because I left mine at home….)

Our first trip to the Grand Canyon made us need to come back to do and see more!

This first picture is the watch tower that you find when you come in on  the east rim of the canyon.

You can climb up to the top and look out the windows. Along the way, you will see all kinds of paintings.

The view from up there is pretty cool too.

Outside the tower, we took in the sight. Ashley thought the mesa/plateau was too green for its surroundings, like it was not really there.

Girls on a wall.

  Kayla showing her funny side.

More girls next to the watchtower. After all the hiking and nature sights, we headed to the Bright Angel Lodge area for ice cream. I stayed with the boys while everyone else waited in line. The boys were amused when they could see their cousins in the window!

We needed a bathroom break too. This sign really was hanging right above every toilet. Makes you wonder why it was needed…..

Lots of elk hanging around the roads. We saw some does along with the larger stags.

The next day was deer park day. The girls had fun feeding deer and visiting with goats. The boys enjoyed the crazy cockatoo!

On the way home, we had to stop and see the “Teal M” in Sedona. Apparently, Sedona has a town wide color scheme that all businesses must follow to maintain a certain image for tourists. No business is exempt, even the mighty golden arches. And so those arches needed to be teal.

Back home, it was time for some swimming. We went to a local swim park, with a few slides and diving boards. It was the perfect place for a little swimming fun!

Portrait studio day was crazy fun, especially when the girls given free reign to be silly!

Aww, cute sisters!

Nice side kick from our recently upgraded yellow belt!

Hmm, wonder why they are pointing fingers?

We had good flights both ways, even with our return flight landing at midnight!

One little pattern that we hope does not repeat: Last time we came to AZ, Kevin ended up with pneumonia. This time when we came, he ended up with a bronchial infection! I guess the solution to that is Kevin will have to come with us next time!