Rapunzel Birthday Cake

Spring is here and with weather to match. Usually it is tremendously hot in Pensacola by now. So we are thankful for the mostly cool few days, despite high pollen counts. Since we moved in the winter, I had no idea what kind of trees and bushes we have around the house. Now that flowers bloom overnight it seems, I've been pleasantly surprised to find out we have azaleas and wisteria. Our sweet girl had her birthday this week. Since it was on Monday, we had a couple families join us at Perdido Kids' Park. We had the park almost to ourselves. It gave us moms a chance to visit without worrying too much about where the children are running off too. The park is fenced throughout and only has one entrance/exit. We love this park! A themed-birthday is nice, too. But who knew that kids still love to just play in the playground and just eat cake and ice cream. Simple and almost free birthday parties are still in!

Parties over the weekend get overcrowded at the park, however. It doesn't matter what time you have yours. There will be 8 other parties going on at the same time. As you can tell, this was taken during the Easter Egg Hunt- it should be the Saturday before Easter again this year. Plan to come if you can. Last year, the Optimist Club hosted it and some of the eggs had $1 bills inside! This birthday cake was inspired by LifeAsMom's Tangled Cake . Last year, I feared our little girl was getting over the Princess craze- she kept asking to wear blue jeans! But alas, she is a girly-girl through and through. More pink the better for her 8th birthday and this pink-frosted strawberry cake fit the ticket. I am afraid of making birthday cakes... because I need frosting lessons! That's why my cakes don't leave the baking pan and have marshmallows for a border. If you are wondering, there is no birthday salutation because I forgot to get gel icing. Sprinkles made the best last-minute substitution.

Do you buy birthday cakes or make your own? I do like that homemade cakes are much more inexpensive and my children adore them, even if they are simple with uneven frosting. I'm mentally preparing for October's cake- my son wants a dinosaur cake for his 7th birthday! I have no clue how to make that. Looking for cake ideas- there's tons here. Frugal ideas to swap? Check out Frugal Fridays. Want to share stories? Tell yours at Company Girl's Coffee at Home Sanctuary. Ok, I had to link-up with Amy's Finer Fridays too, because babies and birthdays turn me all sappy.