Live on NBC

"We're live in 20 seconds!!"

That's what we heard as we rushed into the studio where the live filming of America's Got Talent, Week 8, Night 1 was taking place. With only 15 more seconds left, the stage crew hollered at Jeremy and me to get to our seats.

A few weeks before, I found the show on hulu.com (since we don't have real TV) and soon became an avid viewer. When I found out that the finals would be filmed in Hollywood, I went online to get tickets. They were free! All we had to do was show up no later than 4:00 pm and wear "hip" clothing (yes, that was in the instructions, mentioning that we could get turned away if our wardrobe wasn't cool enough).

Not sure if our clothes were up to par, we panicked when we were still on the highway at 4:30. LA traffic sucks. When we finally got to the studio, we were shocked that they still let us in, but it was standing room only. I guess they figured our clothes were more of the second-class type.

As we were led into the studio, a stage manager kept waving her arms for us to come up closer to the stage. The director counted down from 10 over the loud speaker as we climbed over bodies in the center isle to our new places. Before we new it, the show was in full swing and we were watching it from the VIP balcony with a family that was related to one of the producers!

Above: Train is playing on stage. Judges Sharon Osborne, Howie Mandel and the other guy on the right. Me and Jeremy are smack dab in the middle of the screen. Can you see our silhouettes on the center of the lowest balcony?

Below: A cheer squad performing. My head is just to the right of the cheer leader's bum and shoulder. Jeremy is to the right of me, directly under that blue light in the balcony room.

We could see everything perfectly--the performers, the judge's faces, the cameras, even the words on the teleprompter screens for the host. We could also see how that danger guy did his stupid tricks (he shouldn't have made it to the next round), the tech crew prepare for each number, and the make-up consultants assist Sharon Osborne and Howie Mandel during commercial breaks. The only annoying part of the show was the fidgety kids next to us who did not seem to realize the magnificence of where we were seated! (that's rich kids for you).

After the show, they told us to stick around for the pre-filming of the next night's feature. The band Train would be playing for us, and we would be on another night of NBC TV!!

The whole experience was awesome. I was really intrigued how the "theatre" was just a bunch of platforms hanging from metal lattices in a giant room. How amazing that they can turn a giant empty room into an auditorium, or city, or school, or outdoor set! Hollywood is pretty cool like that.

Feeling famous after the show, we decided to do what famous people do. We went to the Grove. (it's a really fancy mall that actors shop at). We pretended to be rich by eating at Magianno's Grill (luckily, we had gift cards) and then played Train during our car ride home!

Wild Animal Park

Highlights included:

• Three itty-bitty baby elephants, 4 older baby elephants
• Watching the elephants for a LONG time, splashing, walking, nursing, taking mud baths, creating mud-sunscreen, beautifying their bodies with mud, eating grass, shaking the dirt off of their grass heaps, chomping, pooping, bellowing, trumpeting, and more.
• The "journey into Africa" ride
• The steel band performance
• Being hot (it hasn't really gotten hot yet in HB, so it was nice to feel some heat!)
• Drumming with the African acrobats. Jeremy and I actually gained a little audience as we jammed out with one of the African drummers. And I learned a few new patterns!
• Nature Walk
• Making clay figurines
• Watching all the kids' different reactions to the animals, performers, plants etc.
• Critiqueing the variety of parental strategies displayed throughout the park- something very easy to do when you don't have your own kids :-)
• Not rushing

Psalms

In Sunday school, we studied Psalms in the Bible and then we were given time to write our own psalm. Mine ended up rhyming:

Psalm of Independence Day

By SarahLynn Zavoral

Land of freedom, land of choice,

For thy sake I sing and rejoice.

Constituted with wisdom from God,

By thy beauty I am awed.

Jeremy is not one to write lovey-dovey stuff, but his psalm ended up that way! He will KILL me if I post it and he will swear never to write anything from the heart again. So that's why it's here, too. Please don't say anything to him about it in person or on facebook/email, and I might get away with it:

Psalm of Gratitude

By Jeremy Zavoral

Praise the Lord for blessing me with a wife who is as pure on the inside as she is beautiful on the outside. And how grateful I am for the opportunities the Lord has opened for me in my career and education. Amen.

Our Fifth 4th of July

Fourth of July is by far my favorite holiday! (Easter is also a favorite, but I think I love the 4th even more).

It's the holiday of pancake breakfasts, concerts in the park, red white and blue parades, summer sweat, national anthems, historical reverence, BBQ's, watermellon, fireworks, homemade ice cream, family and cousins, and that intangible thrill in the air of pure summer joy and American pride...never to be squelched by the falsehood of a fictitious character or pagan tradition. So forgive me if I get a little nostalgic.

Our first 4th (2006) was spent in Utah shortly after we were engaged. We ate pancakes in the street, watched the parade with Jeremy's family, strolled around the craft fair on main street, and took a nap in a park near my apt. We also introduced both of our parents to each other! That was a big moment, very successful. Our families played football together and we watched fireworks from Squaw Peak. (no making out though, cuz our parents were there). We also went to Great-Grandma June's 90th B-day hosted by Uncle Jim's family. Perhaps one of my favorite 4ths ever.

The second 4th (2007) was spent in Austin, Minnesota, cuz we were living there while Jeremy did his internship for Hormel Foods. We entertained all the kids in our ward by collecting fireflies at the town party. The firework show was accompanied by the city band playing on the park stage. For sure one of my favorite 4ths ever.

Our third 4th (2008) took place in Huntington Beach. It too, was perhaps one of my favorite 4th's ever. You can read more details here.

Our fourth 4th (2009) was also in Huntington Beach. We took Ashlea to the parade on our new bikes. We ate lunch at Wahoo Tacos, spent the day on Main Street and the beach. We watched fireworks at the pier again. The bike ride home in the dark with all of the bonfires was really cool. I was having too much fun to take pictures. This was one of my favorite 4th's ever.

How weird to think that it's now our fifth 4th of July together (2010)!! This year, we drove up to Sacramento for the Great-Grandma June Family Reunion hosted by Grandpa Bob. WOW!! This was FOR SURE one of my favorite 4ths ever! (can you tell that I love the 4th of July?!)

On Friday, we went golfing with 9 people from the family. I was the only girl and I rocked!! We played "best ball" and competed as teams. It's now my favorite way to play golf. Matt entertained us the rest of the day with guitar hero, pool basketball and Godfather's pizza. Then, we all cuddled outside with the cousins for an outdoor movie night.

Saturday was filled with really fun get-to-know-you games and competitions that MomZ organized. Highlights included relays and egg toss. We visited, ate, visited, and played more games. Dinner was at the church with a special night of Davidson Family Feud and Aunt Sheri's famous "Great-Grand Mom" song that I've had stuck in my head since the first time we heard it 4 years ago. Then we had a special firework show with homemade ice cream in Suzie's back yard. We only got attacked by the fireworks 3 times!

Sunday, we went to church and visited with family. We drove back home and made it in time for our third year in a row of watching the Huntington Beach firework show from the pier. It was a perfect way to end the BEST weekend of the year!

Bike Buds

Jeremy and his Little (from Big Brothers Big Sisters) have been working on two of our bikes, which got rusty from the rain in April. They finished de-greasing, spray painting and coloring them yesterday!
Everything silver that you see on these bikes used to be covered in rust. Jeremy's secret to rust removal: Dip a wad of tin foil into Coca Cola. Rub the tin foil on the rust. Watch as it magically disappears!! Then for fun, use spray paint and permanent marker to decorate the metal. These guys chose silver paint and red & black marker.

Another Year Done!

Another year of teaching is successfully finished!! I have now been a professional teacher for 3 full years. Weird. I always thought that teachers who taught that long were like veterans or pros!

Here are some highlights from this year (not in chronological order).

5th Grade Square Dance and Show. Written by SarahLynn Zavoral
4th Grade Narrative Musical Mime: Coyote and The Swallowing Monster. Arranged by SarahLynn Zavoral

3rd Grade Show: So You Think You Can'T Dance? Written by SarahLynn Zavoral
2nd Grade Musical: BugZ. 1st Grade Musical: The Beat of the Drum. Written by SarahLynn Zavoral

I don't quite feel like a pro or a veteran. Mostly, I feel exhausted. Luckily, the summer will be spent relaxing and doing lots and lots of planning for next year. And I can finally get some personal things done that are way overdue, like going to the dentist!

Goin' to Grad School

The talk of getting a masters degrees is not something new. Jeremy has always wanted to get an MBA in marketing, and I have always wanted to get my masters in education and hopefully someday a PhD in education administration.

About two months ago, we were at our weekly beach football game. We won our first game of the season, and all the players invited us to go to a bar for lunch and beers. We went the week before (don't worry, we didn't drink!), so I was a little hesitant to say yes again. There was a lot of chores to be done at our new place that day. But as soon as I thought of saying "no," a strong impression from the Spirit came to me that we should go to the restaurant and enjoy the company of our new friends.

During our lunch, we were sitting next to a girl who had just finished her MBA program in marketing at USC. Jeremy started to ask her questions and before we knew it, he was scheduled to go to the information meeting that she was speaking at that following Wednesday.

Applications for the part-time MBA program were due in less than two weeks. Jeremy figured he may as well try to apply. Then, if he got accepted, we would decide if we should do it. He scrambled to get his transcripts ready, found people to write recommendations, and he wrote 5 entrance essays. Luckily, he took the GMAT two years ago (right after he graduated). The scores are good for 5 years, so he didn't have to worry about doing that.

Well, he managed to turn everything in about 10 days after the deadline. A few weeks ago, we got the acceptance letter in the mail!!

We have been fasting and praying ever since the opportunity came up. It's really scary to think how we will pay for it all and whether or not Jeremy can handle both working full time and doing school part-time. But after recognizing how the Lord led Jeremy to find this opportunity and after pondering long and hard about it, we feel it would be stupid for Jeremy to not take this opportunity. So we're going forward with faith, and so far we feel very good and positive about it!!

MBA orientation camps will take place a couple times this summer and then school will start in September. The part-time program at USC will take 3 years. Wish Jeremy luck! And wish me luck too, 'cuz it won't be easy for me either!

A Sad Happy Time

My little baby sister, Tanya, graduated from high school last weekend.

I remember when Desha and I talked over Tanya's crib soon after she was born, thinking how old we would all be when Tanya would graduate from high school. Dad would almost be 60! and Desha would be 30! and we would both probably be married and have kids.

Now that Tauni has actually graduated, it's amazing to think how time has gone by. To me, she is still a sweet little toddler running around the house with her long curls, dimples and pitterpatter feet, pestering me during my homework, "Sarah! Let's play house again!"

When I talk to her on the phone or mention her to other people, I instinctively picture that little sister. Even when I dream about her, she is an innocent, hazel-eyed six-year old. Not the tall, gorgeous, distant young adult that she is now.

I moved out of my parents home over 8 years ago, but I still haven't been able to accept or even face the fact that Tanya is no longer the little sister I used to have. Even if our relationship changes for the better, there will still never be a way to renew the precious times that only her and I shared in our youth. Times that even she seems to have forgotten. Gone are the days when she used to beg me to spin her around just one more time on the grass in the backyard. Gone is my little pal that I was forced to drag with me to all of my babysitting jobs. Gone is the pest that took my jewelry and dolls and got me blamed for everything. Gone are the cheers and hugs to see me every time I came home from school. Gone are the nights when she would sneak into my room to sleep with me when she was scared. Gone are the silly dances and songs, the crazy sleepouts on the trampoline, the tea parties and forts. My little friend is...gone.

An Ode to Great Things

An Ode to Great Things

by SarahLynn Zavoral

Oh, the things, the things that make life great!

Like eating ice cream to try and gain weight.

Where did we get the giant box of sweets?

Costco, of course! The price can't be beat.

The new washing machine has been a charm!

We can wash all we want without any harm.

With less mountains of clothes around the room,

I'm able to find things without blowing a fume.

And how great are two bathrooms in one house!

We can both use The John without having a joust.

We were worried how having no cable would be,

but, oh, the things we get done when there isn't TV.

There's still internet, though, and what a joy!

What great connections that thing can employ.

Call us nerds or dorks, we don't care.

We love NPR news every time they're on air!

They feature music, politics, science and sports

In unbiased lengths that are nothing too short.

How can I forget our brand new screen doors?

Both a front and back increases the scores!

Tupperware, sunglasses, new underwear,

Google Chrome and juicies make life easy to bear!

Did I mention our unlimited supply of ice cream?

Why, without all these great things, I'm sure I would scream!

Soap Box Time!

Okay, to begin making my point, let's imagine that you are standing in line to get into Disneyland. You just bought your tickets and you're moments away from stepping into the Happiest Place on Earth.

Just as you reach the ticket scanner, your attention is drawn to a most unusual scene taking place at the fence right next to the check-in area. To your utter surprise, a family is scrambling to climb over the fence and get into the park! They don't have any tickets with them and they seem to have no intention of paying for any.

Appalled, you mention something to the security guard. "Excuse me, sir, did you see that family just climb the fence into the park?"

"Oh, don't worry. That happens all the time."

"All the time?" you inquire. "But, what about paying to get in? My whole family has been waiting and saving up to come to Disneyland. And now I come to find out that people just jump the fence to get in?"

"What do you want me to do?" barks the guard. "Go run after them? They're already in the park, it will take hours to find them! There's nothing we can do about it!"

***

This story is a perfect parallel to how I view-you guessed it-illegal immigration.

The only difference is that if anyone actually tried hopping the fence into Disneyland, everyone would be freaking out. Tourists would yell and point fingers, park workers would make a human Wall of China, and security guards would pounce on any freeloader--even ones that attempted to innocently get in with someone else's Season Pass. (Believe me, I know. We didn't have much luck when we tried it.)

So the fact that controlling illegal immigration continues to be an issue of controversy is beyond me. The key word is illegal. But that doesn't seem to phase the government when they allow illegal residents to benefit from nearly all government services--including health care--without paying a dime for it. Does it not occur to legislatures that perhaps one of the keys to helping our health care problems and economic problems would be to STOP feeding, nursing and educating illegal aliens for free and START finding a way to tax them for being here?

Now don't get me wrong. We should -and do- welcome anyone with open arms into America--as long as they are willing to pay the price, learn our laws and agree to follow them. It's really not that difficult.

Wrong, you say! It isn't easy to become an American, you argue! The fee is so high (relative to the kind of money Mexicans have) and the wait is so long. I am very aware of this. I have had several students and friends with illegal parents, cousins, and grandparents. I am pretty sensitive to the needs and desires that Mexicans have to seek a better life. It's awesome that they want to come to America. That is an honor to Americans!

But that doesn't justify illegal activity. It isn't fair for some people to get into Disneyland for free while others scrimp, save and wait to get in. Simply stated, it's immoral.

Which is why I commend Arizona legislatures and Governor Jan Brewer for their recent efforts to crack down on the problem. In case you haven't been paying attention, it's a new law that gives officers the right and requirement to ask any residents for proof of citizenship (including people that are breaking the law or just hanging outside of Home Depot). If the resident cannot give proof, officers can arrest him/her. If the person is found to be an illegal immigrant, action will be taken - deportation and the like.

My reaction: Duh! Is this seriously something we had to make a law about? I thought/hoped officers were already doing this since other countries have been doing this kind of thing for ages. If you've ever been outside of the country, you would know that it is pretty basic to require visitors and citizens to show paperwork at anytime to any government official (i.e. passport, visa, license, etc).

It is amazing to me that many people, including the city of LA and Santa Ana (highly populated by Mexicans) are in outrage over this AZ law. This perplexes me because the people who I think would support this law the most are legal Mexican Americans. They are the people who waited faithfully in line to Disneyland and that paid full price to get in!

My favorite is the argument that this law will legalize racial profiling. First of all, the racial profile already exists--people already think that most Mexicans are illegal. Both the illegals and the American government are to thank for that. I say this with no disrespect toward Mexicans. The profile would exist toward any other nationality that had hundreds of thousands of its citizens seeping into America illegally without any consequences. I mean really.

If anything, this new law will decrease racial profiling. How? Once all the illegals have been found and deported, there won't be anymore illegal Mexicans to racially profile. As a result, everyone can be confident that if they run into a Mexican in AZ, that person is a legal citizen!

What a wonderful thing to have! Confidence that anyone we come in contact with in our country is here legally. I look forward to the day.

Note: All of these ideas/statements are my own, so you don't need to accuse me of watching too much Fox News or something. We haven't had TV for almost two months, and I hated watching Fox News when we did have TV. I have gotten most of my information from NPR, which is more left wing than right.

Story of the Week

In an effort to start the next singing game with my Kindergartners, I chose a few responsible kids to demonstrate what to do before I set the mob loose.

One student that I chose was Brandon (name changed). He is one of the funniest and tiniest students in his grade.

"Find a partner, Brandon," I urged. "Choose someone who is being really responsible."

Brandon's demeanor immediately changed from a giddy, free spirited little kid to an authoritarian. He straightened out his pants, stood up as tall as he could (which was just 3 ft high) and put his hands straight at his side.

With the most teacher sounding voice he could muster, he announced, "Okay, boys and girls! I am looking for a student that is very responsible. Someone that is sitting criss-cross applesauce, and is quiet and...and has their hands like this (gesturing linked fingers) in their lap."

Trying not to laugh, I sat back and watched to see how long he would play teacher.

He then slowly walked back and forth, around his peers, with his head still up tall, but his eyes gazing down below him. Every child was now sitting as still as soldiers, all with their hands in their laps. "Hmmm," Brandon thought out loud. Putting his fingers to his chin, he said, "Let me see. Who should I pick?"

He waited as long as he could, then without warning cried out "Tommy!!" And giggled uncontrollably with his new partner.

I love my job.

Fixin' Workin' Playin'

Apologies for not posting very regularly. Moving has kind of taken a toll on us. So to make up for it, here's a 3-in-1 post for you!

Fixin'-
We're pretty much moved into our new home now! Jeremy replaced a toilet as soon as we moved in. He did a great job with that! He also started replacing a screen door, but that got put on hold cuz he needed more parts. He started replacing the bathroom fans, but that got put on hold cuz he needed more parts. He also started replacing the bathroom facets, but that also got put on hold cuz he needed more parts.

So now we have a few unfinished projects laying around, which kind of keeps us second guessing about this home ownership thing. But all our worries are set aside everytime we pop in another load of laundry into our very own washer and dryer!!! It is perhaps one of the best things that has ever happened to us! (Lame, you might say. But once you've lived 8 years without your own washing machine, I think you'll understand).

We also found a dead bird in one of the bathroom ceiling fans! It looked rotted and dusty. It must have gotten sucked into the vent because the fan was installed incorrectly. Instead of sucking air out of the bathroom, it was sucking air into the bathroom. Pretty much the thing sucked.

Workin'-
I had another performance this week- the JK and Kindergarten performance. It was awesome, very exhausting, but worth it. This performance showed parents the games and activities that we do in music class. It's funny, cuz some parents think "Oh wait, it's not a performance?" and they get let down. But once they see the show-er music class- they are completely blown away. I got comments like "I can't believe how much they are learning in music!" "This is the best school performance I've seen in 30 years!" "My favorite part is that all the children are so engaged and loving every activity!"

Jeremy has been workin really hard at Hormel and also working hard to apply for a part time MBA program. More details to come soon...

Playin'-
We've had lots of fun entertaining our visitors the last couple of months. In February, one of my best college friends, Megan and her husband Brandon, came to visit for the day as part of their So Cal vacation. We took them to the night market on HB center street and had fun playing games together in our apartment. It was so great to be with Megan again and to be together as married people this time!! Super fun!!

In March, Mom & Dad Z and The Matt came to visit. We went to Disneyland and California Adventure Land. It was a BLAST. My personal favorites were the Dole pineapple floats in the

Tiki hut, and the Alladin musical. But being with the family was the best part. Matt has pretty much morphed into a clone of Jeremy, so we had a few awkward moments when I mistook him for my husband!

This past week, our sister Melissa came to visit for a church conference. It was great to bask in her cheerfullness and coolness. She of course met 25 guys that want to date her now, so hopefully we'll see her here more often!

becoming all the wiser

This past month has presented a huge learning curve for Jeremy and me. We really feel like grown-ups now that we figured out how to buy a home! Thanks to Jeremy's hard work, we closed just 3 days after we were supposed to, which we've been told is a miracle these days. We were still able to move in on Saturday! And now it's my Spring Break, so I can spend all week unpacking!! We feel very blessed and grateful that everything worked out for our good. But it was mostly very stressful and confusing. Here's a few things we learned. For those out there more naive than us, maybe this can help you in the future.

• Make sure you have a spouse with a lot of ambition, who is really smart, and who is willing to fill in the gaps when you can't/don't. There is no way this would have happened without Jeremy.
• Don't ever throw your W2 forms or tax papers away- even from several years ago. You're gonna need them to buy a home.
• Don't wait around for people at escrow to file the papers or get them ready. It's up to YOU to get on their case and make it happen. (Good job, Jeremy!)
• Escrow will try to charge $250 to send your documents from one office to another. Just offer to transport them yourself, and they won't charge you.
• Make sure you get both electricity AND water set up before you move in. No one reminded us about the water. (Small detail that makes a BIG difference). Luckily we still could go potty and shower in our old apartment for 3 out 5 days that we didn't have water in our home.

• Magic erasers are the best for cleaning an apt. If you haven't used one of these, you've got to. They get rid of every scratch and scrape. I swear, we left that place SPOTLESS. (We better get our deposit back!)
• Try to find the blessings in all of the incoveniences. There was a huge earthquake on Sunday. Maybe Heavenly Father knew that if our water was on, the earthquake would mess up our pipes, so he made sure we didn't get our water until after the earthquake. Who knows?!
• Remeber that when you are applying for a loan, all of your financial info is at risk. Be ready to have people steal your identity. That happened to Jeremy. But at least we have brand new credit cards now!
• Craig'slist is wonderful. We were able to sell and buy several important items in record time!
• God answer's prayers. I knew we would close and move in on time because we had been praying earnestly and doing our part. That's all it takes!

We're Home Owners-and other news

So, it's been a while. Here's a quick update:

• We bought a cute town home in Huntington Beach! We will close on March 29 and start moving in later that week!! 2 bed, 1.5 bath. Washer/dryer hookup, fireplace, our own upstairs and downstairs, patio, and lots of opportunities to fix up the place. The location is just down the street, but we will be in a new ward at church, so it should be fun to meet new people. Our commute to work will be the same. And we can still ride our bikes to the beach! Now we have a guest bedroom, so come visit!!
• My school had their Open House in mid-Feb. It marked my one year of teaching at this school! It's so weird to think that I've only been there one year. It feels like ten!
• Jeremy has been really succesful with selling new Hormel products to his grocery chain customer. This store has been really notorious for not buying new products like Hormel's party trays and yummy pork tenderloins, so Hormel has been giving Jeremy high fives for all the new things he's getting this store to buy.
• I went to Sacramento last week for a 3 day MENC conference (music education thing). I stayed with Jeremy's family and had a BLAST. They took me to Sutter's Fort, Bowling, and Grandma's. We also celebrated our youngest cousin's 1st birthday! It was actually pretty fun being there without Jeremy. I got to have Matt, our little brother, all to myself. Oh yeah, I also learned a lot for my job at the conference.
• On Thursday, my 3rd graders performed their musical. I wrote the show and called it "So You think you Can't Dance." It was a spoof on the dance TV shows. In this show, the contestants think they can't dance, but the judges know they can. It was really cute. The students danced to folk songs and works by great composers, showing what they've learned about tempo, rhythm, melody, and beat. They choreograhped some dances and improvised to others. We also sang a few choral pieces. I was SO proud of them.
• Last night, Jeremy and I fell asleep at 6:30pm watching TV. We woke up at 10:00pm, but only long enough to roll into bed. We were zonked out until 8:30am this morning. That's 14 hours of sleep!! What the heck!? I guess that's another testiment to the fact that we have been really busy.
• Today we went to the beach to play beach football. The weather was gorgious!!

Baking for "Cake Boss"

Here's what happened last week, starting on Feb 13:

Jeremy- Hey, SarahLynn. I forgot to tell you that we got a wierd letter in the mail.

SL- Really? Where is it?

Jeremy- I put it in the bedroom. I don't really know who it's from.

SL (upon inspecting)- Hmm. Well, it's addressed to both of us. It's either covered in mud or chocolate. And it looks like your handwriting.

Jeremy- No! That's not mine... Do you recognize the return address?

SL (squinting)- Hoboken, New Jersey. It's from Cake Boss!

(If you've seen the TV show, you'll appreciate what "Cake Boss" wrote to us).

Dear SarahLynn and Jeremy,

Ahh! Sugar! Sugar!

Look, we're really SWAMPED at the bakery this week with Valentine's Day coming up and all. I need yous guys to make a cake to fill one a our orders!

So here's the deal...this really nice couple--and I mean REALLY NICE couple-- is celebrating their 5th Valentine's Day together as a couple. And I just think thas really special, ya know. I mean, not many couples have had five years together for Valentines day and are still THIS NICE.

So here's my vision for this cake...IT'S GONNA BE AWESOME!! We gonna start with some pound cake, multi-layered with some filling, then yous gonna dirty-ice it and add more layers. This things gonna be freakin YOUGE! Then you's gonna cover it in fondant and add some etching, some piping...whatever it takes to really get that romantic kind of classic Valentines feel. Then yous got to cover it with WHATEVER yous guys want. It's like the more you add, the better it's gonna look! Ya know?

Thing is, I need you to start and finish dis thing tomorrow (Feb 14). And make sure yous guys talk wich your families tomorrow, too, cause that's what life is all about, ya know?

Aright, get dis done tomorrow and cousin Vinny will be der to pick it up.

You the best,

Cake Boss

So we didn't quite succeed in Cake Boss' vision. We didn't use fondant or special iced etchings, and I ended up ruining the part with red velevet cake because the box wouldn't let me be creative enough. But we were still able to have fun with a few layers of chocolate cake, fruit and frosting. Thank you Jeremy for a very creative and fun Valetine's Day. I love you!!