Labor Day Wrap Up

Hello! I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend, and found yourselves doing nothing resembling laboring. I took full advantage of summer's final weekend (in my mind), and my last free weekend until December 21. Between Labor Day and now, I've attended one class and looked at the syllabus for the other (Labor Day postponed the first day of my Monday class). All I can say is this semester is going to be intense. But let's not spoil the mood by thinking of these boring and laborious tasks (har har).

Instead, let's revisit my relaxing and fun weekend. I had a family cookout on Saturday. Getting together at my aunt's house for grilling, pool time, and some volleyball is a pretty typical weekend activity, and Labor Day was no exception! Remember when I talked about my big, fat Jones family? Getting to see everyone is the #1 reason I love said cookouts.

I planned to make cake pops and veggie kabobs, because I love food on a stick. Putting together the veggie  kabobs was so easy, and the marinade was really yummy. And when it came time to grill them, my fabulous uncle put down foil to accommodate his vegan niece. Thanks, Uncle Jimmy!

The cake pops, however, did not turn out so well. The cake was quite moist, and the coating was too runny. The problem may have been that I didn't cool the cake long enough. I'm impatient, sue me. Or, the problem may have been that I dropped a sizable hunk of cake on the floor and had to chuck it. The problem may also have been the fact that I misread the amount of coconut oil required for the coating. 

Frosting...

...to be mixed into the cake.

Looking moist and questionable.

I forged ahead with the cake pops, and then the coconut oil incident happened. After the second cake pop refused to cooperate, I gave up the idea of eating cake on a stick. 

Rebellion!

So I ended up just drizzling on the coating and sprinkling them that way. People loved them, and I got lots of, "OMG, these are vegan?!" comments. I guess that's a good sign. But these are so darn cute, I refuse to accept defeat. Expect an attempt at redemption in the near future.

Dakota thoroughly enjoyed her weekend, too. She got to visit her favorite person, my dad. I like how he is the favorite, and yet I pay all her bills, walk her religiously, spoil her rotten, and pick up the poop. I brought her to the cookout, too, and she had the best time getting all the pets and rubs she could ever dream of. 

o hai mama!

I spent Sunday at the Pax River Naval Air Station where the Blue Angels performed. My camera died before they performed, so I was only able to capture some pictures of the other acts. Still, it was neat to see the different stunts and spend time with my family. And I was able to get some sun on my otherwise glow-in-the-dark white skin.

Baby brother!

He only wore sunglasses to protect his eyes from the glare off my skin.

You should probably grab a pair, too.

How did you spend your Labor Day? Any end-of-summer traditions for you? I want to hear about them! As much as I love summer, I'm looking forward to cooler weather, fall produce, and one of my favorite holidays: Halloween!