Sheets cakes with a piped message on top can get the job done, but when someone asks me if I could do that, my response may come in the form of, "Of course, but how can we 'wow' or surprise them?"
This piano is a two-layer chocolate cake cut into the shape of a grand, or baby grand, piano. My wife hasn't seen this cake yet; she's also an accomplished pianist and I'm sure she'll weigh-in on its scale. A layer of cream cheese frosting divides the layers and the top coating is cream cheese and is as black as you can get it without ruining the flavor. The piano keys (much less than 88 of them) are individually piped with cream cheese frosting and the black keys are slices of Almond Joy.
So, today, we celebrate the piano man's birthday! Congrats!
It was Friday, June 1 when I scrambled home around noon after a short day of work to make sure all was packed. A small carry-on and a backpack for a personal item were stuffed full of clothes for a long travel weekend. The three boxes of cupcakes - dozen in total - required much from the backpack. I had planned to bring only two boxes, but this is special I thought. Do you remember that recent TSA cupcake confiscation story? I made sure that all my ingredients, wrappings, size and type of boxes were, yes, TSA compliant. Not only did I want to know with 100% certainty that all twelve of them would make it through, I didn't want to make the headlines - albiet local mostly likely - that a travelling baker attempted to smuggle cupcakes through Chicago's Midway airport. I know, right? No one would ever think that'd be a headline.
But when you know in your head that all should be well, you still get that worrisome lump in your throat that something's about to go wrong? That's what I was feeling when they scanned the backpack. What will they see and What will draw their attention were the questions racing - jousting almost - in my mind. Would the boxes appear as a huge, squarish void? Would it look like a top side of a dice with the four dots facing up?
My bags went through the scanner while I entered the full body scan and... they only questioned the threat in my shirt pocket. A pen. It's a good thing they didn't notice what was written on the pen: "Dave Ramsey LIVE". If they had seen that, I'm sure I would've been detained. Those people are weird.
The cupcakes made it!
After two legs in my trip, Midway to Minneapolis and on to Spokane, my brother picked me up late Friday evening. So good to see my brother. We headed back to his and my sister-in-law's place where I crashed that night. We enjoyed a lazy morning, was treated to Starbucks - yummy, picked up produce at the local fruit co-op, and then made our way to the school where the graduation was held. Is the secret still under wraps I thought. It's been months since the plan was formulated.
Besides my sister Caitlyn (the graduate), my mom was the only other family member already up at campus. Once she gave me the clear that my sister wouldn't see me, I met her outside. So good to see my mom. It's been nearly a year since I last saw them all. From there, mom told me where my sister was and I made my hideout in one of the corners of the courtyard. It was really happening. The plan: Video Skype call my sister, as if I were still in Michigan, and wish her a happy graduation. She had been begging for me and my family to come, but we just didn't think it could happen. And, technically, it didn't. My wife and girls had to stay back. However, we found a way for I to make it.
So, here's the phone call...
Along with this being a surprise to Caitlyn, as you saw, none of my other sisters knew either. Thanks to my parents and other siblings' help, we did it!
On Sunday, I got to spend the day with my family at our home church, stayed up all night along with Bethany as we helped chaperon Caitlyn's Senior class all-nighter...and three hours later, I got up to enjoy a truck run with dad around Eastern Washington.
