new cake challanges

so I am really enjoying the challange of an interesting topic or creature to make into a cake! Nolan's favorite animal is a hippo so his mom requested a hippo cake. This is what I came up with and I thought it looked pretty darn cute! Now his big sister is next and she loves squirrels! That may be a little trickier, believe it or not! I am thinking along the lines of giant acorn, tiny squirrel...we will have to see! I'm trying out some new cake flavors, too. So far, though, my lemon layer cake is everyone's favorite. My girls are really getting into cake design and a couple of Sundays ago we all sat around and colored pictures of cakes...the ones they want for their birthdays, obviously being a priority! I have one wild animal cake, for Ben, then Meredith's is next and she wants a Pocohantas cake...at least she did until this morning when she saw the hippo cake! Then Grace's towering creation is a huge princess/castle/village/dragon thing--truly a challange! Can't wait, though. I've been checking out some of the local competition and boy is there some! Lincoln has some spectacular cake designers....if this is what I want to be when I grow up, I've got my work cut out for me!