Sister Visit

My sister just younger than me & family are coming for a visit this weekend. I ran across a picture of the first visit we had of my family after moving into this house. (that was almost 13 years ago) We moved in on Monday and had my family come in on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. For some that would be unthinkable. But if you knew me you would know that I love to entertain and cook. Needless to say there were 2 things that got unpacked and set up....the kitchen and sleeping quarters. We had very little furniture at the time as we had ordered some and it had not come in yet. It was a wonderful visit and I loved every minute of it. Well, 4 kids have graduated high school, one even college. One is married with a baby and my then 2 year old is going to high school this fall. Wow!!! The kitchen has been redone twice also. The first 3 photos are the kitchen now, the next 2 are the first redo and the last 2 are the kitchen that first Thanksgiving.

Saying Goodbye (again)

Well, Saturday we had a get-together with 2 families we have been friends with for years. One of those families is military and will be moving on to their next tour later this week. The kids even get along and have gone to school together on and off. It is hard to say goodbye but we plan to visit as we did on their last tour in Hawaii. They will be closer this time so hopefully there will be many more visits.

2 more quilts

Well the girls have completed their quilts for the year, with Nana's help. I think they are beautiful. We had a great visit and a lot of fun and food. Bobby and Nana know how to entertain us.

Quilting with Nana

Well it's that time of year again. The last 2 years my daughter and niece the first year, all of the above and my sister-in-law the second, have gone to my in-laws house for a quilting spree. We have our fabric and are now getting ready for the trip. We go from dawn to dusk for and in a couple of days have some pretty cute quilts. The above are last years fruits. So on go the thimbles and watch out for the iron this year Abbie. This year we have some new additions to our group. My other neice and her 2 small children will be coming. She will be making a baby blanket for the new arrival due later this year.

Nationals!!!

Our younger son is headed to NFL Nationals (that's National Forensics League, not football) the end of the week so I will be busy starching shirts and packing. Even though he will be a senior this coming year I still enjoy doing those things for him. I know it is only a matter of time until I will no longer be able to do these things for him. We are so proud. When the kids were young I thought it would be so much easier once we got out of diapers and everyone could dress themselves. Now it is just a different set of things to think about. Once he gets back from Nationals it will be just a couple of weeks until he and his younger sister head off to church camp. It is so hard to realize that our baby is going to be in high school. She finished her first sprint triathlon just a couple of weeks ago. She took first in her age group.

2 cakes in 2 days

Wow, this week we celebrated my sister-in-law's birthday & hosted a bridal shower for someone in our church. I used a Paula Deen recipe for my sister-in-law's cake and the tried and true wilton method for the shower. Both turned out nice and I had so much fun pulling it all off. I had help with the chocolate curls from my daughter and help with the shower from some lovely ladies at church (thanks to all of you!). I love having girl parties when you bring out the china and silver. Also, the party food. The shower was a kitchen theme so we used some of the brides kitchen colors and kitchen gadgets to decorate. What do you think?

Summertime treat

Ok, it's time to get out the ice cream freezer. I have made homemade ice cream the last 2 days. Yesterday I made vanilla and today strawberry. Here is the recipe:
3 eggs
2 C. sugar
1 T. vanilla
1 can eagle brand milk
1 pint whipping cream

Mix well and add enough whole milk go fill container. If you want to add fruit, cut it up or puree your fruit.

It is wonderful! Summer vacation is a week old what are you waiting for?