Cousins, Corn and Cupcakes, Oh My!

This past weekend we had a mini reunion for Steve's family here at our house. Everyone was able to make it except R & M who had a wedding they were in out of town. It was great to have everyone together and the weather was fabulous!! Steve enjoyed giving rides to his niece's 4 children. (I think he may even have enjoyed it more than they did!!!)





We got to have a great bonfire on the new pit we put in late last fall. Hoping to see many more as the weather gets cooler and Fall arrives. I just LOVE a good bonfire complete with gourmet smores!!! (Smores with the traditional graham crackers; chocolate and marshmallows - just add strawberries; Andes Mints; bananas; etc...!) Yum!







And since this was an Iowa reunion, we had to have sweet corn!!! It's amazing how quickly 2 dozen can get shucked with this many hands!!!















Had other yummy food as well. For lunch we had one of my favorite sandwiches, The Savory Sandwich Ring. This is an easy sandwich to fix and always a hit!!!!








K has been busy with her baking business. She is fine tuning her cupcakes and they are incredible, if I have to say so myself!

My personal favorite are these almond cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting. They are heavenly. I dream about them. I eat them for breakfast. I may have to set a rule that they can not be in the house.







These decadent chocolate chip cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting and mini oreos are Steve's favorite. I am pretty sure he could set a world record in cupcake eating if given the chance!!!!














The chai cupcake with chai spice buttercream frosting is a favorite of all. In this picture you see my very important role in the cupcake preparation. The placing of the little 'extras'. It is a very important job. I do confess to sticking some of the bears head first into the frosting. I think it's more realistic of what a bear would actually do given the chance to attack the cupcake.












Finally, a peek at the tray that K created for the teacher's lounge at the elementary school that M teaches at. Cake balls surrounded by her special chocolate chip cookies - some of them dipped in chocolate with sprinkles. I guess the word 'divine' came up by some of those who got to eat from the tray!!!







Until Next Time.....

Monday again.....

Wow! Where does time go? Has it really been over 3 years since I started blogging? (My first post was August 7th of 2006! Crazy!!) It has also been over 10 days since my last post, but it seems like I posted just yesterday. Time is truly a funny thing!! It's also interesting how my blog has evolved. It started TOTALLY as a knitting blog (hence the name) but has turned into more of a journal about life - including family stories; favorite recipes, and yes, even some occasional knitting. (Which I hope to resume again soon!!!!) Maybe today I will knit. Maybe.

We had a busy weekend!!!! It was one of those 'divide and conquer' weekends where we headed in different directions and wished we could be in two places at one time!! Steve, along with A & CB headed to Chicago to pick up R & M!!! I cannot begin to tell you how great it is to have them home again!!! They also picked up some dear friends of R & M's who had flown in for a wedding last night.





K & I headed north to Minneapolis for the wedding shower of my niece. It was great to be among family for the day and celebrate my niece's up coming wedding. One of the things us aunts did was bring our head pieces/veils from our weddings and had her model them and try to guess who they belonged to. This was the hat that I wore over 26 years ago when Steve and I married. I thought it looked kind of cute on her!!!











We also delivered a 50th birthday cake to my brother Brad that K had made for him. Unfortunately I was not feeling well and so we had to take off before his birthday celebration. A very Happy Birthday to my older brother!!!! :-)!!















When we got home, K immediately started work dipping 250 cake balls for the wedding we went to Sunday evening. They turned out beautifully and were a huge hit at the wedding! (Steve confessed later to eating 6 of them!!)







R and M were pretty awake and had a great time at the wedding, even though they hadn't been home yet for even 24 hours. The bride has been a friend of R's for years and I know they were excited to be able to be home in time to attend. I still can't believe they're home!!








A and CB enjoyed the wedding and were taking mental notes for their wedding which is now only 9 months away. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding and I absolutely loved it.










There was dancing on the deck. Steve and I tried to remember some of the steps from our dancing lessons. Pretty sure we may need to take a refresher course before too long!!















It was so wonderful to see K & M have some time together at the wedding as well. We have all missed them so much this summer. I feel so incredibly blessed by the children God has given me. Life is good!









One of the final shots of the evening was the famous pyramid that R's group of friends has done at every wedding. (Ok, I didn't get a shot of the actual pyramid.. but will post one when I do!) This is the shot before the pyramid. It is an incredible group of friends and I love them all dearly!! So happy for each of them, but sure miss having them hanging out. (hint hint) Come visit soon!!!






And, of course, no blog post would be complete without some Sophie story. She has decided that she is also a 'papasan chair' dog as well. Ok, but this is it, family!!! I don't want to catch her up on couches, chairs or beds. I know that she is cute, but don't spoil her, for Pete's sake!!!










Until Next Time....

Little Bit Of Everything......

It is hard to believe that we are into August. For one thing we have had the coolest summer that I can ever remember. I keep waiting for it to get unbearably hot and humid, and it just hasn't happened yet. I'm not complaining. It just seems strange.

K and I took a quick weekend trip down to St. Louis and had a great time. Took K down to see The Cupcakery. We have had these cupcakes the last two years at the Spring Fling and they are incredible. What a treat to get one in between Flings!!!








We also did some shopping. Well, Sheri and I shopped while J & K went to the 'Build A Bear' workshop and made these bears. K named hers 'Isaiah' and he has become a special friend.










And we ate well, which is always the case when we go for a visit. Sheri always has THE BEST salad recipes. She made this one for us and it was incredible. I think I had at least 3 helpings. She added cooked chicken to it and a little extra of the oil/vinegar combo. (Check out the Pioneer Woman's website.. FULL of great recipes!!)



Got word from R & M that they have finished their time in Uganda and are now in England for 10 days. They had an incredible time in Africa working with orphans and the local churches.














They posted some photos on Facebook, so I decided to share a few here. I will definitely have them do some guest posts on their return.











We have really missed them this summer and look forward to them coming home next weekend!!











We have REALLY been enjoying having CB living with us this summer and having her and A around much of the time. They are both busy with work, but we catch what time we can. And they have been very helpful with eating some of the 'samples' that K has been producing as she moves forward with her business. She now even has a website!!! Check it out here. She has named her business 'As You Wish.... Custom Oven Creations'. Yummy stuff.




Sophie is her usual cute, pathetic self. One of her many quirks is jumping into ANY car that has a door open or hatch open and sitting there. I think that she has figured out that it is the car that takes us away, and perhaps if she just stays in there, we won't be able to leave her. I think that is what she thinks, anyways!












And she will wait!!!! Here she is an hour later. Still waiting. Steve finally felt sorry for her and made her get out. Now she is sitting at my feet while I update my blog. She's a funny girl. We love her!!!








Until Next Time....