Poppy's 69th Birthday!

Poppy and Grandma Ce-Ce enjoyed a birthday dinner at Ruth's Chris steakhouse, and then we all gathered to celebrate afterward for carrot cake and ice cream. Normally, when I make desserts, some people complain that they are too rich etc. So I thought this carrot cake soaked in a caramel buttermilk syrup with whipped cream cheese frosting would be "too much", but it was a hit! I'll have to remember that this is a winner with my family! The cousins all had a blast playing together on a Tuesday evening...a special treat to get to stay up late on a school night!

Thanksgiving 2017...

We were so lucky to enjoy beautiful weather on Thankgiving day! It was in the mid 60's and warm enough for me to sit outside in a jacket. Luke made each of us a turkey target to shoot his BB gun at. Andrea was the champion, and I was probably the biggest looser. I blame it on my heels!

Luke made this turkey hat for his reader's theater production at school, and he is very attached to it. It says he's thankful for friends, family, food, and his house.

Charlie is quite the talker saying new words everyday

Presley wanted in on the action and used her weed wacker as her gun

Caleb brined and smoked a turkey that tasted like ham. We had all of the usual sides and it was delicious. My favorite is always dessert though...I made a chocolate chip pie, and a Banofee pie.

Grandma Ce-Ce wanted a family picture with "Rudolph" noses. It's become very challenging to get a decent picture of this group. Blaze was throwing a fit over something and wouldn't even be in this picture!

We ended up spending a good portion of the day outside. We introduced the adults to "Cover your Assets", and I think they are hooked!

James's 41st Birthday!

This year was a success...James said it was his best birthday! We went to lunch at an all you can eat sushi buffet where James at several sushi rolls but has finally learned not to make himself sick! We had homemade neapolitan pizzas for dinner, brownie ice cream cake with snickers, Ghirdelli hot fudge, and carmamel. I bought four different games for James to unwrap and play that night. That ended up being a great idea because they were really fun games that the entire family could play together, and the kids are now wanting to play those games in their spare time instead of begging for screen time! Blaze was our little photo bomber!

That's ALMOST a real smile out of James. Better than the usual chipmunk face!

These two really do look like muppets sometimes!