Chey Pie's Birthday

Today was Chey's special day.  She turned 11 years old.  She baked brownies to treat her class at school.  She said they were a big hit and was asked for seconds.

It was a hurried night with a meeting, concerts, and baseball practice.  We were able to have dinner together as a family, but had no cake.  We'll save that for the party tomorrow night.

May this be your best birthday yet.  Know that we love you so much!

Happy Birthday Cheyenne!!!

Ryan's Mass Of Thanksgiving

Last weekend cousin Ryan was ordained as a priest.  This weekend we celebrated a mass of Thanksgiving at St. Peter's church followed by a reception at the Scenic View Golf Club.  Truly a neat experience for all.  Congratulations Father Ryan!

Hannah was asked and honored to do a reading for the special mass.

And of course when there is the opportunity we have to take some pictures of our family, too!

Smile pretty!

Hannah 13 years old, Cheyenne 10 years old, and Jack-jack 8 years old.

Rhubarb Season

Call me queen of rhubarb today. A batch of rhubarb apple jam made.

A batch of rhubarb blackberry jam cooking on the stove.

And a very yummy rhubarb cake in the oven. The smells in the kitchen....DIVINE!

Seriously, this cake is delicious !  I make it in two loaf pans. One for us and one to share.

Rhubarb Cake I
(recipe source: www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups rhubarb, chopped
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 cup packed brown sugar

Directions

In a large bowl, cream together butter or margarine and sugar. Beat in egg and vanilla.
In another bowl, sift together 2 cups flour, soda, and salt. Add sifted ingredients alternately with buttermilk to creamed mixture.
Toss rhubarb with 1 tablespoon flour, and stir into batter. Spoon batter into buttered 9 x 13 inch pan, and smooth the surface.
Blend together 1/4 cup butter or margarine, cinnamon, and brown sugar; sprinkle evenly over batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 45 minutes.

Sportin' Some New Dos

Tonight Auntie Sara took Hannah and Cheyenne to get their haircuts.  Each of them will be donating their pigtails to the Pantene Beautiful Lengths program.  Panten Beautiful Lengths is a program that makes and donates wigs to cancer patients.  The girls like the idea of helping someone in need.  They also like the idea of sportin' a new look.  You girls are beautiful!  Way to go!

The girls hair before.

Time for the cut.  Sara and Hannah take the scissors in hand.  I love Chey's face in this picture!

Chey's pigtails.

Now it's Hannah's turn in the chair.  This time Sara and Chey take hold of the scissors.

Hannah's pigtails.

The girls showing off some of their donations along with their new dos.

Mother's Day 2012

Nothing says "love" like spending quality family time picking stones.

Chey showing her stone.

 

The newlyweds.

Hannah getting hungry.  I don't know about this girl sometimes.

 

Grandma with the grandkids.

 

We have a contest to see who can find the biggest rock.  Jack-jack always on a mission to be sure he finds it.  He came in second place with this find.

 

All done.  Time for a cook out at Great Grandma's.

  
Work before play.  We did make sure to take time and have some fun, too!

A little bit of baseball practice. Jack-jack at bat.

 

Chey's turn taking a swing.

 

3 kids on the bridge.

 

Me and our little monkeys.

 

A family picture to wrap up the night.  A Happy Mother's Day it was!

 

Jack-jack's First Communion

Today we celebrated Jack-jack's First Communion.  We had a 10 o'clock brunch at the Iron Ridge Inn, followed by a 2 o'clock mass at St. Kilian Catholic Church.  Family came from both near and far to help Jack-jack celebrate his special day.

Jack-jack with his cake Sara bought for the occasion.  Thank you auntie Sara!

Big smiles before church.

Godparents, Uncle Jeff and Auntie Ronda drove 300 miles (one way) to be with Jack on his special day.  A quick visit at the house afterwards and then a 300 mile drive back home again.  Thank you guys for making the trip.  Thank you both from the bottom of our hearts! 

Family picture.

Cheyenne sang with the choir.

Hannah was a server.

A picture with Great Grandma Charlene.

A picture with Al and Pam.

Crystal and Adam.

Papa and Grandma.

Auntie Sara.

Thank you to everyone who helped make this day special!

Congratulations Jack-jack!

 

Middle School Musical

This year the middle school musical is The Music Man.  Hannah (7th grade) is a townsperson and a pick-a-little lady.  Tonight is opening night.  Good luck to all!

Hannah - back row, 2nd from the left.

Hannah - tallest in the back row, 2nd from the left.

Can't wait to see it!

Trivia Night Champs

7th Grade Trivia Night at school.  Hannah's team took 1st place.  Way to go girls!