Bringing in 2016

How did we bring in 2016...the same way we bring in every January 1st.  Fill the house up with people, food, and games,  Throw in an impromptu magic show.  Drop balloons, drink some punch, and let the confetti fly!  39 people jammed into the house to welcome 2016.

New England in the Fall

Great week of roadtripping all over New England.  Beautiful fall colors...just a great time to visit a part of the country that I had never been to.  Some highlights...Acadia National Park in Maine, whale watching off the coast of Cape Cod, and seeing history up close in Boston and Gettysburg.

Soccer time

After a lengthy hiatus from soccer we once again found ourselves out on a soccer field Saturday morning cheering on Rachel.  Rachel kicked off to get the season started.

Hair be flyin'

So she's the smallest one on the team, but she is one of the youngest.  She's glad to be on the same team as her buddy Lauren though

This is where you will find us every Saturday morning until the end of May.

Easter...the quick recap

Lovely day, great time worshiping with our church family, yummy lunch with friends, plenty of sunshine, and the annual viewing of "The Ten Commandments" to top the day off.

Of course we have to have the annual post-church service photo.  Fortunately we could do this outdoors this year.

Then on to a tasty lunch followed by some outdoor activity.  Doing everything we can to soak up some much needed sunshine.

And why you may ask do I insist on a yearly Easter photo?  So I can do this after 10 years...

Seems like that purple shirt/tie combo made a few appearances.  You discover some interesting things fishing through past photos.  You even come across some gems like this one.  

Aaron and his friend Bryson from 2006.  Before they shot up to the ceiling and their voices dropped through the floor. 

10,000 eggs, candy, and lots of saturated fat!

Our Saturday before Easter is playing out like it usually does.  We kicked off the day with our church's Easter Egg Hunt.  This year we advertised that there would be 10,000 eggs.  We ended up with a little over 10,000 eggs spread all over the lawn.  The church was packed and the kids went away with massive hauls of candy.  The parents went away dreading the inevitable sugar rush that was to follow.  Rachel managed quite a haul for herself.

The rest of the day has been filled with prep for tomorrow's Easter dinner with friends.  I've spent most of the afternoon baking and making.  The pièce de résistance....homemade carrot cake with cream cheese and pecan frosting. Doesn't it look pretty sitting under the glass chilling.

Also, Rice Krispie treats...with sprinkles.  Why?  Well, just because.

All told the following items have been prepared today

Two pans of homemade yeast rolls

Carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting

40 deviled eggs

Rice Krispie treats

Gluten Free pudding pie

Cheesy potato soup for dinner tonight

Keeping it real

Spring Break Day Trippin'

So no elaborate spring break vacation for us this year.  We had our long trip to South Dakota in the fall and combined with the fact that Aaron worked most of last week we kept local.  We make a quick one-nighter trip to Illinois and today we pointed the car toward Cincinnati for a day of fun.  We crossed the river into Kentucky and spent some time at the aquarium at Newport on the Levee.

 And you've got to believe that ever since "Finding Nemo" this is one of the most popular photos ops.  We heard it quite a few times...."Look Nemo!"

Of course the underwater walkways are always a big hit.

After making our way around the aquarium, we stopped for lunch at a place called Tom+Chee...grilled cheese being the specialty.  We all had really good sandwiches, but decided to pass on this option.

And Dusty, who has declared on more than one occasion, "I don't like to mix real food with sweets!" decided that this particular incarnation sounded horrible.

It was such a beautiful day and a welcome change from the very unspring-like weather of last week.  We walked from Kentucky to Ohio on the Newport Southbank Bridge, better known as the Purple People Bridge.  All along the bridge, people had placed locks with their names and sometimes a date to commemorate a special occasion.     

We did wonder if some of those people would ever be returning with a set of bolt cutters!

We spent the rest of the day at IKEA and Jungle Jim's.  If you've never been to Jungle Jim's you have to go sometime.  They have everything!  There's every type of food you can imagine.  There's a huge international section with food from all over the world.  Including plenty of stuff you would never catch me eating....for example...

Yep, Bugapoop tea!  Because nothing is more relaxing than sipping stewed aged moth larvae droppings!  No, thank you!  I'll be running away from this toward a grilled cheese donut!

Happy Spring Break!

December shots

Just random shots from Rachel's Christmas musical, the youth variety show, and our trip to the symphony....because, goodness knows, I don't blog anymore!!  Maybe 2015 will bring a fresh start!