Weekend Pics

On Saturday, we had lots of company. My brother Eric, his wife Chrissy, their son Jake, and Chrissy's niece & nephew came to visit from Palm Springs. Chrissy and Jake left for a while to go visit Chrissy's grandma, who lives not far from us, and when they came back, they brought a yummy chocolate cream pie! Mmmmmm.

That afternoon, our dear friends Dan and Gloria came over too. They had gotten us a patio swing a while ago, as a housewarming gift, so Dan, Eric, and Darrell got that put together for us. I got to be the "tester" when it was done - and almost fell on the ground b/c something wasn't quite right...he he he. They figured it out quickly and fixed it, but I was a bit less willing to be the tester at that point!! Nonetheless, it was awesome to be able to sit on the patio and swing with the kids later that evening!!

Eric and Mackenzie - don't you love the look??

The big kids had fun playing with play-doh...both the regular kind and some peanut butter play-doh.

Eric and Darrell making plans for the back yard...at least, I think that's what they were discussing!!

The awesome swing...it even lays flat, so you can lay down on it and take a snooze! (Not that I have time for that...but I can dream, right?!)

Somebodies who love cheerios!!!

Mmmm...pink lemonade cupcakes!! I made up a batch yesterday afternoon. They are soooo yummy!! I've made them twice now, though, and both times, they didn't rise properly. The recipe uses a boxed white cake mix, so it's not like I'm leaving out an ingredient. I even added some baking soda yesterday, which the recipe does not call for, hoping that would help, but it didn't. And the first time around, I had used my stand mixer, and mom thought maybe I mixed it too long, so this time I used the hand mixer, and only mixed it 90 seconds instead of 2 minutes, but alas, they didn't rise. Not sure what to think. I bought the two cake mixes at the same time, and while they don't expire for another year, I'm wondering if they were a bad batch? Or maybe there's just too much liquid in the recipe? Though I would think others would have the same problem if that were the case. The website where I found the recipe is down right now, due to the hurricane, so I can't go on there and leave her a comment asking advice...hmm...what do you bakers think?? Oh, the other thing I do differently from the recipe is that instead of lemon juice in the frosting, I use pink lemonade concentrate, since there's some left over from the cupcake batter. Yum!

In other news, the moms group I joined when we moved here has been unbelievably fabulous to us during this trying time! They've been sending so many supportive text messages, emails, etc., and one mom and her daughter even sent some CD's for the kids and a card for me and one for Mackenzie. So sweet! And, they've been bringing us dinners!! Such a HUGE help!! The mom who brought us dinner yesterday also brought some toys for Anthony that she had cleared out and I had expressed interest in. Boy was he excited this morning when I surprised him with them - they are all from the movie Cars, which is his favorite right now.

AND, if that wasn't enough, yesterday, one of the moms (whom I've never actually even met yet, I don't think!), blessed us with a king-sized Sleep Number bed - FREE!! It's 5 years old, and she and her husband just didn't care for it. We've been wanting a king-sized bed for a while, but they are quite pricey. We had considered the sleep number types of beds, too...they sell another brand at Sam's Club. This particular model sells on the Select Comfort website for $2149.50 (though, if you ask me, after having seen the parts and all...they are WAY overpriced)!! Anyway, Darrell and Dan went and picked it up yesterday and put it together yesterday afternoon. After the first night, we aren't sure what to think. My back was hurting when I got up - but that's not new - it's almost always hurting when I get up...our old mattress wasn't much better. I'm hoping maybe if I adjust the firmness of the bed, that will help. Darrell said he didn't sleep well either, though it didn't make his back hurt or anything...just was new and different. We'll see how it goes...at any rate, you can't beat FREE to try it out, and we are definitely keeping our old mattress set, so there's no problem if it doesn't work out.

Blessings all around!! :) Tomorrow I take Mackenzie for her follow-up with the plastic surgeon. One of the moms from the moms group is going to come over and watch the other two so I don't have to drag them along. I don't need a repeat performance of Makayla tumbling off the exam table!!