Awww Sweet Memories!

In 2004 I was blessed to be a chaperone for a school trip to Europe. I had been to a couple places in Europe before but this was trip over 17 days visiting 6 countries, 14 cities with a bunch of high school students. It was a blast! Our first stop on the trip in Europe was in Frankfurt, Germany. During our short stay, we ate some lunch and tried a wonderful dessert called Spaghetti Eis. Ice cream sundae that looks like a dish of spaghetti... YUM.

Over the summer months this year I located and purchased a Spaghetti Ice Creamer machine. This is like a big garlic mincer looking tool and you push softened ice cream through it. Then top the "spaghetti" with a strawberry puree and top with "parmesan cheese" made up of grated white chocolate. You can add "meatballs" made of chocolate balls or "pepper" (finely grated dark or milk chocolate). It is really just a fun dessert to have.

Here is a photo of my first attempt at making it.

Christmas crafting

I have finally gotten a couple things started on my Christmas crafting. My first attempts at making these and I like how they have turned out. So I guess I will be making more eventually.

This is the front

and the back

I made 3 of them for now.

Happy Birthday!

I figured it was time to get this site updated...about time! 

Along with the Birthday of America, our family also celebrates the birth of our daughter, Angel. She will be 23 this year; Wow time flew by quickly.

A tradition for our family was born the day she was born. We always have a cookout, now I know this isn't something original for most Americans...I mean July 4th and cookouts really go together. For our family it all began with a ship's cookout at our house in 1988. We planned and planned and prepared for it for what seemed like for month's. Keep in mind the ship's crew was about 150 and maybe 2/3 of those crew members were married. So we were expecting quite a few people.

Angel wasn't due until 1 Aug, but I guess decided she wanted to join the party. With a house that had been scrubbed down spotlessly and a yard that I don't think could have been any cleaner itself, with the grass cut and edged, and even the curbside swept up to be very clean. The fridge was full of lots of delicious food waiting for the guests and the heat of the grill. I went into labor at 2 am (as we went to bed) and she was born at 7:11 am.

Needless to say she and I didn't get to attend the cookout, but there was no way I was going to let my husband and 3 boys call it off...everyone seems to have a great time, so the pictures show.

Our following annual 4th of July cookouts are no where as big, but we still enjoy having friends over to celebrate this wonderful day. Oh btw, I don't think I mentioned really that at the time Bill was in the Navy and so up until about 3 years ago all the friends attending were also in the Navy and really part of our extended family. Now our friends are neighbors. Which are really just extended family as well!