Monday, November 24, 2008

a birthday to remember

For months now we have been planning a surprise birthday party for my father-in-law's 80th birthday. He's a Thanksgiving baby so we held the big party last Saturday night. There were 100 guests - family, friends from church, and the volunteers he sees each week at the hospital. In order to get Don there we lied by telling him that my kids had a holiday play at church. I don't think he ever imagined that many people would be there just for him. Family travelled from Wisconsin, Arizona, Kansas, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Virginia just to be there for the night.

The night worked out so well thanks in large part to the planning that Alice, Dave, and Annetta did for the party. After a meal of barbeque - pulled pork, bbq chicken, and baby back ribs -- we then enjoyed some entertainment. Dave had the female quartet, Soundworks, come and perform. On the final song ("Ain't he sweet") the ladies called Don up to sit with them in the performance area. Then they proceeded to fight over him as they sang. It was hilarious. It was a lot of fun to celebrate 80 years of living.

I'll be posting photos and video links soon. We are in the midst of packing to go to Alabama for the holiday week...and recover from the party planning mania.

Happy Birthday Don!
Happy Thanksgiving to my family and friends!

Friday, November 14, 2008

what a life!



Last weekend was one of those where we had a variety of events. It seems no matter how hard I try we have multiple events falling on a single day leaving us with our tongues wagging. I guess that is the side effect of having children who are growing quickly. There is a lot to keep up with and you don't want to miss any of it. Last weekend was a lot of fun though.

Dave started off Saturday with a 20 mile bike ride. (Go Dave!) He came in invigorated and excited about the fun of riding in a pack on busy roads. ;-) Then, William's soccer team had it's final games on Saturday. They were held playoff style...but not too intense since these were 7 and 8 year olds. We played three 12 minute games. The final game was tied 0-0 because each team held off the other one so well. It all came down to a goal kick from each team and that continued until someone missed their goal. William's team ended up third in the league. He's at an age where it has not become dog-eat-dog yet so it was all very sweet to see the boys cheering for each other. After the game we all met at a local park for a picnic and the all important awarding of the bobblehead trophy. Dave served as grill master in fine form.

Then Dave and I set out to get ready for our night out. Dave's company had purchased some very nice tickets to the Cobb Arts Ball. Several of Dave's barbershop buddies were there since it was a celebration of the arts organizations in our county. We had a lot of fun dressing for a black tie event and seeing everyone there. There were senators and other patrons there...none of which we knew personally...but we had fun people watching during the event. After the dinner and entertainment there was a Casino night set up around the perimeter of the room. It was loads of fun to spend play money. Here are a few photos from that night:

This is a photo we had the babysitter take before we left the house. Imagine three crazy kids running around behind the babysitter and that will explain the cheesy get-it-done pose. This is proof that we do occasionally dress up and go out.


This is a shot of our table. We were at table number two which was right up near the big shots. Fun to be a the front of the room.


This is a photos of Dave's barbershop buddies, Frank and Rick. Rick is the director of the chorus.


Here is a shot of the casino fun.


And finally a shot of Dave headed out to get the car because his wife couldn't walk in her high heels anymore. Ah, the glamour of it all!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Bacon Bowties

I've had a request for the recipe I used on Halloween. It is perhaps not the healthiest one, but I get rave reviews everytime I make these for holidays and tailgates. Add this to the ones you make occasionally I suppose. They are addictive!

BACON BOWTIES
1 lb bacon - cheapest/thinest cut you can buy (thick cut will not work)
box of Waverly/Club type crackers

1. Prepare cookie sheet with foil. Then place a cookie cooling rack into the pan. This will allow you to cook the bowties and let the greese drip away. A broiler pan would work also.

2. Cut the bacon into thirds.

3. Take a cracker and wrap a piece of bacon around it's middle tightly. Place on pan

4. Cook at 250 degrees for approximately 2.5 hours. You can watch towards the end to keep the crackers from getting too brown. The bacon should cook nicely and draw up the middle of the cracker making a bowtie.

5. Serve either hot or cold. These are great for a tailgate or make ahead appetizer.

Let me know if you make the recipe.