Labor Day 2016

Hey!  Get a job ya Lazy Bum!

Francey Pants is usually laying about the house.  That is, when he's not to busy stealing ink pens and swatting them underneath furniture, never to be found again!

He's a motorcycle cat, equipped with his own kitty helmet!  Safety First!

Did I ever show ya'All the Strawberry Shortcake blanket I made for Gladys when she was a baby?  There's LOVE in the stitches!

Currently, I just finished doing some painting.  I decided to change a RIP to Boo on the pumpkin.  I find painting to be very relaxing.  One of these days, I will do an artwork post. 

I hope the birdies enjoy their new love shack!  ;-)

Troy has been teaching me the inns and outs of basketball.

My latest lesson has been perfecting a slam dunk!

Troy has it down!!!

Troy is a guy of many talents.  He recently took up trumpet playing.

On Labor Day there was a party at my house!  Glenn grilled out pork chops, which is Jean's favorite thing!  I have no idea what spices he put on them this time.
 

They were good though!

The mosquito's had a feast on Labor Day too!  I found a Themacell on clearance at Walmart and as I was handing it to the cashier for purchase a skeeter was biting my arm!  True Story! Smack 77, I keep a running count.

The grill was going, the sun was bright, and all that may have helped some, but I'm ready for sweater weather and falling leaves.  I'm ready for the skeeters to be to cold to bite me.

The big event at our Labor Day party was Croquet.

It might have been Matt falling through the trampoline, but Gladys pushed him off before that could actually happen!

Mom's macaroni salad was a BIG hit too!  I LOVE this stuff!  It never lasts long at any of our family gatherings.

Croquet has been a favorite game of mine since I was old enough to play!

The terrain can play an interesting part in the game.  Some people were trying to make paths for the ball to have an advantage. 

We had spectators hecklers.

I won the croquet game!  Troy played the victory tune!

At least Sophie congratulated me!

That evening, Jean and I went for a motorcycle ride. 

Verrrrrrooooooom roooooom  rommmmmm!  :-)

Back to School

The kiddies have started school this week!!!  I took them to the doc, for the good ole check-ups, and they both passed with flying colors!

Remember the ole eye chart?  That was my favorite part of check-ups since it was relatively painless.

Also, I totally ROCKED at reading the eye chart!  I have my fingers crossed that holds true as I get older.  Both kids did very well! 

Poor Gladys had to have FOUR shots-- two in each arm!!!   OUCH!

I was driving along down a rural country road, and noticed what I thought to be a cat floundering about.  Of course, I stopped to rescue the poor cat, but it turned out to be just an empty Wal-mart bag!

Gladdie's 7th grade open house was a few days before school began.

She mastered the maze of hallways and found all her classes.

Then opened her locker a hundred times.

I carried out my motherly duties and embarrassed her.  JK  Seriously though-- Can I help it if I'm a social butterfly?  Her geography teacher seemed like a fun guy! ;-)

On that magical morning of the first day of school, poor Troy didn't want to spend ALL DAY away from me.  I'm sure it was cause he was going to miss me, sooo SAD.

Obviously, Gladys too, was all broken up about me having to cut those apron strings and send her on her way! 

After struggling to break free of their clinging, I ran into the house and locked the door; then secretly spied on them. :-)

When what to my wondering eyes should appear?  But a bright yellow school bus and FREEDOM my dear!

I totally enjoy myself a little "ME" time!  After the kids left, I relished in the piece of quiet and then attempted to perfect my bowling skills!  It was AWESOME! 

Troy's open house was a couple days after the start of school.  He showed me his classroom and I got to meet his teacher! 

I knew right away which desk was Troy's, as I recognized his self portrait! 
I really enjoy this time of year!

Jean's 21st Birthday

Soooomebody's a little bit older and wiiiiser today!!!!  Jean's birthday is frequently celebrated at the water park, as that's what the birthday girl requests!

Jean's older brother, Hub (the one from CA) helped her celebrate.

Jean's older sister, Grace, did too.  Only she recently had a surgical procedure and couldn't do the waterpark yet.  We met with her and more family that evening.



Grace had a "brain zapper" installed to treat epilepsy.  She has had trouble managing seizures with medication, so this device is designed to shock her brain.  Wires from her heart to nerves in her neck will provide the stimulation she needs to ward off seizures.  At least, that's the plan.



Grace was in good spirits and hopeful the treatment will be better than traditional medications, which make her ill.  Since she just had the zapper put in, it will be a couple weeks for it to heal and her body to adjust to it, before it becomes operational.

The birthday girl likes dried banana chips.  So, I made her banana cupcakes.

Not just any banana cupcakes either, these are actually Banana Cream Pie Cupcakes!  The base is a very dense banana cake.

The Cream part is a made from scratch vanilla pudding filling.

I took a small knife and made holes for the filling.

It worked out beautifully!

Instead of eating all the centers (yes, it crossed my mind), I put them back on the cupcakes.  I'm such a good gal!  Besides, I had all the leftover vanilla pudding I could handle!

Let's talk frosting!  The frosting is a made from scratch buttercream with banana chip crumbs!

I was going for a more rustic look as ya'all can see.  ;-) The food processer worked well for grinding up the chips.

The cupcakes were a hit!  I actually thought they had too much sweetness, cause that frosting is some major SUGAR SWEET! 

The California boys didn't stay long.  Oh, and funny story: when they arrived at the waterpark, Troy greeted them and brought them to where we were set up.  Along the way, he announced to everyone he passed--  the California boys are here!!!  They are here from California!!!

Troy knows how to make a couple of guys feel like celebrities, that's for sure!

We played a dice game (Rock) until we couldn't see anymore.

Nancy was the winner and it was her first time ever playing it.  Beginner's Luck!