Milestones

On June 1st my mother turned 80 years old!

So the whole family gathered to celebrate!  Having the family over is always a fun time.  When our boys were growing up it was a common thing to have laughter around the dinner table.  Now that they are grown and gone it is quieter here ... until they return with their own families and then things get a bit chaotic!

For some reason I decided to grill BBQ baby back ribs for the crew of 12.  I have a feeling that the reasons BBQ ribs sounded like a good idea was that my dad had a tradition of making ribs anytime our family gathered in the summer months.  It was a feast we all looked forward to.  Since dad has passed, we have not had BBQ together as a family since.  I guess it was just one of those things that he did and it just tradition just never continued.   Until now.

The ribs, the homemade mac & cheese, the baked beans with bacon, the lemonade, all manged to turn out well and we were FULL afterwards.  But there was cake!

My son, yes, that is correct, my bearded, outdoorsy, hunter, hike the Appalachian Trail, rugged son, makes cakes!  And they are spectacular!  This one was no exception!  I am not a "cake person".  I am more of a "pie person" but this cake, was to die for!

After dinner, after the candles had been blown out and we could eat no more, mom opened her gifts.




What do you give a lady who is 80 and pretty much has everything she wants already?

I decided to make her a money cake.  I mean, everybody can use money, right?  And this seemed like a creative way to give it.  I'm not sure she was happy with me when she had to dismantle it though.  There was a lot of pins and tape involved.  That's what kids are for though, right, to cause their momma's trouble?

After the gift-giving my youngest son informed us that we all needed to go outside because they had a gift we needed to be outside for.  We were all dumbfounded.  What on earth could it be?  He also asked me to videotape her opening it.

Hmmmm.....

Once outside Logan and Kati presented mom with a big box and as she opened it, pink balloons began to rise out of the box.

Yep, its a GIRL!!

We can't wait to meet Larkyn Elizabeth next November!