Happy Valentine's Day...

... from one crazy bunch!

Dinner! We had spaghetti. A family favorite around here.

But most spaghetti nights don't include the fancy dishes and special desserts.

But on special days I like to do extra special things.

We had poached pears on our honeymoon, and I loved them. I have been

wanting to make them myself and Valentine's Day seemed like the perfect motivation.

Not everyone liked them, but, Mark, Madison and I really enjoyed them. And I thought they made a pretty presentation.

I cut everyone's initial and little hearts from gum paste with my Mini Cake Cricut

which I found at Joann Fabrics on clearance for only $30. Quite a find :)

Everyone had a personalized cupcake for dessert!

After dinner my sweet children cleaned up dishes and Mark and I snuck away so

I could blog we could enjoy some quiet time alone together on our first Valentine's married.

So, maybe I should get off the computer now! :)

Grandma Tea

Today we had the privilege of all three Grandams over for tea.

G'ma Jan (my first husband's mom) surprised us all. Madison had called with a request

to "dress-up", and "dress-up" G'ma did. She wore a nice dress, long black gloves (from

her granddaughter dress-up box), about 5 or 6 necklaces, nice big earrings, and her little white hat.

Not having and make-up, she used a marker to give herself "rosy-red" cheeks. She came walking up the drive with a cane (which she does not need). And to top it all off, since she doesn't have a long dress jacket, she wore her pink bathrobe. When she arrived she explained, "I dressed like a little old lady going to tea!" We all decided we would have to have another tea sometime and we will ALL

dress like "little old ladies going to tea!"

The three grandmas.

(Nana, my mom; G'ma Jan; Grammy, Mark's mom)

Nana and G'ma live within a couple hours, but Grammy lives in TN.

We are enjoying having her here this week for a visit.

The tea table!!

Chicken salad on cucumber slices.

Chocolate teacakes.

Mini cream cheese and fruit parfaits.

Thanks, Grandmas, for a wonderful tea!

We hope you all enjoyed it as much as we did.

Love you all!!

2 WEEKS ON THE ROAD (Part 3)

Wednesday. Destination = Tennessee. Family = Mark's family

We arrived in TN late Wednesday night (actually, early Thursday morning). After sleeping in

Thursday, we rode up the Incline Railway to the top of Lookout Mountain; a mile high trolley ride ending with a 72.7% grade incline.

We then crossed the boarder into Georgia to drive through the Chickamauga Battlefield. This was the sight of the second bloodiest battle (second to Gettysburg) of the Civil War. It encompasses over 5300 acres and includes 705 monuments and historical markers.

Friday we drove up into the Smoky Mountains. We went to Cade's Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Friday evening were treated to a southern meal for dinner at Mark's parents... fried taters, fried okra, cucumber salad, beans, and corn bread. YUM! Thanks, Audrey. It was delicious.

Saturday we were invited to Mark's sister's home for swimming and a cook out. Unfortunately, Mark's older sister and her family and Mark's dad left before we thought to get a group photo. Thank-you, Maria and Scotty, we had a great time.

After Mass on Sunday, we spent the afternoon driving around Chattanooga and visiting some local attractions.

Mark's home is a short drive from the McKee Foods Corp. McKee is the company that makes Little Debbie products. It was fun to drive by the plant and visit the bakery store. Every time we restocked snacks for driving, Little Debbies were included, so it was great to get them at a discount! Each one of us was able to find our favorite.

Of course, no trip to Chattanooga would be complete without a stop to see the Chattanooga Choo-Choo!! It is, after all, the "World's Most Famous Railroad Station!"

To finish off our visit in town we took a ride on the indoor carousel.

Next post... Monday... Destination = Ohio Friends = Steve and Emily

2 WEEKS ON THE ROAD AND HOME AGAIN!!

This summer we spent a great couple weeks on the road, traveling from state to state, visiting family and friends. In two weeks time we traveled through MN, IA, IL, IN, KY, TN, KY, OH, MI, IN, IL, WI, and finally returned to MN.

Bright and early on a Monday morning, we packed up 7 duffle bags, 5/6 sleeping bags, 7 pillows, a basket full of snack foods, a cooler, 6 personal "to-do" bags, travel games, trivia cards, 3 laptops, 5 mp3/ipods, 2 kindles, 2 Nintendo DS, 1 iPad, 2 cameras, 1 video camera, 2 adults, 2 wanna-be adults, 3 kids, 2 turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!!

Monday... Destination = Iowa. Family = Gary and Colleen and kids.

While there we were treated to Colleen's AWESOME pancakes!!!

We spent a great day at the beach swimming, kayaking, grilling, and playing cards.

THANK YOU, Gary, Colleen, Katie, Caleb, Luke, and Elizabeth.

We had so much fun!

Next post...

Wednesday... Destination = Kentucky. Friends = Jennifer and boys.