Updating our family pictures

Spring in Texas means several things.

Wild storms, beautiful sunshine, allergies,

and

bluebonnets.

See.....here in Texas,

the bluebonnet is the state flower

and only pops out for a few weeks in March or April.

You never know exactly when you'll start seeing them or how long they will last.

The previous winter's precipitation affects how thick and beautiful they are and with the heavy snows we received this past winter, the bluebonnets were especially grand.

You start noticing them in little patches along the road, here and there,

and before long,

they are splashed in huge purplish swaths all along the highways and open fields.

Rumor has it that it's against the law to pick them.

So we always see people stopped along the interstate,

climbing the embankments,

taking pictures of their children.

Since it had been 2 years since our last set of family pictures, I thought it might be fun to try

to get some new ones done in 2010. Usually we have family pictures made at the end of the year so we can use them for Christmas photos. But this year I suggested to my husband that we try to get them made while the bluebonnets were out. This is also the same time that we are celebrating our wedding anniversary, and most of our children are having their birthdays.

This year, the week of our birthday bash was perfect especially because we were

also on spring break from school.

Another reason I thought we might try to get our family pictures made early this year is because our favorite long-time friend/photographer is due to have her 6th baby in September, so I was thinking it would be nice to get them done before she has her baby.

We asked her if she could help us find a great place for pictures this year,

and she didn't let us down.

The best place to get pictures with the bluebonnets is usually along the

embankment of the highway somewhere.

They blanket up behind you and are just glorious.

The trick is always finding a place where there isn't much traffic,

and where these wildflowers haven't been trampled by previous hunters

of good portrait locations.

We think our friend found an amazing spot.

May is building her house.....

May is building her house. With apple blooms

She is roofing over the glimmering rooms;

Of the oak and the beech hath she builded its beams,

And, spinning all day at her secret looms,

With arras of leaves each wind-sprayed wall

She pictureth over, and peopleth it all

With echoes and dreams,

And singing of streams.

May is building her house. Of petal and blade,

Of the roots of the oak, is the flooring made,

With a carpet of mosses and lichen and clover,

Each small miracle over and over,

And tender, traveling green things strayed.

Her windows, the morning and evening star,

And her rustling doorways ever ajar

With the coming and going

Of fair things blowing,

The thresholds of the four winds are.

May is building her house. From the dust of things

She is making the songs and the flowers and the wings;

From October's tossed and trodden gold

She is making the young year out of the old;

Yea: out of winter's flying sleet

She is making all the summer sweet,

And the brown leaves spurned of November's feet

She is changing back again to spring's.

~~Richard La Gallienne

Faith

Although I do not adhere to Catholic theology, I certainly did enjoy this article. Great answers to

the "environmentalists" who criticize large families for their carbon footprint!!

Faith & Family Magazine: Big Families Are the New Green


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Grant turns 8

Our oldest son celebrated his birthday two days ago.

Here's a look into his special day.

Recognize the TV show theme song?

Free scrapbooking design made with Smilebox

10 dozen cupcakes for a birthday bonanza

This year, I decided since I've had some experience in making cakes, and since I've taken a Wilton cake decorating course at some point in my past life, there is really no reason why I shouldn't be baking the cakes for my own children's birthday. The only thing really up against me is the time and space required for such an undertaking.

I put some thought into this and figured that the easiest way would be to make cupcakes. They are all the rage right now, and are really quick to do, and there are so many short cuts available these days to make the process go even quicker. As I mentioned in a previous post, I thought it would be really fun to make these cupcakes not only the dessert, but also the centerpieces of each table.

So I borrowed the extra cupcake stands that I needed, and then counted how many I would need to make to fill all the stands. Yep, 10 dozen would about do it.

I baked 6 dozen on Wednesday and the final 4 dozen on Thursday. With store bought cake mixes and 4 muffin pans, it all went really quick.

Next, I needed a recipe that would be soft enough to pipe through an open star tip, but yet would stay firm and hold it's shape. It couldn't be refrigerated as I only have one refrigerator and no place to store that many cupcakes. It also needed to taste great!!! Hmmmm?

Way back before I was married and had a half dozen little people to watch over, I took a course where I was introduced to this really great recipe. I knew it was the one I needed for just this situation. So off to the store I went to gather the ingredients:

Snow-White Buttercream Icing

2/3 cup water

4 Tablespoons Wilton Meringue Powder

12 cups (approx. 3 lbs.) sifted confectioner's sugar

1 1/4 cups solid vegetable shortening

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. clear vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. almond extract

Combine water and meringue powder. Whip at high speed until peaks form. This took my Kitchenaid mixer SEVERAL minutes to complete....I'm thinking 10 minutes.

Add 4 cups powdered sugar, one at a time, beating at low speed after each addition.

Alternately add shortening and remaining sugar.

Add salt and flavorings.

Beat at low speed until smooth.

Makes 7 cups.

May be stored for up to 2 weeks in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

**I made two batches of this recipe to cover all 10 dozen and I did have about 1 1/2 cups leftover.

**I never had to add 12 cups of the sugar to get the consistency I was after. I usually stopped around 8 or 9 cups.

**Clear vanilla is not absolutely necessary if you are adding color to your frosting. Clear vanilla is only necessary if you need perfectly white white frosting like you would on a wedding cake.

I just used it this time for experimental reasons.

Once the frosting was made up, I put it into a 16 inch decorating bag with an open star tip. We laid all the cupcakes out on the dining table and swirled the frosting on all 10 dozen in no time.

Then came the REAL fun.

Have you tried this stuff??

PERFECT for the application we needed!!!

The colors were not really brilliant, but as it dried the color did darken and it worked well for the color vibrancy we were after.

Totally recommend SPRAYING the color onto your cupcakes.

My girls LOVED getting involved in this one.

I LOVED how they all turned out!!

The cost of a birthday bonanza

One of the reasons we love the birthday bonanza is because it significantly reduces our annual expenses for birthday celebrations. I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say it could easily cost $100+ per child's birthday party if you include party favors, decorations, food, a gift, and any fun options you may want to include whether it's a fun venue or a rental of some sort. So on top of reducing a ton of stress for us in planning 6 individual celebrations within several months time, we can cut the costs by doing things a little bigger all at once!!

Here's the general breakdown:

Games: $10.16

** This was for 3 group games.

Decorations: $7.00

** I was able to keep this so low because we were able to borrow most

of our decorations.

Food: $119.54

$2.39/person

"Snack Shak" items:

Watermelon

Dried Fruit Mix

"Volcano Punch"

Dinner:

Hawaiian and Pepperoni Pizza

Chips

Fruit Kabobs of strawberries and pineapple

Water

Ice Cream

Cupcakes: $36.20

10 dozen

$0.30/each

Bounce House Rental: $106.19

Piñatas: 2/$30

Candy: $27.91 ($0.71/child)

Favors: $ 1.18 per child

Leis: $0.17/person - $8.68

A cupcake - Counted above ($0.30/person)

Candy from pinata - Counted above ($0.71/child)

Total Cost for Birthday Bonanza for 39 children + 10 adults:

$345.68

**That's roughly $6.91 per person.

**Or you could break it down to $57.61 per birthday party for each of our 6 children!!

** Next year we plan to cut costs even more by making our own piñatas!!

(I did not include the costs of some of the serving items such as spoons, cups, and napkins because we bought in bulk to have leftovers as well as used some things from last year.)

The schedule for a birthday bonanza

Birthday Bonanza Luau Program 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Upon arrival: Bounce House

Snack Shak

Craft Table (For 5 and under)

6: 30 pm – Coconut Stampede (Be the last to get your balloon popped)

7: 00 pm - Limbo Game

7: 30 pm – Eat

7:45 pm – Cakes and ice cream

8:00 pm - Presents at individual tables

8:15 pm – Pass the coconut (Pass it till the music stops)

8: 30pm – Piñata’s (One for 3-6 years old)

( one for 7- 12 years old)

8: 45 pm – Thank you’s

(We couldn't have done all this without the wonderful help of so many of the parents who either volunteered or were willing to do what was needed if we asked!!! Thank you so much!)