A Great Family Celebration!

Hey everyone!  We had our first of many "Family Celebrations" yesterday, & it was everything & more that I had been dreaming of since we decided to sell, buy & move closer to our kids and kidlets!  We knew it was going to be too hot to spend very much time outside, unless we were at the pool, but we still wanted it to be fun and casual.  So this is how our day progressed.

This was kind of the "lull before the storm!"  I decided the adults should eat in the dining room.

The dining/sitting room area was kind of a "kidlet-free" zone.....lol!

Girl talk or cousins getting re-acquainted?  

My Bapa gave me black licorice, & I liked it!  I was headed to the pool, so it got washed off!

The littlest water babe!

Flynn at 3, swims like a fish.

Our grandson, Parker.  Just another fish!

The Grand-Kidlets chowing down after all that swimming!

Our menu consisted of outstanding homemade salsa & chips courtesy of our daughter, homemade hummus & veggies made by me, brats, hotdogs, potato & 4-bean salads, & 2 great desserts made by our DIL.  Everything was so good, & I'm here to tell ya', hungry kidlets can certainly go 

through a lot of food!

Hungry Kidlets will eat anything, even "Dirt Cake!"  Have ya'll heard of "dirt cake?"  It's pudding with super-fine, ground Oreo cookies served in a flower pot with faux carrots.  Our DIL made this, & it was so good!  Of course, the kidlets got a big kick out of eating dirt! 

The "tribe" waiting patiently for cupcakes.  I guess the "dirt cake" wasn't enough sugar!

Our DIL made the cupcakes, too.  She makes the most amazingly rich and velvety frosting.  The kidlets all had to try it, but Parker wins the prize for best chocolate frosting moustache! 

Rick and I have been wanting to retake this photo for awhile now.  The one on the left was taken at Christmas '09.  We didn't get to do this photo last year, so it was a must this time.  We love seeing how everyone has grown, & we've added little Avery!  This was the perfect conclusion to a perfectly wonderful day with our family.

I do sincerely hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend and maybe even sharing it with family & friends.  Whatever you are doing to celebrate Labor Day, be safe & enjoy the time.  Thanks so much for stopping by and please come again soon!

CAS