An online bridal shower...who'd have thought?

This morning we had a fun online bridal shower for my sister. The invite had a poem that explains it all:

A virtual shower for the bride to be
She is in Wyoming you see

Come on time if you can
And enjoy our online chat with Ann

In lieu of gifts, a card is great,
We’re just getting together to celebrate!

If bringing a gift is what you prefer
Remember, you’ll get to open it for her.

All the details can be found below
She’d love to see you, so….

Please come!

It was really fun to have her projected onto the wall.

We asked her lots of questions and opened up some fun presents for her.

Mr. Grant was there too. He charmed the ladies & loved carrying around this giant troll doll.

Because I promised

Keith made me promise to put this picture up here.

It's a little late, but this is what typically happens here when Keith comes home from work.

The boys go out to water the plants, while I re-coup & make dinner.

Grant usually comes in soaked. And I'm usually called on to take a picture of the action.

I love Grant's toothy smile. He just can't get enough fun time with Dad.

A new place to sit

weekend party

The birthday couple:

Yes, my parents have the same birthday. Same year and everything.

My mom is only a few hours older. (My dad married an older woman!)

Pretty cool, huh?

We hosted a party in their honor. I spent a few hours putting up LOTS of streamers all over my house.

It was so fun! I love doing that sort of thing.

We kept it small. My brother's family came too and we had a yummy BBQ chicken sandwich dinner & went swimming. For dessert, pineapple upside-down cake. My mom used to make it a lot when I was growing up. I hadn't had it forever.

I couldn't pick just one

Getting ready for bed with a good book.

Notice the picture of Calvin & Hobbs above his chair.

It's an enlargement that Auntie Ann drew especially for Grant.

I'm seeing ribbons

With the help of my sister-in-law and my mom, we finished Auntie Ann's wedding announcements.

I tied over 400 ribbons!

It was so fun, but I am so glad it's done!

Here's a bit of autumn from my kitchen

I got this yummy recipe from my mom. I thought it would be nice to have to snack on since they have honey in them instead of sugar. They are a lot more cake-like than the typical oatmeal cookie. Grant is obsessed with them. He has probably eaten half of the batch himself.

The best part is that they smelled so good when I was making them, with all that cinnamon & autumny smell going on. And then I remember it's only the beginning of July & it won't be autumn here for a long time.

Oatmeal Cookies

1 cup boiling water

1 cup raisins*

1/4 cup butter

3/4 cup honey

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used white wheat flour)

1 cup white flour (+ 1/4 cup if needed)

3/4 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 1/2 cups oatmeal

1 cup nuts

1/2 tsp salt

Pour boiling water over raisins, butter, and honey. Stir. Let cool.

When cooled, mix in beaten eggs. Add remaining ingredients.

Let mixture sit for 15-20 minutes, until oatmeal absorbs some of the moisture and dough becomes thicker. Add the extra 1/4 cup flour if needed.

Spray cookie sheets or grease lightly. Drop by teaspoons on cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes.

*I used half raisins and half craisins. Next time I'm going to put some freeze dried apple in their too.

Family and the Fourth

Last week we had lots of fun with Keith's family. His sister was here from Utah with her family, so we were all together. We did LOTS of swimming, hung out, went to Eclipse, did some fun shopping, and ate yummy food.

Then we headed up to the cabin for the weekend where we enjoyed cool weather, played a fun game, went to the 4th of July parade, watched fireworks, and hung out some more. Grant's wagon was a hit with the little kids. I'd gotten it off of Craig's List earlier in the week. It has a canopy too. It will be perfect for taking to the zoo!

During the fireworks, Grant laid down and played with cars. He would look up every now and then and be amazed. I forgot to bring his warm clothes for night time so we dressed him in his striped pj's and put an outfit over them and then borrowed a cute girly sweatshirt from Zoe. His hair was all crazy from having sunscreen in it, so he just looked like one crazy kid!

Last, but not least, the annual 4th of July head stand contest. Keith, his Mom, and Jenny. I can't remember who won, but it wasn't Keith. He was done pretty quickly. The girls stayed up for quite a while longer.