Band Junkie

Last night was Alex's last concert as a 6th grader.  He was somewhat sad to miss a baseball game to attend his concert, but alas he was happy, since he was named 

"Most Outstanding 6th Grade Instrumentalist"!

Yes, my little trumpeter has practiced and worked all year - he has come a long way, a LONG way, my dear friends.  I could not be prouder.  And to top it off, they played "Hang On Sloopy"- 

 He didn't even know he was going to receive that award- makes it even more special!

What a great one we have here.

Early Reader

Faces....

Yum!

So, I have a slight addiction to baking new treats.  I have a new found love of real butter too.  Hence, these delicious treats baked from scratch today.

Lemonade Cupcakes with 

Raspberry Buttercream

1 (12oz) frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)

1 package white cake mix

8 oz. sour cream

1 (3oz) cream cheese, softened

3 eggs

Combine concentrate, cake mix, sour cream, cream cheese and eggs in a mixing bowl.  Mix on LOW until ingredients are moistened.  Beat on HIGH for 3 minutes, scraping sides as needed. Spoon batter into lined muffin tins.  Fill 3/4 full.

***I should have filled mine a little more, because I had enough batter to make 12 more mini ones in my mini-muffin pan)***  (not that it was bad, right?!!)

Bake a 325 for 20-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool in pans for 5 minutes.  Remove from pans and place on wire rack.  Cool completely before frosting.

Raspberry Frosting

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

6 oz fresh raspberries (rinsed and dried completely)  

**I used frozen, thawed and drained**

1 tsp Vanilla

1/8 tsp salt

32 oz confectioners sugar

Beat first 4 ingredients at medium speed with a mixer until creamy.  Gradually add powdered sugar, blending well after each addition.  (Try not to eat before icing cupcakes- it's awfully addicting)

Frost cooled cupcakes using 1M tip.  (I use a ziploc freezer bag and pipe it on)

Landscaping 101

Last week my AMAZING, AWESOME brother came over and worked on my yard.  I mean WORKED on my yard. It was a mess...

This was in 2010 after we moved in.  It was a little out of control for my taste- it hadn't been tended to in a couple of years.  Last summer, I ripped it all out....ALL OF IT.  I could not stand one more day of those spirea, nor the bushes that grew under the front window.  I dug them all out.  (Dana helped too!)  I don't have an after of that, but you get the idea of what "nothing" would look like, right?!

Fast forward to now:

I am in LOVE with my new landscaped yard.  I LOVE the red bricks and I love the plants Sean chose.  I think it is going to be amazing when everything starts to grow and take over that space.  I love best that we chose perrenials so I don't have to keep planting year after year.  It was A LOT of work.  I was exhausted. Sean was beat.  But, look at it now...worth it all.   I am so grateful for a brother who came out several times to work on it- despite downpours of rain one night, and shovel 5 yards of dirt and one of mulch into this space.  He dug out every bit of grass, which is super hard.  I did under one tree and the mailbox- Holy Cow! Back-breaking, I tell ya.  My kiddos pitched in too- Alex shoveled half a yard of dirt himself, and the girls helped out by sweeping up the dirt on the sidewalk.  My plan is to add another little wall of bricks in front of the azeala off the porch, but that is probably next month.  For now, I just enjoy the view.

This Girl...

This gem of mine...what a fun little chicken she is...she is currently being super adorable, thus allowing me to take plenty of pictures of her mischief.  Yesterday we sat outside on the front patio (I had just finished staining the deck, so we couldn't go out back), and she could not help stepping in the dirt and grabbing for Celeste's newly potted plant.  She loved it, and I loved snapping fun pics, of course!

Sunday Sundaes

I know I just posted about ice cream, but since it has been so nice outside, we have had it a lot. Here are some shots from Sunday's ice cream treat.

She started rubbing it on the deck...

She thought that was hilarious!

Then it was taken away by mean Daddy for making such a mess...

Sad until Leah gives her the rest of her cone...

So happy and full of ice cream!