Nightowl Brightowl: homemaking

Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Happy Easter!

I know, it seems a little late, but as Catholics, we are actually in the Easter season for 50 days, so see? I'm not late!

I love you so much I just wanna squeeeeeze you!

My little angels.

Sweetie pies. They would never misbehave.

First of all, I'd like to say that we really had a nice Holy Week. We started off the week with Palm Sunday of course, and then on Tuesday evening, the girls and I went to confession. We hadn't been since around Christmas, so it was definitely something we needed to do. I always feel so wonderful after confession! Holy Thursday mass was nice (this is the mass that the priest washes the feet of 12 parishioners - to represent Christ washing the feet of his disciples).

Sky and Emma Rose in front of our church, amid the cherry blossoms!

On Good Friday, we took the girls out of school and spent the day fasting and in quiet contemplation. We watched The Passion of the Christ at 1:00, finishing up right around 3:00, and then prayed a family Rosary together. Later that night, we attended the Good Friday service and Veneration of the Cross at church.

Saturday was spent prepping our food for our Easter dinner, and of course, dyeing eggs. My husband also cooked steaks and sausage on the grill, and Whitney and our grandkids came over for dinner and to dye eggs with us. (It's so much fun dyeing eggs with little kids!)

My girls still enjoy dyeing eggs :) Even the 26yo.

Austen explaining how to dye eggs.

Easter Eggs!

The weather could not have been any more perfect Easter Sunday. We woke up to sunshine, clear skies, and cool air, and my girls and I were able to wear our new Easter dresses without freezing! We were all decked out in peaches and pinks this year.

Emma made Easter Bunny cupcakes. (Recipe from Comfy in the Kitchen)

After mass, Whitney, John & the kiddos came over for Easter dinner. We took pictures in the backyard and then had Easter dinner.

Our family on Easter morning: Emma Rose, Andy, me, Andrew, and Sky.


My beautiful daughter Whitney and her beautiful family. I'm so glad she lives only 2 miles away! :) L-R: John, River (4), Austen (2), and Whitney.

In between shots...

The girls! Me, Emma Rose, Austen Rose, Whitney, and Sky

Waiting patiently with Grandpa in between shots....

River is a little snuggle bug. He always has lots of hugs!

My 4 wonderful kiddos. Andrew (18), Emma Rose (12), Whitney (26), and Sky (16).

Austen saw River snuggling with me and had to get some snuggles too. What can I say, my grandkids were fighting over me.


It took forever just to get a couple of cooperative shots of the little ones.

My "behind the scenes" shots were pretty funny, though. "River, no super hero poses! Austen, don't lift your dress up!"

Come on, guys, SMILE! Please!!!

Notice the badly behaved son-in-law?

Our Easter menu included: Ham with roasted pineapples and cherries (a yummy recipe from Comfy in the Kitchen), scalloped potatoes, southern green beans with bacon, strawberry-spinach salad with lemon dressing, and buttery yeast rolls. I plan on sharing some of my recipes soon!

And of course, Easter Bunny Cupcakes for dessert.

She had been eyeing those cupcakes all day....and was very happy to finally get to eat one after finishing her dinner!

What did you do for Easter?

Monday, March 11, 2013

Birthday Surprise Party!

Saturday night, with lots of help of from my kids and Sky's friends from school and church, we threw Sky a surprise birthday party! It was so much fun. It all started with Emma, who came to me around January and said she would like to throw Sky a surprise birthday party. I thought it was an excellent idea, if we could get enough of her friends to help pull it off. Andy got a hold of Sky's phone one night and "stole" her contact list. Through Facebook and word of mouth, my son and I were able to secretly get the word out about her surprise birthday party to her friends, and it ended with a very successful night.

Sky's actual 15th birthday will be Wednesday, but we told her we wanted to have a "little" family celebration Saturday night. The day began with her Dad taking her to Seattle for the day, one of Sky's favorite places to hang out. This gave Whitney, Emma, and me plenty of time to get ready for the party. I prepared all the food, and Whitney and Emma (my two artistic, creative kids) were in charge of the decorating.

The girls chose a "springtime" theme with rainbow colors. Notice the little butterflies.

I prepared Sky's favorite snacks, which included chips, homemade salsa, a veggie tray with French onion dip, her favorite party punch....

and of course, queso!

Friends arrived, and waited patiently for her to walk through the door.

We had party guests of all ages....guess who?

Emma & one of her best friends.

The gifts were set out...

Finally, she walked in. The house was quiet and dark. This was the best picture we got of her as she rounded the corner into the dining room where all her friends were hiding out. As they yelled "Surprise!!!" all she could do for a few seconds was just stand there and laugh. She was completely shocked!

Then everyone got a hug...

Andy managed to stop off on the way home and pick up a bunch of pizzas without raising Sky's suspicions. She thought it was just going to be the family, plus Whitney and her kids, so he just told her he wanted to get some "extras" for tomorrow.