Second Cousins

We had a family gathering (belated Easter) on Saturday, and it was fun to watch second cousins Maddox and Matthew play together. They're only about 3 weeks apart in age, and they did pretty well most of the time with sharing, although Matthew has a few strands of hair missing - Maddox has quite the grip!

They both arrived wearing khakis and GAP sweatshirts - dudes already! They're also both little blondes, but Matthew's hair is stick straight, and Maddox has a head full of curls.

So many things to look at, just not the camera!

There....I got one to look at me.

Maddox really liked the little rocking horse. We wanted to get the guys outside to play, but once again it was snowing in Minnesota - go figure. We'll have to try again soon. Thanks, everyone, for coming, and for bringing the star attractions!

Gourmet

Last Saturday was Gourmet night at our house. We started our Gourmet Club 20+ years ago when we all had small kids and needed an excuse to cook something other than macaroni and cheese and hotdogs. Most of our kids are now married, and some of us are grandparents, but we're still cooking! Wow, where did the years go? We added up the total years of marriage among the 5 couples in our group, and we came up with a whopping 192! Chuck and I are the "newlyweds" with only 35 years.

In the olden days, we chose a theme for each dinner, usually a country, but now we just pick what sounds good, and then have fun trying out new recipes. Three couples prepare the meal, and two couples get to come as guests (those are my favorite nights).

As you can see from the clean plates, last weekend's dinner was a success!

Here's the menu (all recipes, except the bread, were taken from the April Ladies Home Journal):

Appetizers: Bite-size tomato and mozzarella tarts, fresh fruit, UV lemonade

Salad: Spinach salad with warm bacon dressing

Main course: Grilled sausage and herb-stuffed pork loin (yummy)

Vegetable: Red potato and green bean saute

Bread: Wally's homemade specialty

Dessert: Double-fudge bread pudding

And, of course, wine and coffee

Everything turned out great, although I had to do the pork loin in the oven instead of on the grill since it was snowing outside. Go figure - April in Minnesota! Maybe we can actually grill when we get together on the 4th of July.

California Visitors

We opened the Bracken B&B last weekend, as we had overnight company both Friday and Saturday nights. Chuck had his poker buddies down on Friday night, and since Andy played with the guys, he and Jenna decided to check out the queen-size bed in her old room, and then Sue and Lee were here from California on Saturday night. They came for a family wedding in Northfield, so they rambled over to CF for a visit after the dinner and dance. Sue was maid of honor in our wedding (almost 35 years ago - yikes!), and they are Kyle's godparents. We've been friends since first grade, so we always have LOTS to talk about when we get together.

They stayed for brunch on Sunday, and then we just relaxed and got caught up on everything all afternoon.

Sunday night, Sue and I went up to Minneapolis to meet Linda, a college friend, for dinner and more chatting. The three of us were skiing buddies in college, and we took lots of trips to northern Minnesota, Upper Michigan, and Colorado with the Augsburg Ski Club - those were the days!

Corey brought Maddox down to meet and entertain the California visitors. He was pretty shy at first, but that didn't last too long.

He showed off his bike-riding skills. His legs just need to grow a few inches more and he'll be able to handle those pedals.

Pushing the stroller was much easier!

What a busy weekend. I felt like I needed to go back to school on Monday to rest up.