Birthday Weekend

I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, but Tyler and I play in the handbell choir at our church here in Arkadelphia.  We've been playing with the...Joy Ringers...for a little over a year.  When we were asked by our music minister's wife to join the handbell choir, we kind of shrugged our shoulders and said we would come one night and see how things went.  After we left our first practice, Tyler was hooked!  He had so much fun, and kept telling me how he couldn't wait until practice the next week.  If his anticipation for the next practice wasn't enough, he took his music home and I caught him practicing with some wooden spoons.  It cracks me up how excited he gets about handbells, he has literally said it is the higlight of his week sometimes...I don't really know what that says about our day to day lives...I hope we aren't that boring.

Anyways, this past weekend (Tyler's birthday weekend) we played in the State Handbell Festival in Hot Springs.  There were about 20 handbell choirs from all over the state of Arkansas, and we were all rehearsing and playing together (the same music...don't worry).  In between rehearsal, different choirs would perform a song for adjudication.  Basically, your choir plays, and is recorded while other directors critique your performance. 

WE

                     ROCKED

                                                       THE

                                                                               HOUSE!!!

We were probably the most popular handbell choir there, because we used a new handbell technique that a lot of the choirs had never seen before.  Everyone was pretty impressed! 

After the festival, we went home and I started working on Tyler's "Birthday Dinner at Home" meal.  The menu:

1) Pork Osso Bucco

2) Mashed Potatoes3) Sautéed Green Beans
      and for dessert...
4) Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (Tyler's favorite)

I actually have never made oatmeal raisin cookies for him before because I don't like raisins, but I've been eating these cookies, and I think I can swing making them more often. 

It was a great night, we had our friends Ian and Cara over for dinner and afterwards we played Settlers of Catan (Birthday Boy won!).  Sunday isn't worth mentioning...Tyler had to work all day long to prepare for this week, but tonight we're having his birthday party!

Can't wait to celebrate with friends tonight, and eat yummy desserts!  I'll let you all know how it goes. 

Only 6 days until we're on our way to Allen for Spring Break!  Can't wait to see family and friends!

Hey Car Cake!

We celebrated our friend Cara's birthday, and in my attempt to make a great birthday cake (decorations and all)...I created this:

I had this awesome idea to spell out "Happy Birthday Cara" until I made the "H" and realized that the peanut butter M&Ms are a lot bigger than the regular M&Ms.  I knew I wouldn't have room to write "Happy," so I decided to write "Hey."  Then, I decided..."I'll just write 'Hey Cara' kind of like 'hey cara...it's your birthday!'...Halfway through "Cara," I ran out of room again...and so, "Happy Birthday Cara" turned into "Hey Car!"  I'm taking orders for obscurely worded cakes if anyone would like to order one!

My Gift Exchange Promise

Okay...so it's been a while...I know...updates on life to come, but first, I promised someone that I would post pictures of my beautiful new gift exchange soup crock!  Love it so much, we had potato soup with all the fixin's during one of our snow days!

Thanks for the great gift!  More from Family Shmamily to come!