Holidays 2009
Photos of Fun
We stopped by the Taylor's while Terri was home and visited a while.
Doug's Thank You Cake for the Taylors
Doug has picked up a new hobby - cake decorating. We've all always enjoyed a well-done cake, and Doug is keeping us stocked up!
Earlier this year Doug made some fancy cupcakes for his student board meeting. The lady bugs are formed from marzipan.
We prepared another Prime Rib Roast for this year's Christmas dinner.
We're pretty sure this was the biggest one yet, tipping the scale at just over 15 lbs. This is what it looks like before it begins the aging process.
The new range hood, which matches the other appliances and is now vented to the outside, allowed us
to follow the Prime Rib Roasting procedure without smoking up the house as in previous years and in so many other houses.
The next step in the project is to drywall in the vent over the cabinets, clean all of the walls, and repaint the kitchen and great room.
Installation was a snap, the investment in tools this past summer (think barn) is still paying off this winter.
As you can see, we haven't lost much cabinet space and gained a much cleaner and better-vented kitchen.
The benefit is really noticed when the oven is self-cleaning - the fumes used to be overwhelming and required us to open every window
in the house and spend a few hours somewhere else.
The kids also decorated a cake for game night with Gramma & Grampa. :o) Grampa won.
This was a chocolate cake with a raspberry filling and butter creme frosting
The kids make a cake for the members of our local police department that had to work New Year's Eve.
They've got a buddy working as a Police Cadet while training to one day join the force.
Aunt Heidi and Uncle Mike sent a gift basket that included some Petit Fours - this photo was snapped about 15 minutes after the cellophane was removed from the box.
We splurged and made berry-compote-filled crepes one morning. Great with coffee!
CC spent a lot of time recovering with the kids home - she is still a very excitable puppy at heart, but is doing well with her obedience training.