This past Saturday we had a different kind of dinner here at the ranch. It was a farewell dinner for friends that our kids have almost all grown up together with. They’ve been with us through all our homeschooling activities, the Castle Keeper club, and the list goes on. So it wasn’t really a celebration but a dinner in honor of, since it’s kind of a sad time for all of us here. We’re happy for them but also sad that they’ll be moving 2,000 miles away. Because we were doing hamburgers/hotdogs, I decided a cowboy theme would be fitting.   The chalkboard sign is written in Spanish and says,…

My sister is flying in today with her Abigail her daughter.  She’s my big help every time I have a graduate.  (3 so far. woohoo!)  Well since I’m always preaching to her about organization I really should have my own act together don’t you think? So why am I on Pinterest this morning looking for graduation favors? I’ll tell you why.  I was going to make Cajeta which is a Mexican caramel made with goat milk.  After all we do have goats and we’re serving Mexican food at the graduation, so it sounded like a plan.  A good one. But in the last two weeks we’ve had a change in…

My son is now married as of May 18. I was so pleased with how the preparations went. I was making the food for the reception, so my sister flew in from Pennsylvania to help me with any last-minute preparations that needed to be done and although we were busy it went very smoothly. We made pie crusts… And pies… Apple pies, peach pies, blueberry (actually the blueberry had already been made before she got there) and lemonade pies   Then my niece arrived and helped with various things including table displays for the rehearsal… My friend Tina arrived at the same time as Grace.  Tina was in charge of…

The love bug has surely struck those around us this year and March seems to be a popular month for each of them to make their vows.  First it was Lydia’s, then this past weekend was Ashlynn’s.  I’ve known Ashlynn’s parents since before Ashlynn was born and so when I saw the duress my friend was under trying to figure all the details out of the reception, I volunteered to do the main part of the meal for her. She wanted an Italian dinner of lasagna and since that was the meal I had made back in 2011 for Heather’s reception, I felt comfortable doing it.  I learned so much…