Easter at Punkn's Place

I SURE HOPE EVERYONE HAD A WONDERFUL EASTER!

What a day we had! We usually have an Easter brunch late morning on Easter Sunday. This way the kids and their families have time to join their other families later on in the day. It is always a challenge to find a time that works for everyone. We were able to get our entire family together with the exception of our step-grandson. He was with his mom in St. Louis.

I find that breakfast casseroles make things easy, and I am all about easy! We had ham & cheese casserole, home-made cinnamon rolls (they were SCRUMPTIOUS, if I do say so myself), fruit salad, sausage, biscuits and gravy. Trust me, nobody went away hungry.

After breakfast we had our annual Easter Egg Hunt. I fill the plastic eggs with candy and money - I've found that you can never go wrong with money. We usually take a picture of all of the grandkids on our front steps, but we had to stay inside this year. It was just too darn cold to go outside. We even had a few snow flurries (brrrrrrr).

Here are a few pictures of my wonderful grandkids. (Yes, I am one of those awful, boring, grandmas who thinks her grandkids are the most special in the whole wide world).

I wanted to get a really good picture of the little munchkins but it just wasn't possible. Baby Reagan is teething and made sure we all clearly understood just how unhappy she was. The little cut-up, James, in the front would not sit still! The picture sure caught his personality. Their names are: Front: James, Austin, Dakota; Kneeling: Anna Rose; Sitting: Cara, Allen holding Reagan, Travis, Emily. Cara (blue shirt) recently donated 14 inches of her hair to wigs for kids - I think her short hair looks great on her. She says she can't wait until she can do it again.

Allen and Anna are as close as two cousins can be. Anna is actually 9 months older than Allen. You sure wouldn't guess it by looking at the picture.

I couldn't resist this photo opportunity! James and Austin are 28 days apart in age. However, Austin has a hole in his heart and is small because of it. They are going to operate this summer. I didn't realize just how small he is until I saw the two of them sitting side by side with their shirts off.

Countdown to Easter

Waves at everyone!

Hope you are

having a GREAT week!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It will have ben two years ago this May since we traveled across the Pond to Ireland.

It was a magical trip. There is a reason that the color of Ireland is green. I can still close my eyes and see the lush green grass of the Isles. The people were all very friendly, especially in the pubs. And speaking of pubs, it seemed there really was one on every corner! Apparently every single person had kissed the Blarney Stone, such stories that were told. Our tour guide was Timothy O'Leary and that man could spin some yarns! The streets were very narrow and yet he drove that big ol' tour bus like it was a little sports car. When things got particularly tight, he would just say "Holy Doodle!" and keep on driving. Here is my favorite picture from one of my dream vacations. It was taken from the highest point of Blarney Castle. I took it right after I kissed the stone of eloquence (also known as the Blarney Stone). To kiss the stone, one has to lay down on your back and lean out through the opening. It is really quite scary (at least for someone who is afraid of heights). Now when people tell me I'm full of it, I just smile and know they must mean I'm full of blarney.

This is an example of the narrow, winding roads. This road is part of the Ring of Kerry route, a very high traffic route. It was very common to meet tour busses going the other way. I just closed my eyes and said "Holy Doodle".

HAPPY ST. PADDY'S DAY FOR ALL YOU IRISH AND IRISH WANNABE'S OUT THERE!

Just a little sharing

It has been awhile since I have just "blogged". So here goes...



All of the kids and grandkids were here yesterday for soup, snacks and fun. The house was hopping and NOISY! My youngest daughter and her family were late and I began to get worried. So I grabbed the phone and hit speed dial - I thought the call didn't go through and hung up. Almost immediately my phone rang. It was our Parish Priest, who happens to also be my boss. Apparently I had called him by mistake. Well, this little gal had been drinking wine... so I invited him to come on over to the mad house. Fortunately he was headed out of town, otherwise I think he would have. He said it sounded like we were having way! too much fun. Eventually Julie and her family showed up (they had forgotten to set their clocks forward).



Speaking of setting clocks, my dear hubby pulled a good one. We were supposed to be at Church at 8:00 Sunday morning to practice music for the 9:30 Mass. Hubby volunteered to do the honors in setting the clocks and the alarm. The alarm went off at 6:30, giving me plenty of time to liesurely get ready. A little after 7:00 he noticed his watch, which resets itself when the time changes, was showing it was 9:00. Huh? Yep, you guessed it. He had set the clocks BACK rather than FORWARD. So, now we were up a creek without a paddle so to speak. Jim quickly got dressed and made it to Church in time to sing. I still had wet hair! Somehow I got my hair dried and was only 10 minutes late for church. Next time, I'm on clock duty!


Back to the kids and grandkids. We had a great time yesterday. I am one of those annoying shutter bugs who takes pictures every time we get together, so I try real hard to occasioally leave the camera alone. I didn't take a single picture yesterday. But watch out in two weeks when they are all here for Easter! All bets are off and I am going to take lots of pictures. We have wide steps leading up to our front porch. When Jim built them he told the kids he expected them to fill those steps up with grandkids. They have done a pretty good job - the count is at 10. Every Easter we take a picture of all the grandkids on the steps. I am really looking forward to it this year, since the newest addition has not been in one of the "on the steps" pictures yet.


Here are a few pictures of my bunch that I took over the past few months. I sure do love them!







This is my son, Greg and his 4 year old, Allen.







Greg is a wonderful dad! Allen didn't want to wear that "yucky orange hat", so of couse it became a game worthy of a picture.









My 8 year old graddaughter, Cara, protecting her birthday cake from her 2 year old brother, James.



She recently donated 14 inches of her beautiful hair to wigs for kids. She is a beautiful child, both inside and out. I will take a picture of her new short doo soon.

Our newest addition, Reagan. Even at three months, her great personality shows through.

Anna Rose and Allen. What a beautiful smile!

Anna is the smallest 5 year old I know. She is just now starting to wear her size 4 clothes. She told her mom that when she starts kindergarten next year that she may be the smallest in her class, but she is going to be the smartest!

My daughter, Tessa's, three girls, Emily, Anna and Cara, squishing their daddy.