When Life Gives You Lemons...

...make lemonade!

Life handed me some lemons this weekend when we had extra from my grandma's birthday party. So, I mixed up all of my favorite things into a pitcher.

First, some big lemons.

Second, simple syrup and fresh mint.

Finally, since I have an infuser pitcher and some fresh berries, I added those too. I also left all the pulp in the lemonade since I have a special place in my heart for pulp.

And the overseer of the operation...he wasn't too fond of the lemon, so he watched from a distance.

Sunday & Monday Fundays

Lindsay got me this Teatanic. It's an infuser shaped like Titanic! Awesome!

Ate these two for lunch on Sunday. They are pretty yummy. Hoping more get ready!

A new family picture :)

Teatanic in action infusing fresh mint into my melon/citrus/mint tea. YUM!

Monday's should always involve Orange Leaf. We also went to lunch at Emil's, a movie, and did some craft shopping...I seem to be doing to much craft shopping lately, and not enough crafting!

Speaking of craft shopping, I went to Hobby Lobby while I was in Ames on Friday. I found 873 things that I wanted, but I settled for this sign and some scrapbooking stickers. I love, love this sign and it is a lovely addition to my bathroom. 

Happy Birthday Granny!

I headed back to Colo this weekend to celebrate my Granny's 70th birthday party. I also made some pit stops along the way at some of my favorite places.

First stop--Hickory Park. It had been probably almost a year since I'd been there. This is a LOT of food, and I ate every.single.bite. Yum!

Second stop, well, third, after my haircut--Starbucks for a raspberry/lemon twist cone. Yum^2.

Caught this sunset on my way. I don't get scenery like this much in Cedar Rapids.

Wind turbines at my parent's.

Final Friday night stop: Casey's pizza. So good.

A pre-party treat.

Desserts!

I (helped) made and ate a cream puff for the very first time. 

Mucho confetti. Sad I missed the flower in the picture--they were very pretty.

Dessert!

Not sure the name of this Renaud snack--crimp bread with cheese whiz and chips.

We threw away the 70 confetti after this party. Won't be needing it for awhile!

Granny and some of her brothers. This was take #439.

Me & Granny. This was only take #173.

Present! Moving into the year 2013 with a fancy wireless printer/copier. 

Lost Island Fun

On Wednesday we headed up to Lost Island, the water park in Waterloo. I had only been there once, so it was fun to go back. The weather ended up being pretty decent, though it was a bit chilly at times. We still had a super fun time.

We stopped at the World's Largest Frying Pan in Brandon on the way. However, it is no longer the world's largest--just Iowa's largest.

We ate cinnamon rolls in the car on the way. 

Lots of water park shots.

Have you met a cuter cat? I think not.

Played a lot of volleyball this week. It is quite hard on the feet.

This blister is from walking, however, not volleyball. It is quite painful. Should I pop it, or not? 

And a group shot from Lost Island. Love these girls!

Vacation 2013

Vacation 2013 1, a set on Flickr.

Here are the final pictures from my trip this summer. Looking at pictures of the ocean makes me wonder why I live in Iowa!