BBQ-ing

The cloudy and rainy forecast did not stop our bible study group from getting together for some burgers and dawgs! Here is our small group, minus a few people. We are greatly looking forward to the day when our friend, Becky, comes home from Iowa where she is recovering from a lung transplant. She has been fighting cystic fibrosis her whole life, and we are praying that these new lungs will be like new life!


The kids...



Our monthly socials are one of our favorite monthly events. We potluck, usually doing some sort of theme, and just talk! This month was a special family event where all the kids came, too. What chaos! We love it...

A Very Happy Mothers Day

A wonderful day off! For Mothers Day I requested absolutely no cleaning up! It was lovely...


This morning I woke up to flowers and cards from the kids. Then after church we stopped off at my favorite local bakery for an assortment of croissants.

From Medici Bakery in Normal. For all of you U of C ers, it seems that a few Hyde Park establishments have followed me here to Central Illinois. In addition to a Medici we had a Harold's Chicken Shack open up. Makes me feel like I'm at home in my old college town with some popular Hyde Park eateries, ha ha ha!

After a lazy afternoon we ordered dinner from Biaggi's.

Nothing says Happy Mothers Day to me like a food-filled day with all my favorite treats. And I didn't even have to lift a finger :)

mmmm....corn

The first corn of the season for the Snyder family. And the first time for Kate to have it on the cobb!

Officially Thirty-Something

31 years today. It's all downhill from here! Just kidding :) Now that I'm past the huge milestone all birthdays for the next several years will be ho-hum!

Today, David came home from work at lunch and gave me the afternoon off. What a nice surprise! I took a trip to nearby Funk's Grove and Sugar Grove Nature Center to spend some quiet time walking the trails. I can't remember the last time I spent over an hour in this kind of silence, surrounded by the beauty of God's creation. How peaceful, how healing, how refreshing!Afterwards, I rejoined the world by doing some shopping at our local mall, bought a few items, and returned home just in time to blow out the candle on my birthday "cake". Ethan, of course, insisted that he blow out the candle and open his presents. It was hard convincing him that there were no presents to open!

My present? Dinner at one of my favorite resturants in town, Rosie's. YUM! David and I had a delicious meal, and a romantic moonlit walk on the grounds of Ewing Manor (where the Illinois Shakespeare Festival is held every summer). A day that was already filled with so many birthday wishes from friends and family through the mail, over the phone and email was topped off with a selection of petit fours from Janet's Cakes.

A SWEET ending to a perfect day!

Chicago Getaway

Our two days in Chicago were exhausting! Remind me never to go sightseeing at the end of May...LOTS of school field trips! I don't think I've ever seen so many school age children in one place before. By that, I mean Shedd Aquarium and Navy Pier. My fatigue is probably the reason why I have so few pictures! Some highlights from the trip...


Our lovely view from the apartment we rented. Right on Michigan avenue across from the Museum Campus.

Goofing off after naptime...

At Buckingham Fountain.

Back home in Normal enjoying Grandpa Cuesta's homemade mango smoothies. He brought several Philippine mangoes grown on his Florida farm. Yum!

Kate, try this

A video of Kate trying to feed herself a Mum Mum "rice rusk" (whatever that is). I apologize for the abrupt ending of the clip...my camera malfunctioned!

Vicky's First Thanksgiving Meal was...

...not quite what she thought it would be!

Well, that's what you get when you "guestimate" the cooking time when the Reynolds Oven Cooking Bag doesn't have your size turkey on their cooking chart. Boy, that turkey cooked WAY faster than I planned, so I overcooked it. Oh well. Nothing a some turkey gravy couldn't fix!

What else was on the menu? Onion and chive mashed potatoes, homemade stuffing, a greenbean dish, and cranberry relish. All homemade! For dessert I made pumpkin pie and apple crisp.

And as usual, I have pictures of the food and not the guests, ha ha ha! David's eldest sister and her husband joined us (Donna and Greg). Then later that evening one of his other sisters, Gayle, came along with her youngest (of five!), Joanna. They literally hopped on a plane from Dallas right after their own family Thanksgiving celebration.

All the family in town made for a great Thanksgiving!

Tea Time

Yet another birthday celebration! Yesterday I went up to Chicago to meet with my old small group gals to have afternoon tea! It was a beautiful setting, a delicious selection of treats, and two and a half hours of girl talk. As a food enthusiast, I usually take pictures of food when I go out to a special restaurant (David laughs at me when I do this), but I just can't help myself. The top plate had assorted finger sandwiches (the turkey and arugula was especially good), the middle section contained a variety of pastries (the fruit tart with a slice of fig was delicious!), and the bottom section had an assortment of scones and breads. Their plain scone with lemon curd and devonshire cream on the side is to die for! Ok, I should probably stop talking about food!

I was blessed with an easy drive up to Chicago and back, though the walk from my car to the hotel went a bit slower than usual! I had forgotten that I was carrying a little extra weight :)

Thank you, ladies, for celebrating with me! It made my 30th birthday very special!

A green thumb?

When we got back from South Haven I was surprised to see that we had our own little farmer's market in the backyard. A friend of ours watched the house while we were gone and said that some of the heirloom tomatoes were ripening and that she had tried a cucumber as well. A cucumber?? The last I checked the fruits were tiny. I couldn't imagine there was anything ready to eat. Boy, was I wrong. Look at these things! I would have loved to have these cucumbers in the first trimester of my pregnancy when all I wanted to eat was cucumber salad!

Happy Anniversary!

This past weekend David and I celebrated our four year wedding anniversary in Chicago. His sister, Gayle, flew in from Dallas to watch Ethan while we were out. Thanks, Gayle!

Our celebration began with dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, Geja's Cafe, a romantic fondue restaurant in Lincoln Park. After checking in to our hotel, we parked the car for the night and hopped on the bus. We passed by all my old haunts along the way, which was so much fun! Probably more so for me than David! Our dinner began with a yummy cheese fondue appetizer, followed by salad, then a variety of meats and veggies that we were to cook in hot oil and dip in our choice of eight sauces! It was a bit messier than I remembered, but very yummy and fun.


Afterwards, dessert was served--chocolate fondue with a variety of fruits, pound cake and marshmallows. A perfect ending...

After dinner we hopped on the bus back towards the hotel and caught a movie. Iron Man! A very fun flick, and I was surprised that I actually liked Robert Downey Jr. in his newest role. Definitely a must see for the summer. The walk back to the hotel was pleasant, and felt like we were dating again! How long had it been since we'd walked down a busy city street after a great date? Years!

The next morning after breakfast we decided to spend some time at the nearby beach. A short walk from the hotel was Ohio Street Beach. Where else can you go sun yourself on the water and also see a cool city skyline? Only in Chicago! We then headed back to the hotel for a quick dip on their rooftop pool, then cleaned up to do some more sightseeing.

From the hotel we walked south to Millenium Park. This was Chicago's newest addition since I had left four years ago, so we really wanted to see it. They had several structures in the park, one of which was the great, big, "bean".

No Chicago trip would be complete without shopping, though! We managed to stop by Nordstrom so I could get a mini makeover. I love my makeup!

We left Chicago in the afternoon very full and satisfied from our overnight trip. My only regret is that we didn't have any time to say hi to our friends!

Death by chocolate!

Several days ago we had dinner with some friends of ours. We were to bring dessert, and I was wanting to eat something really special. My mother had this New York Times recipe that she had wanted to try this past Christmas, but we never got to making it. Mom, I have to tell you, this dessert is GOOD! I will definitely be making this again. Layers of brownie, chocolate pudding, chocolate whipped cream, chopped chocolate and fresh raspberries make this trifle a definite treat. The only shortcut I took was to use brownie mix rather than making them from scratch, but all the other ingredients were made according to the recipe. Delicious! Bittersweet chocolate, unsweetened cocoa and tart raspberries are in perfect harmony. Now if only I could make my layers more even in that trifle bowl...

sweet treats

Last week my mother sent me some mangoes from my father's Florida farm. YUM! My dad grows a few different varieties, but this year he said this one was particularly good...the Nam Doc Mai variety. It originates in Thailand.

I have so many that we've been eating them everyday. Here is Ethan trying it for the first time this season. I never tire of watching him eat, or hearing him say "cheese" every time he sees my camera.



A few days later I made some jello jigglers for a little girl I know who just had her tonsils removed. Our friends, the Schmidtgalls, have two little girls, and they now BOTH have had this operation done. No fun for them, and no fun for mom either. This was my first attempt to make these things and I think they came out pretty well. But boy, are they sweet!