Heaven on Wheels.

I was in Austin, Texas last week for a design conference and discovered this adorable cupcake stand in an old Airstream camper. I'd walked a few miles in the 106° heat in search of a toy store to bring back something for the kids, so this was my reward at the end of my trek. And it was sooooo worth it. I ordered a carrot and creamcheese cupcake, and it was as big as my head. Wow! Deliciousness. I just couldn't get over how cute the rotating cupcake was on top of the camper, or the little pink umbrellas they provided to shade you while you ate. Genius idea, I tell ya.

Denneler Dads - Then & Now

Whether they're catching fish on Grandma's farm or blowing bubbles in the front driveway, the Denneler dads know how to show their kids a good time and keep life interesting. 

One Square Inch of Pure Evil.

a.k.a. Peanut Butter Bon Bons

Knowing how much Eric likes fudge, I fully intended to make some this weekend for Father's Day. But as I was digging through my never-quite-organized-drawer-o-recipes, I came across this little gem (a recipe from Laine, a summer intern at SHS many moons ago.)

Wowzer, dowzer, are these suckers good. Think homemade Reece's Peanut Butter Cups - but lethal. Don't eat more than three at once or you'll start to get the shakes from the sugar/butter overload. Here's the super-simple recipe, if you dare:

1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 pound powdered sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted (for topping)

Mix first four ingredients and spread into a 9x13 pan. Melt chocolate chips and pour over top. Jiggle the pan until smooth. Chill, then cut into 1-inch squares.

Experiments in Gardening.

Some of you may recall that last year, we attempted to grow eggplant in our pseudo-garden. And did so quite successfully, I admit. Big, beautiful eggplants that we had no idea how to cook.

Well this year, for some reason, I'm trying my luck at growing a peanut plant. Don't know why, maybe it was the sweet little tag in the nursery that asked the question: "Have you ever seen a peanut grow?" Why no, I haven't. Therefore, I shall try. So far, so good. It hasn't died yet. The instructions say to harvest the peanuts when the foliage turns yellow in late summer - yielding 30 to 60 peanut shells! They have to dry for almost a month before they're ready to eat. I'm not holding out hope that they'll be worth digesting. But I'll consider my little experiment a success if I can keep it alive until harvest time.

Kupkakes for Kay.

My oldest sister, Kay, celebrated her 46th birthday this week. And since we were heading up to Salina for some family time at the Smoky Hill River Festival on Saturday, it seemed like the perfect excuse bring along some belated birthday treats.

These strawberry cupcakes were topped with pink chocolate K's (and a good three inches or more of buttercream icing.) Luckily, there were lots of nieces and nephews around to help gobble them up. Bea helped herself to the first one - thus the missing cupcake in the photo below.

Happy Birthday Kay!

Watermelon Cupcakes

Bea's daycare had a picnic party on Friday, so I decided to send along some picnic-y cupcakes: WATERMELONS. I'm sure the kids were sporting some green tongues, lips & fingers afterwards, because I painted on the watermelon stripes with food coloring and a little water. I especially liked how mini chocolate chips inside looked like real "seeds."

An apple for an Apple®

I made a deal with Eric this week: He could order himself the new iPhone that just came out, if he baked me an apple pie. We both came out winners on this deal.

And look how freakin' cute it turned out. He even topped it off with an Apple® logo. You know, for a woodworker, he bakes a mean pie. It was so good, I think I'll have another slice.

Ahoy matey!

Aaarrgh. How do I get talked into buying these things?

We've taken a short break from projects to focus on some summertime fun. Our alligator pool had one too many holes in it to make it through another season, so Gus picked out this oh-so-cool Pirate Ship boat - complete with shooting water canon. It's big enough for Gus, Bea and a few neighbor kids to splash around in, but small enough that we can dump it out & move it at the end of the day. (So it doesn't kill the grass. Very important, since a Slip 'N Slide fungus left a lovely strip of yellow turf in the center of the yard last weekend. Oops.)

With a few sunburns under our belt (and on my shoulders, neck and back) the Dennelers are off to a sunny summer on Winterberry Street.

Bees can't fly in the rain.

But they can sing and dance.

Ready, set, summer!

Growing like a weed.

The kids, that is. Not Uncle Dave's wheat crop. Well, OK. Maybe both.

Top 10 Questions Asked on the 1st Grade Field Trip to the Sedgwick County Zoo.

10. Can we eat lunch?
9. Can I have a drink?
8. Why is that monkey's butt red?
7. Can I get a snow cone?
6. Can we feed the fish? Geese? Giraffes? Gorillas?
5. Will you hold my jacket? Map? Snow cone money? Water bottle?
4. Can I have a snack?
3. What time is the bus coming? (Usually followed by "what time is it?")
2. Can we sit down?
1. My feet hurt, will you carry me?

I volunteered to go on Gus' First Grade field trip to the zoo on Friday. Usually, a 3-hour visit to the zoo on a sunny day in May can be so delightful. However, we were there for 5 hours, and it was really HOT. Despite all the whining, the kids had a great time. And I did too (when I wasn't feeling like a pack mule - jackets, lunch boxes, hats, sunscreen, camera, backpack, etc.)

I am my mother's daughter.

It's Mother's Day, and I wouldn't be half the mom I am today, without my own mother - Jeanette Weishaar. She taught me everything I needed to know about how to raise happy, healthy, well-adjusted kids. She should know, she raised seven of them.

Not only that, but when my youngest brother was only a year old, she started a career of raising other people's children. For 26 years, she had a daycare in her home and helped nurture and care for over 70 children in Colby. (A few years back we tried to count them all, but lost track.)

If ever there's a mother that exemplifies strength, humor, patience, faith and love - it's Jeanette.

Thanks mom, Happy Mother's Day.

Cinco de Mayo Dessert-o

Fresh from the Denneler Panaderia (that's spanish for "bakery"): 

Taco Cookies

We're having a little Cinco de Mayo feast at work today, so I baked some sugar cookie tacos. To make the shells, I folded the cookie dough over wedges of tin foil and then baked them. The sugary mexican toppings include: 

Ground Beef = crushed Oreos, icing & melted chocolate chips

Sour Cream = buttercream icing

Lettuce & cheese = green and yellow coconut flakes

Tomatoes = cherry sours

Mucho delicioso!

You're invited.

I love a good party. Maybe that's why I've always enjoyed doing party invitations. Here are two freelance invites that I did recently for a baby shower and a graduation.

I'm not familiar with a "Sip & See," but apparently that's what they do in the south. Or east? Or northeast? (I'm not really sure where it originated. Just not in the midwest.) I guess you drop by, take a gander at the new baby and have a sip of your favorite beverage. What a great idea.

And I know it's cliché, but for this Doctor of Optometry graduation invite, I created a slightly altered eye chart. It worked so perfectly, it felt wrong to do it any other way.

I always say that the invitation sets the mood for the party you're planning, so make it fun!