"But, I don't even like banana bread."

While Eric was slaving away this weekend, building the launch tower and bridge on the backyard rocketship, I thought I would surprise him with some fresh baked banana bread. Not just any banana bread - banana bread with chocolate chips. I was so proud of myself, until he said: "But, I don't even like banana bread."

Fail. I've been with Eric for almost 18 years, and I'm just now finding out that he doesn't like banana bread? How is this possible? Sigh. I guess next time I'll reward him with nachos and cheese. I know he likes that.

SpongeBob SecondGrader.

Gus started 2nd grade at Gammon Elementary School today. (See obligatory "First Day of School photo.")

His teacher is Mrs. Braet, and they have a classroom pet - a white dove named Frosty. Gus was all smiles this morning as we ran into school to escape the downpour of rain. Here's hoping his SpongeBob SquarePants summertime-brain can start soaking up all that good 2nd-grade knowledge.

To the moon, Sandra!

I'm sure that's what Eric would like to do with me right now. My ideas tend to make a lot of work for him. (Insert apology hug & kiss here.) 

The boys have had the week off together, so they've been putting in some serious build time on the rocketship. Gus has taken on more of a project manager role, as you can imagine. Although, he was wielding the cordless drill the other night and doing a pretty good job with the deck screws. That P90X workout for 8-year-olds is really paying off.

With Phase 1 nearly complete, I'm beginning to realize why no one has really made or sold rocketship playsets for backyards - because they're very complicated and take a long time to build. Thousands and thousands of cuts with the saw. And thousands and thousands of measurements - no two the same. I'm guessing the labor alone on this project would run somewhere in the $5000 range. Glad my man works cheap.

Phase 2 and 3 will involve a bridge, launch tower and some kind of arm for a swing. It's all still in Eric's head at this point. He's sort of building and planning as he goes. (As is true for most things he creates. Hey, whatever works.)

An 8th Birthday Blastoff!

We're in rocketship mode at the Denneler house. So, it seemed appropriate that Gus' birthday treats to take to summer camp, would come in the shape of a Chocolate Rocket. Every year, I try to make a "cake" that Gus will eat. And this year, it was CHOCOLATE, CHOCOLATE and more CHOCOLATE.

All it took was 158 Hershey's Kisses, 69 Twix bars, 4 giant Hershey bars, styrofoam & hot glue. (Oh, and a bottle of wine I drank while putting it all together.)

Happy 8th Birthday Blastoff, Gus! We love you to the moon & back.

Excuse me sir, do you have a permit for that rocketship?

I wonder what the neighbors are thinking right now? Eric has started construction on a rocketship playset in our backyard, and it's quite the conversation piece already.

Last fall, Eric and I were reminiscing about the rocketship slide we used to play on at Fike Park in Colby. And he made the mistake of saying "I could probably build a rocket out of wood."

Ding! Ding! Ding! My Project Denneler bell went off and I wouldn't let the idea die. I think I hounded him all winter to design plans for it. Gus even put pencil to paper and drew up some plans of his own.

Although our rocketship won't have three levels like Gus has drawn here, (I love how he spelled "Control Room") it's starting to take shape and I can't wait to see it when it's all done. Stay tuned.

3...2...1... blastoff!

How to Buy a Car and Not Get Screwed.

Repairs on our 2001 VW Passat were getting more costly, and it seemed pointless to waste money on repairs when we could put it towards a new car. So we took the plunge and went looking for a new family truckster.

Eric found this video on YouTube called "How to buy a car and not get screwed." We both watched it, agreed that it was pretty smart advice, and psyched ourselves up for car shopping.

Five tips for buying a new car:

1. Allow yourself two full weekends to buy a car.

2. Test drive at least three cars.

3. Get competitive bids from 8 to 10 dealers.

4. Sell your used car separately.

5. Don't buy any extras.

So what did we do? We went out last Saturday, test drove two cars (Ford Fusion & Nissan Altima), negotiated one price, traded-in our VW Passat, and bought a new car with an extended warranty.

Oh well. So we didn't stick to the rules. It was fun. And very low-stress, unlike most car-buying experiences. Plus, our sales guy was really nice. His name was Kevin. (I know 4 or 5 Kevins - all very wonderful fellas.) I highly doubt we got "screwed" on our purchase.

Introducing our new 2009 Nissan Altima. Wanna go for a ride?

To Jo anne. With Love.

It's become a tradition for me to make these crispy, buttery sugar cookies for my friend, Jo anne, on her birthday every year. Ironically though, I'm probably shortening her lifespan - there's a cup of butter & oil in each batch. Love & angioplasty, my dear Jo anne!

How I $pent my Summer Vacation.

I'm a firm believer in having "little luxuries" in life. Which is why, when I told Eric I wanted to go on a summer vacation - something we hadn't done in over 8 years - I made reservations at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs. Yes, it was expensive. But it was only for two nights. Plus, it was something I'd always wanted to do. And it was soooooo worth it!

The rooms were nice, but what you're really paying for is the incredible surroundings. Majestic mountain views, unbelievable landscaping & flowers, an outstanding swimming pool that my kids would have stayed in for the entire 48 hours, and customer service like I've never, ever experienced. It was all I had hoped for and more. Well, everything except my whiney kids. I would have paid extra if the Broadmoor could have magically made them happy campers, but when you take kids out of their routine, you've got expect them to be a little grumpy and uncooperative at times. Bea gave us more than her share.

And while we soaked up all the luxuriousness of The Broadmoor, we also ventured out to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. They're best known for having one of the largest giraffe herds in the US, and it was crazy-funny to watch Bea & Gus squeal as they fed them crackers. The zoo is on many different levels of the mountain, so you climb up and up and up, and it gets more beautiful with every step.

The last place we stopped before leaving Colorado was The North Pole. My parents had taken our family there when I was probably 5 or 6 years old. So while my memory is fuzzy, it was something I wanted my kids to see and experience too. It's a lovely little, Christmas-themed amusement park tucked into the side of Pikes Peak Mountain. And surprisingly, after 63 years, it's still very well maintained. The Peppermint Slide was my kids' favorite. In fact, I'm pretty sure we rode it no less than 23 times. Which made up for all the other rides my kids WOULDN'T go on - we're just not amusement park people, I guess. (We enjoyed the scenery more than a vomit-inducing Tilt-A-Whirl.)

So here's to summer vacations, fun memories and life's little luxuries!

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.