Annie, the cakes are amazing...I bet they tasted really really good. Now that's my kind of birthday party.

Your 'kids' are gigagorgeous! And when did Makayla and Bud grow into little people?

I really think I'd have had the birthday parties in the garage too... with all that road dirt and everything...;-)

Wow what a blast :) The cakes and the kids (big and small) are all gorgeous, I'd go for the pink and purple cake myself (I'm going to show the pic to our little Marley, she was Tinkerbell for Halloween and her room looks about like that cake!)

God, I wish I could have been there when you had that plate of cake near Bruce's face :)

Well shoot Annie, I raced over here to the gallery when you said on the other thread that there were pictures of the birthday honorees here!! And so there are - look at your beautiful family:-) Bud is so cute, smudgy face and all. Makayla is a real beauty, and she looks like an absolute Diva in that coat. Amanda has a peaceful beauty, minus the flash and fire of Ashley. Put them together and it's one lovely family. Thank you for sharing those special pictures!
DONNA

P.S. - You should have given Bruce the face-in-the-cake treatment:-)

Great party, Annie! Somehow whenever you post pictures and tell the stories, I feel like I was there! Your girls are beautiful! and the kids are getting so big, and always so adorable! Thanks for sharing, Annie, I love hearing the family stories!

A slice, I'd have given Bruce a whole cake! LOL! He looks like he know you will do it, too!

What a fun celebration that must have been. I love Bud's cake....what a great imagination you have!
Everyone looks like they are having a wonderful time. Ashley again like a beauty queen!

SharonCb

I like the look on the x's face, something along the lines of "she won't do that...of course, she would do that." Lol. I love your gk's you know that. Is Ashley in college? It certainly is agreeing with her, whatever she is doing. She's gorgeous, just like her sis. Thanks for sharing a fun-filled family bd.

Brenda

I love your family gatherings! The babes are growing so fast! And your daughters just glow!

Now I want cake, darn it.

Oh Annie, thanks for sharing the Birthday Party with us. I love your family gatherings too. It really is hard to believe that Makayla is 4 years old and that Bud is two.

Ann

What fun. Everyone in your family just keeps getting better looking.

You know, I think you were flashing that engagement ring right in your ex's face. So there, buddy. You lost a good one. Didn't appreciate what you had when you had it. Nyah.

Ok, Annie, between your engagement post and this one, you lured me hither. Hope you're satisfied, darn you! (And the last email I tried to send you came back with some really weird and cryptic error message.)

Congratulations on the engagement and all the birthdays. The kids are more gorgeous than ever, and E obviously knows a good thing when he sees one.

Cheers, chica, it coldn't happen to a nicer lady. The DH says to give you his best. :)
"The Other Renee"

Renee, I'm so darned glad to see you here. I have a new email address but I changed it on GW. They're not so good at emails, I guess.

See, I knew I could get you to come back, or else you'd miss all the good gossip!

Annie

You know, I didn't even think to try to send you an email from GW. Plumb forgot that was possible unitl last night. Doh!

Hey Annie, thanks for keeping the Gallery section alive - lol.

Great pics - Scott does a great c-c-c-cowardly lion...

Hey beanthere! How are you - very very nice to hear from you...:-)

Stacy

It does look a lot like Annie's personal gallery here. What? The rest of you don't have anything to take pictures of? I know you have the cameras because the food picture quality totally blew me away when I was looking at the What's for Dinner just now.

Hey there, Stacy. I'm good. 2007 will go down as the year of complete and utter chaos, but that's what keeps life interesting, huh?

Hello Beantheredunthat :) Cute name and I'm happy to see you! Really happy! I'm making your beans this week!

My mind went totally blank when I tried to come up with a name. LOL! I guess I could have used my Live Journal name, but I thought something at least a little related to cooking was in order. :)

Which beans are those, Woodie? I've done so little cooking the last few years I probably don't rememeber them!

FEIJAO A PORTUGUESA
Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 10 hr
Well, if you do Portuguese-style potatoes, may as well do Portuguese -style
beans. :)

1 lb dried navy or Great Northern beans, picked over
1 lb sliced bacon
1 large onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 to 5 cups water
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1 lb Portuguese chouri or Spanish chorizo (cured spicy pork sausage), cut into
1/4-inch-thick slices
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon paprika

Soak beans in cold water to cover by 2 inches 8 hours.
Cook bacon in a 4- to 6-quart heavy pot until crisp. Transfer to paper towels to drain. Spoon off (and discard) all but about 3 tablespoons fat in pot. Cook
onion in reserved fat over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until golden, 7
to 9 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until it begins to turn golden.
Drain beans and add to onion mixture with remaining ingredients (except bacon).
Bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until beans are
tender, about 1 1/2 hours. (Older beans will take longer to cook and require
more water during cooking.) Crumble bacon into beans and season with salt and
pepper before serving. Serves: 6
Source: David Leite

I hope Annie doesn't mind how this thread got hijacked!

It's her own fault, she's only been after my to check in for a couple years. LOL!

Ah, yes, THOSE beans. Love 'em. I made that with fava beans, too, and thought it was a nice variation. (Except I think fava beans are a PIA to deal with).

David is in Portugal right now, lucky dog, doing research for his upcoming cookbook! If you haven't checked out his website lately, it's worth a look. Some great recipes and articles. www.leitesculinaria.com

LOL, Woodie, we're from the Jersey and New Yawk, we interrupt everything :) (at least I do, LOL) Best hijacking in ages! Really great to see you here, bean there! Love the name :)

Hi Carol!

I can't get used to it myself, but I went blank and couldn't think of anything! At the time I was logging in, the Pun Fairy must have been here -- I had a bowl of bean soup in front of me, then remembered that to "dun" something means to salt it down (like fish). :) Every time I see it though, I think of Book of the Dun Cow that I read in high school. :)

And cow brings us back to topic of Annie -- so, Annie, what is the steer's name this year? Or are you just calling it dinner?

R, it's just one more post you missed. This year's beef is named Hamilton Burger, after the Prosecutor in the old "Perry Mason" shows. Remember, I work for the Prosecutor here, so it seemed appropriate.

Plus, I call him "Ham" for short. "Ham Burger". Do I get double bonus points for that? (grin)

Annie

Triple points...just as soon as I wipe downthe monitor from my snort-take. That's the best one yet! (And I have the Perry Mason theme running through my head now, darn you.)

Well....I missed this exchange!!!
Hi there Bean!! Sure glad to see you!!..
Now I have to go search for David's page...
You still living in the hinterlands??
Linda C

Oh I'm just tuning in here and waking up...took me a while for the penny to drop!

I had to come back here to this thread to say...a big HI to Bean....great to see you!

SharonCb

Hi Linda. You won't be diappointed in the website, I think. Check out the Christmas goose story. It's a riot.

We escaped. Or rather I escaped. The other half is still tied back there for the foreseeable future. I'm in northern Nevada now.

Sharon, you were probably wondering "Who the blazes IS this and why is she asking me about German desserts?" Good to "see" you. I hope the fires a while back didn't affect you directly.