Saw it. Bought it. Painted it white.

Found this old, 5-tiered serving piece at a garage sale last week and just had to have it. The finish was so tarnished, I decided to paint it white. It was probably a very valuable sterling silver heirloom that I ruined. Oh well. Now it looks fresh and happy in my kitchen. Wouldn't it look lovely filled with colorful macarons or flowers? 

P.S. Anyone want to bake me some macarons or buy me some flowers?

Sweet Sixteen

A layer of marble cake

Fudge frosting

A layer of chocolate fudge brownies

More fudge frosting

Another layer of marble cake
Even more fudge frosting

A chocolate portrait of the birthday girl on top

And 45 Milky Way candy bars all around the perimeter

For my friend's daughter, turning sixteen doesn't get much sweeter. 

Happy birthday Meggie!

Artist in Residence

Apparently, Bea has decided that her artwork needs a larger gallery space than our fridge. On Sunday night, Eric and I noticed that she'd started taping her latest masterpieces up in the hallway. And by taping, I mean she has securely fastened her work with 100's of tiny pieces of Scotch tape. I found three empty dispensers the floor.

I was particularly amused that she put one piece of tape on the wall and wrote her name on it with crayon. I asked her why she did that, and she said "Because mom, you're not suppose to draw on the walls."

She is absolutely correct. Tape-on, my little artist.

Lobes of Love

Earlier this year, my sister-in-law asked for my help to design a logo for her friend's breast cancer cause: Lobes of Love. 

It's a unique idea to help women dealing with breast cancer and others trying to prevent it. Gently used or new earrings are donated to Lobes of Love. Then they're disinfected, polished, affixed to handmade cards and distributed at the Kansas University Cancer Center. Women who come in for oncology appointments can take a free pair of earrings - a small but powerful way to encourage patients who are losing their hair and going through other changes beyond their control. (Sometimes it just takes jewelry to make a woman feel attractive, am I right?)

And for Tammy Frank, the woman behind Lobes of Love, it's a tribute to her mother who recently died of breast cancer after a 4-year battle.

I was happy to lend a creative hand in a project that can bring a little joy & beauty to someone dealing with the ugliness of cancer.

Where giggles grow.

We took the kids to the new Downing Children's Garden at Botanica yesterday and..... WOW! It's pretty darn awesome. Really awesome. Totally awesome. Gus and Bea had a fabulously fun time watering the flowers, running down the paths, climbing in the tree houses, and just plain giggling in the gardens. If it hadn't been sweltering hot (and lunchtime) we would have stayed even longer. But it doesn't matter, because we bought a family membership and now we can come back as often as we'd like. What a fantastic addition to Botanica. Well done, Wichita!

Wisconsin Waterpalooza

The Denneler family is back from their summer vacation. 

 < insert giant sighs of exhaustion here > 

We drove 13 hours north to the Wisconsin Dells - apparently not just the land of cheese, but America's largest waterparks too. We stayed at Glacier Canyon Lodge in The Wilderness Resort, and waterparked (is that a verb?) until we were sufficiently pruney. They have 8 indoor and outdoor waterparks, a zipline, arcades, a pottery shop, lazer tag, and outdoor amusement rides too. Boredom was never an option.

Then we drove to Janesville, Wisconsin to visit our good friends, the Kolstes - who entertained us with golf, a water ski show, fireworks, biking, and more water fun on their boat.

6 days + 6 states + 6,000,000,000 gallons of water = 1 tired family

Here are more photos than you probably care to see. Enjoy!

I'm happy to report that these smiles were coming from the backseat almost the entire trip. Yes, the constant use of iPads, iPhones and DS games helped, but Gus and Bea were very good travel buddies during the 1500+ miles.