Family Matters Pt. 3

Remember this guy?!?!  Yeah, you do!

Missed one of this awesome series?  Catch up here:
Family Matters Pt. 1 - The Preparation
Family Matters Pt. 2 - The Food

Warning, picture-heavy post ahead!  But, this post is dedicated to the point of the family reunion - THE FAMILY (and the fun and fellowship that comes with family)!  It was awesome getting to spend time with some of the ones I love the most in the world.  They are my connection to my dad, and because of them, the memories of him will stay with me forever.  Plus, this was the first time Comanche met most of the family, including my paternal grandparents! It was an exciting day!

Is he Hollywood or what?!?!

Cousin MB is going for it!

Perfect cannonball form!

Big splash for a little girl!

And she emerges after her long trip to the bottom!

Cousin M helps a little friend around the pool!

My adorable paternal grandparents, Grandma M and PaPa G!

Momma Chicken Wing and her new husband Dubya - it was his first time meeting the family, as well!

Little Sister CW and her boyfriend, Seatbelt, with one of our Aunt J's in the background!  All of the Chicken Wing girls brought new men to the family reunion this year!

Cousin F and Aunt J, looking adorable!

Me and Great-aunt M!

My Uncle H and me!

Sibling Love!  I absolutely LOVE this picture!!!!

Our little branch of the family tree, missing Little Brother CW, Uncle R, Cousin C, Aunt N, Uncle B, and their kids/grandkids!  (Our branch really isn't that little, as it turns out).

"Other things may change us, but we start and end with family." -Anthony Brandt

Until next time,

Family Matters Pt. 2

There are certain necessary components when planning a family reunion.  The given is family - if you don't have family, you don't have anything!  The rest can be easily depicted in the fancy pie chart I've made for the sole purpose of teaching y'all about family reunions in an easy-to-understand format.

I'd like to affectionately call this the food post in the Family Matters series, as it centers primarily around some finger-lickin' good eats!  If you need a more scientific reference, we're going to be checking out the red section above.  Warning:  You may, in fact, drool all over yourselves.  Second Warning:  In the event that heavy drooling floods your computer keyboard and renders it useless, you have my most sincere apologies.  Third Warning:  Photo-heavy post ahead!

You know you're in for a good time when this is the appetizer table!

Desserts anyone?  Yes, please! {Check out those scrumptious brownies that may or may not have been made by Comanche and yours truly.}

Oh, Southern deliciousness.....come to Mama!

There are few foods I love more than country ham!

Strawberry confections were in abundance, and I'd have to say I like it that way!

This parfait thing absolutely rocks my socks off.  If I could jump off a diving board and into this dessert, I would absolutely do it.


And you may be wondering where all of these goodies were being kept?  Why, at our normal family reunion meeting place - Aunt B and Uncle D's house!  They have an awesome space to host our wonderful family and they so graciously offer their home to all of us - there aren't enough words to explain how wonderful they are and how much appreciation I have for them.

The party house!



So, we've covered all the warnings, and we've also covered the food portion of the family reunion pie chart.  Up next?  The fellowship and fun, of course!  Stay tuned, folks!

Until next time,

Family Matters Pt. 1

Source

No, this post is not about Steve Urkel!  (Sorry to disappoint you!)  I realize that it may seem that I am leaving y'all hanging with the multiple "Part 1" blog posts recently, but I'm starting multiple blog series at a time - what can I say - I like to go big or go home.  One theme you may find throughout this blog is that I am the luckiest girl in the world.  In most cases and scenarios, that is absolutely true, and one region of my life that I feel the word "lucky" especially applies to is the family I was born into.

Now, I often say that friends are the family we choose because, let's face it, you have absolutely no control over the family you were born into.  Luckily for me, my family are also my friends, and that makes for one very happy Chicken Wing.

One thing that sets my family apart from most?  For the majority of my life, I grew up having two family reunions for each side of the family EVERY.SINGLE.YEAR.  Seriously, this is a big deal. So big, in fact, that I became the topic of discussion during a college sociology class when the question was raised, "Who even has family reunions anymore?" and I was the only one who raised my hand.  (Subsequently, I was also the only one who raised my hand when asked if anyone enjoyed going to family reunions).

A few weeks ago, we had a small small-for-us family gathering on my dad's side of the family, and it was awesome.  It went the way it always does, with everyone bringing a dish that they made to the get-together.  Per usual, my mom stopped and got KFC fried chicken because it's hard to find a main course dish that travels well for 3.5 hours and let's be honest - she hates to cook, and by hates to cook, I mean she doesn't do it.

What did Comanche and I contribute to this shindig?  My favorite course - dessert. 

There's nothing like a flirty chef, right?

Am I the only one who likes to eat batter?

Whew, I am a lucky girl!

The finished product!  Yummy brownies!

Stay tuned on the family fun time that went down in good ole' North Cackalacky (North Carolina for all of you Yankees out there) seen through the lens of my new and awesome camera!!!

Until next time,

Just a quick and sparkly note....

I hope you all had a FABULOUS 4th of July and the chance to celebrate America!!!! I came across an Independence Day quote that I loved, so I thought I'd share it with you!


"You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence...with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness." Erma Bombeck



(And I hope you all got to see fireworks, because I LOVE fireworks, and got to see them twice, which made me super excited!!!!!)



Just in case you didn't, here is a little display for you:



Source: http://www.digi-hound.com/wp/img_wp2/fireworks2ss.jpg


I will be sure to update you with my weekend's festivities, and I really hope you guys had a great (and hopefully long) weekend!

Until then,
Miss loving-all-that-sparkles Chicken Wing