End of Season Ball Party

It's the end of summer and school is fast approaching.  Baseball has been over for a few weeks now, but Alex's Coach Pitch Team had their end of season ball party today at the Lake.  Shane missed his T-ball party because we were on our vacation at the time, and Zach's Little League team probably isn't going to have a party, so this is the only ball team party my boys were getting to have.

Fortunately, one of the Coaches was a member of the Lake, cause the Lake is the very best place to have a summer party.  The children all love swimming at the Lake, and the pavilions there are so nice for a party or a picnic.

I hadn't even gotten out of my car before the boys were running to the beach area of the Lake.  They have a great pier and diving board to jump off.

Alex on the diving board . . .

Alex jumping off the diving board . . .

Zach jumping off the diving board AND catching a football . . .

Grilled hotdogs, cupcakes, chocolate sheet cake, chips and dip . . .

And trophys . . .

The Red Sox had a great season, and this party was the perfect way to end the summer.  Thanks to all the Coaches and Mommas and Grandmothers that helped make the party so much fun for these little sluggers!

And so ends another baseball season for . . . 

                              the Ferrell boys and me!

My Favorite Coconut Cake

My birthday was this weekend.   I didn't have any big plans for celebrating because Dave had to work.  :'(

I spent the day hanging out at home with my boys and washing clothes.  Fun!  In my mind, my birthday didn't begin until Dave got home from work.  But while I was waiting for my birthday to begin, I decided to make myself a cake . . . my favorite kind of cake . . . for my birthday  . . .  My Favorite Coconut Cake :)

Here's the Recipe:

My Favorite Coconut Cake:

Here are the ingredients you will need:

White Cake Mix (and the ingredients required to make the cake)
15 oz. Creme of Coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 large Cool Whip
6 oz frozen grated coconut

Step One:  Make the cake according to directions on the box.  Pour the cake batter into a 9x13 dish and bake it according to the box's instructions.  While the cake is baking, set the Cool Whip and the frozen Coconut out to thaw.

Step Two:  Mix the Creme of Coconut and the sweetened condensed milk together in a bowl.

Step Three:  When the cake comes out of the oven and while it's still warm, poke holes with a fork across the top of the cake.  Some people use the end of a wooden spoon, but I think it tears up the cake too much.  I poke lots of holes all across the top the cake with the fork, and then I pour the creme of coconut/sweetened condensed milk mixture over the cake.  I use a spatula to spread the mixture over the top of the cake and to spread it evenly over the top.  Some of it wants to seep along the sides of the pan, but I use the spatula to continue to spread the mixture up and over the cake.

Let the cake cool.  I put mine in the refrigerator after it had cooled down some in order to speed up the cooling process.

Step Four:  Once the cake is completely cool, spread the whole container of Cool Whip across the top of the cake.

Step Five:  Sprinkle the grated coconut across the top of the cake.  Easy and soooo good!  Let it sit overnight in the refrigerator and then cut and serve!

Of course I didn't wait for it to sit overnight.  We had it for dessert that night, but it was still good.  It was better the next day.

So I made my favorite cake for my birthday.  When Dave got home, he grilled some steaks.  Each of the boys made and decorated birthday cards for me along with some gifts . . . candles, bath gels, and socks.  :)
Dave played it safe and gave me money.  :)

All in all I had a great birthday.  A great birthday 
with just  . . . 

                                 the Ferrell boys and me!

Ferrell Family 4th of July

Another family holiday . . . but just another day of work for Dave!  My sweet hubby had to work the night shift on the 4th . . . but his hard work at his job makes it possible for his family to celebrate this great day together on our farm by fishing and swimming.

His brother, Joe, and wife, Marlana, and their children all came down to Ferrell Farm to spend the 4th with us!  I was so glad to have Joe and Marlana there with me.  It helped to make the holiday special for the boys since Dave was at work.  And since I actually woke up on Wednesday with a sore throat and a summer head cold, I really appreciated their help!

After Dave left for work, Joe took the boys to Ferrell Pond for an afternoon of fishing.

The boys love fishing so much!  Aunt Michelle and Uncle John gave all 3 boys fishing poles and tackle boxes for Christmas last year so the boys have been dying to go fishing.  I love the distorted perception of this picture.  It looks like the fish is larger than Alex!

Here is a more true to size picture of the "giant" fish!

Everyone caught fish!  Even Madison racked up some big ones!

Here's Alex, Zach, and cousin Chandler showing off their afternoon catch.

Marlana whipped up some hamburger patties . . .  (cause I was sick remember) ( love having family take care of the boys and me)

Uncle Joe grilled the burgers and hotdogs to perfection. . . .  after catching the gas grill on fire . . . but perfection none the less . . .   LOVE that expression on his face!

While they were getting supper ready, the boys cleaned their fish.

Chandler taught Zach and Alex how to clean a fish . . . Here's Zach cleaning his first fish . . .

So that's our 4th of July.  No fireworks.  No Barbeque.  No Dave.

We celebrated on the 5th of July instead!  Dave was off the rest of the weekend so we shot the fireworks on Friday night, the 5th of July.

Yep that was us.  Sorry neighbors . . .

The Ferrell boys dressed up for the show!  Ha!

Shane loved the sparklers . . . until a burning ember landed on the top of his foot!

Dave let the boys "help" with the fireworks . . . with lots of his supervision . . .

Love those little boys . . .  

In fact LOTS of adult supervision . . . Marlana and Joe jumped to help supervise . . .

Dave, Joe, and the children fished and swam all day Friday and Saturday before the Joe Ferrell family headed back home.  While the boys fished and swam, Marlana, Madison, and I painted and crafted together.  Marlana brought some wooden cut-outs for us to paint. Here's my cross:

Marlana's cross and letter "F":

As you can tell from the many pictures and this long and very involved post . . . 

It was a great and fabulous 4th of July weekend for. . . . 

                                  the Ferrell boys and me!