Deck

We have made a lot of progress on our new deck - thank to a lot of help from Kristen's dad and uncle. We should be able to finish screwing in all the floorboards in another afternoon of work. Then we will work on the planters/benches and the stairs into the yard. We moved some of our furniture out just so we could sit and enjoy our hard work for a while.

Congrats to Phil!

Phil just received a promotion at work - he has been upgraded from "staff" to "associate." This is quite an accomplishment since he has only been working for Plante & Moran for a little over a year. He was also elected to be the Vice President of the West Michigan U of M Alumni Club. Congratulations!

Another Chocolate Sculpture

Here is a picture of another chocolate sculpture Kristen made for work. Tigg's catering had a booth at "Taste of Chambers" and wanted a centerpiece for their table. They ended up winning best booth and I like to think the centerpiece had something to do with it...

Happy Mother's Day!

We had family over on Saturday for a Mother's Day brunch. Ann brought her two dogs: Rufus and Izzy. Izzy was the hit of the party - she loved all the attention:











But Rufus has his cute moments as well:









Relaxing by Reed's Lake:

Wedding in Ann Arbor

We spent last weekend in Ann Arbor for a friend's wedding. We had a great time walking around campus and were able to spend time with a lof of our college friends that were in from out of town.

Standing in the wave field on North Campus:









Good Time Charley's:










At the wedding reception:

Recent Baking / Pastry Achievements

Although Kristen finished school in December, her graduation ceremony was a few weeks ago. In addition to receiving her Baking and Pastry medal, she also was name valedictorian of the Baking and Pastry program:












This is a sheet cake (which serves 150+ people) Kristen made for the UM Grand Rapids Alumni Club scholarship dinner:








A few weeks ago, there was a chocolate event at the B.O.B. Local vendors set up booths with samples, displays and also entered a chocolate masterpiece competition. Here is the chocolate display piece Kristen made for the Erika's booth:












This is the chocolate masterpiece Kristen created that was entered in the competition. The smaller cakes were given to each judge for tasting. It tied for second with the entry from the Chop House. The B.O.B. won first place.




















Kristen hand dipped over 600 strawberries to give away to the public. They were a huge hit and Erika's won the "People's Choice Award."

Viva Las Vegas!

We spent last weekend in Las Vegas. We had a nice time visiting friends, watching a lot of basketball, hanging out by the pool, and walking the strip. Phil has been several times in the past but this was Kristen's first trip.