In the Pillsbury People Celebrate More Photo Contest, the Schneider family of St. Charles and Lynn family of Ballwin are two of 10 finalists chosen for national online voting through March 8.

Last fall, the makers of Pillsbury baking mix, frosting and flour asked consumers to submit a photo with a caption capturing their family's sweetest baking moments. The entry chosen by nationwide and initial judges' vote will win a $10,000 grand prize of a family vacation to Celebration, Fla. One vote per day is eligible at www.pillsburybaking.com.

Andrew's pies and cookies

Andrew Schneider is only 5 years old, but knows how to gain people's attention. He bagged his homemade chocolate chip cookies to campaign for votes in the Pillsbury People Celebrate More Photo Contest. "Andrew loves to cook. He makes just about anything - pies, cookies, cakes," said his mom, Nancy Schneider.

The St. Charles family, including his brother Samuel, almost 7, is excited about the possibility of becoming the top favorite in the contest, which would earn a $10,000 family vacation in Florida. Nancy works at home as much as possible for Lindenwood University while the boys are young. Brad, the dad, is a planner at GKN Aerospace.

The photo, taken more than a year ago, shows Andrew rolling dough between sheets of parchment paper to make pies - including one with fruit, another with chicken. The Schneiders fulfill Pillsbury's dream of passing along the baking experience while creating long-term memories as they cook up time together. "My mom let me play in the kitchen when I was young, so I let my kids help in the kitchen," Nancy said.

Cooking experiments also expand the horizon of picky eaters, as Samuel now avidly eats salad loaded with healthy ingredients. The boys prefer to top their homemade pizza dough with Italian sausage. They make pretzels with friends in the neighborhood where they have lived for four years. "We share a lot of food with our next-door neighbor," Nancy said. "It has become a constant habit. We like to celebrate that we have really good neighbors."

If the Schneiders win the contest, Andrew expects to meet the Pillsbury Doughboy. "He asks when the big white guy is coming to cook," his mom said.

Fun in the kitchen

A snowy free day from school led to a tasty baking celebration last year in the Lynn household.

Mark Lynn, the dad, who is technology specialist at Captain Elementary School in Clayton, figures the trio of children that belong to him and his wife, Dawn, were making cupcakes when the photo he entered in the Pillsbury People Celebrate More Photo Contest was taken.

"There's lots of tasting along the way. In the picture, the snowy day represents the coziness of baking," he said.

Dawn is home with their children this year before returning to teach art at Willow Brook Elementary School in the Pattonville District.

"My wife is a wonderful baker. I don't think we ever have bought a store-bought cake," he complimented her. Family input spans two to three months before a birthday cake is envisioned. Animals were formed with edible clay for the top of the farm cake that Joe, now 5-1/2, had on his third birthday - with a real petting zoo in the yard. Discussion over merging Yo Gabba Gabba and monsters is underway for Matthew's fourth birthday next month. Brooke, 2, has graduated to helping and sampling at or on the table.

Mark fondly recalls his own mother baking with him and his three siblings.

"Mom would make sheet cakes every birthday. She would cut a page out of a coloring book, poke holes in it and trace it to form Batman, Robin or Spiderman. When I was 4 or 5, I made sugar cookies with cutouts with her," he remembered.

Last fall, the Lynns started looking for contests to help friends in Belleville whose youngest daughter has an autoimmune disease which caused partial amputation of her limbs before her first birthday. The search led them to the Pillsbury contest in which they are finalists.

"She is doing well, but they have had a lot of medical expenses. We decided that if we could win a contest, maybe it would allow us to help them, too. If we get the most votes, we want to include them somehow in the win," Mark said simply.

Dawn Lynn, who patiently delights in her children's active creativity, enjoys using family recipes. Her grandfather, originally from Germany, was a pastry and bakery chef in New York City. Aunt Jan's Chocolate Chip Cookies (see sidebar) are a family favorite.