The Drive to School ~

The leaves in the canyon are just starting to turn, but the drive up to school is a different story!  These photos dont really do the drive justice...but man-o-man, do i LOVE this time of year! 

The Annual Catch and Release...

   I forgot to share these photos earlier this month, so im sharing them now...
  Every year Justin and Jordyn fish out any trout that are too big to survive in our pond during the winter months and they release them in the main river.  They have a lot of fun and are quite good at it!  Who needs a fishing pole anyways :)

 Look at that big brown trout...isnt he awesome!

 You can see Jordyns hand was still swollen from the wasp sting in this photo...that ice cold water actually helped with the swelling :)

 And here we see a very happy trout ~

 This last photo is hard to decipher, but the first cat thought it would be a good idea to run across the pond (thinking it much shallower), and so the other cat, after much consideration and not wanting to be upstaged, decided she had to follow.  Go kitty, GO!

Happy Equinox!

 Fall has arrived, and though its warm in the afternoons, it has definitely been cooling off in the evenings...making the aspen leaves turn a vibrant yellow.  My absolute favorite time of year!

 So, in celebration of the Autumnal Equinox, Jordyn and i decided to make our seasonal pumpkin cake with cream cheese frosting.  Im not much for eating cake, but i love this one...and its soooo simple to make. 

 Later that afternoon we had a visit by our friend and neighbor, Mena.  Jordyn loves when Mena drops by because she plays with her...be it games, chasing each other, or jumping on the trampoline, they have a lot of fun together.

 We also had a visit from the cousins this weekend, and they played and played and played all day on Saturday...in fact, Jordyn could barely stay awake for dinner.

 On a quilty note, i finished this..."Swirls of Purple" for the Doll Quilt Swap XIII on about.com.  Its 21" square, and the first quilt ive completed for the year.  (where did the time go?)  But I have many more quilt plans up my sleeve, so hopefully you'll see more from me soon!

 

Earlier this week, the new memorial plaque was set on the island for Berdena...and when it was dry, we went down to check it out.  Its a beautiful spot, and as we walked towards it, the light was shining thru the trees directly onto her plaque....quite magical actually.  

It looks like the cat agrees on the location too.

 Heres a silly shot of Jordyn trying out the pogo stick Mena brought over for her...i got this shot right before she slammed her chin onto the bar and decided she was done with the pogo stick for the day :)

May your Fall be filled with wonderful colors, cozy nights and delicious food!  Happy Equinox!

Pumpkin Cake

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

1 cup vegt oil

1 can pumpkin

2 cups flour

2 teasp baking powder

2 teasp ground cinnamon

1 teasp baking soda

3/4 teasp salt

1/2 teasp ground ginger

1/4 teasp ground cloves

Heat oven to 350 degrees and grease cake pan 9x12 (or somewhere around this size).  Beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.  Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves.  Pour batter into pan.  Bake until light brown, about 45-55 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).  Let cool, then frost with cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 package (3 ounces) cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened

1 teasp vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese, butter and vanilla.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar until smooth.  I usually double the frosting recipe...Yum!

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Thirty Eight

Week Thirty Eight : In Memory of Berdena

Berdenas memorial plaque was placed on the island this week and when it was dry we all strolled down there to take a look at it...even kitty.  There was a perfect stream of sunlight shining thru the trees onto her plaque, and i found it interesting that the cat immediately wanted to guard the space.  I used Shay's Rich Color Landscape Action in Photoshop to pull out the colors, 

but kept the rest of the image untouched.

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Thirty Seven

Week Thirty Seven : Fairy Tale Wishes
Jordyn was dressed for the Ball, but then decided to watch a Mermaid movie instead.

Ahhh to be 5 again!  Digitally painted in Photoshop.

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Thirty Six

Week Thirty Six : Fishing with Grandpa
Digitally painted in Photoshop

Wasp sting : Day Two

Day Two of the wasp sting.....OUCH!  But shes a trooper, taking her medicine and feeling fine!  Mommys still having a bit of a hard time about it though :)

Allergic Reaction ~

 We had a little scare this morning...at about 4 am Jordyn got stung by a wasp (perhaps more than one).  We had fallen asleep on the couch and she snuck downstairs to climb in bed with us and came out and woke me to say there was a wasp in our room.  Well when i went in there, there were about 4 or 5 of them on my pillow.  Not sure how they got in but at first we didnt even realize she was stung...nor did she.  20 minutes or so passed as she was tossing and turning saying her bottom itched, and then her belly itched...and thats when i noticed the swelling of her hand and the red rashy looking tummy. 
Last year when she got stung by a bee it didnt start to itch and bother her for about 10-12 hours, and that was mostly due to the swelling of her finger, but this time her body reacted much faster.  We gave her some Benadryl, which seemed to help almost right away, but we drove her down just in case. 
We popped into urgent care and they said each time she gets stung her reaction will be worse.  As an EMT, i know this, but i didnt want to hear it...along with the dreaded, "we'll give you a prescription for an Epi-Pen, and she needs to keep one on her at all times in case she gets stung again". 
I know things could have been a lot worse, but it just adds to the worry a parent already has...and its something she'll have to be aware of for the rest of her life.  So, needless to say, its been a long day and we are all exhausted. 

Labor Day Hunting ~

 Jordyn had lots of luck hunting for garter snakes yesterday...she found two snakes, both of which had run-ins with the cats earlier, so they were injured.  No worries though, Jordyn took this little guy upstream and released him in a safe, cat-free, area!

 Meanwhile, the grouse came back again today and i was able to get a few photos...that is, before kitty decided to stalk them.

 

Good kitty...keep those guys out of my garden!  And speaking of garden, i sure hope my tomatoes make it thru this chillier weather.  We are keeping them covered at night, but they still need another week or so to turn red, so keep your fingers crossed!

 

Saturday and Sunday Fun ~

 Lots going on this weekend, so im trying to get caught up!  On Saturday, we went over to Grandpa Franks house to enjoy a gathering of the FAB Company with family and friends.  Its probably been over 25 years since all four of the gang were together, so it was a great time!  Good food, great music and lots of laughter!

 That night the temperatures dropped down to the low 30s, creating frost in the meadow the next morning....uh oh....hope i didnt lose any basil!  Whew...only a dozen or so black leaves, but i guess its time to harvest it and make pesto....

 Jordyn was a lot of help, though, when it came time to wash and make pesto, she was already in bed.  And no wonder...she did a lot of chores that day...

 Our first wood pile of the season...that first cold day is always a wake up call!  Notice the sweatshirts and warm clothes...it looks gorgeous out, but it was fairly crisp.

 Daddy shows Jordyn the proper stacking technique...
good thing she has gloves on (but no shoes...doh!)

 And here it is...our first truckload of wood.  The first of many for the season!  Doesnt look like much now, but that stack will be 5 rows deep and twice as high come winter!

Now its time to relax...

Happy Birthday Justin!

Friday was Justins birthday, so Jordyn decided to make daddy brownies.

Looks like they came out tasty...

And then it was time for presents...naturally, daddy got new hot wheels from Jordyn...she picked them out herself, wrapped them, and then unwrapped them for him.

Then it was time for cake at Aunt LeAnns...and look at this super cool cake!

Beware the leaping dinosaur.....ROARRRRRRRRRR!

Happy Birthday Babe!  We love you!

2011 Photo of the Week : Week Thirty Five

Week Thirty Five : Visiting Sunflowers

Another shot with my new lens...im really enjoying the effects it does on its own, therefore, i decided to keep the image in its original form.