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 :)