Fall Fun

With the wet chilly weather settled in we have been having to do a lot of indoor entertaining.

Lucky for G Pop Pop and Daddy are always a willing playmate.  Here they are making play dough spaghetti with my garlic press:

The dumptruck is a constant favorite for the whole family:

G loves to play with his cardboard blocks, here he is building a house for Daddy:

Sometimes Mom Mom and Daddy just need a second to rest and decide to give into G's demands to watch a DVD.  Here is how Nick found him one afternoon, no that desk was not in that location originally.

Hopefully it won't actually rain today and we can make it to the pumpkin patch!

Hunters and Gatherers

Nick killed his very first deer ever this year.  After spending days in the woods morning and night, the buck he had been hoping for wandered right into the front yard!  Just a little 4 point but he sure has been tasty.  Nick processed him all by himself and we now have a freezer stocked with venison steaks, roasts and ground.  Friends of ours have been too busy (with a 6 month old) to get one yet this season so we had them up to share in the bounty.  Nick made "venison rolls" from the back straps with apple and garlic inside.  DELICIOUS!  I made a veggie/rice dish with the remains from our garden and a wonderful time was had by all.

Their daughter is just at the age where she can transition to baby food and she was so intent on the venison that we broke out a little of G's old baby food for her (and our after dinner entertainment).  She was ALL about it!

Yum!

I found a wonderful recipe this week on Smitten Kitchen for cinnamon pumpkin cinnamon rolls and just had to give it a try.

I am infamous for not reading a recipe in its entirety and being caught off guard by either the ingredients or the time required. This was no exception but well worth it. Thankfully my in-laws were kind enough to come over with the missing ingredients and didn't seem to mind the wait.
The finished product:

Priceless

A couple weeks ago Nick ran across this gem on the side of the road with a free sign on it.  G has given it a very good home and to be honest it was the real secret to my canning succcess!  Anything that encourages my little man to entertain himself for more than a couple minutes is truly priceless.

Last Call

This was the best year ever for our garden thanks to the long Indian summer. Last weekend Gunnar and I picked the last of the slicing tomatoes to dice and can. G was a huge help with the picking:

And prep:

Here is the finished product: Gunnar's Great Aunt Wendy brought me reusable canning supplies when she was out to visit this summer and I really enjoyed using them!

 In the spirit of all things yummy, Nick and Ray decided to open the cheddar they made 8 months ago. It is DELICIOUS and thankfully seems to have inspired them to make more.

Captured

Gunnar's Great Aunt Wendy sent some amazing photos to us yesterday from the "sister's visit" this summer.  There were so many amazing ones that I simply had to share a few.  I don't have a scanner so these are pictures of pictures with my iPhone.  They are even more amazing in person.  Thanks Wendy!!

Welcome to Oregon!

Nick's parents are officially Oregonians!  They are renting a house on The Resort on The Mountain's golfcourse a mere 3 minutes away.  We are all in heaven, especially one little grandbaby!


Nick's Uncle traveled out to help with the move and then Josh and Shanna came down to help with the unpack. Weary movers taking a rest:

Family lunch!

Fun at Timberline:

If anyone is looking for a beautifully remodeled and maintained starter home in Tulsa please check out the London's Tulsa abode

September Sillies

Nick's parents were out to visit as part of phase one of their relocation. With them they brought several toys that were Nick and his brother's growing up. G loves the airplane. Here it is going down the runway:

We have been doing quite a bit of painting as well. G even taught his monkey how to do it!

Thankfully cleaning the sink is still "fun". His future wife can thank me later!

Too many toys says who?!

A "new" toy

I tease Nick that he is the toy task master in our house as he is always complaining that Gunnar has too many, they are too big etc. Yes, he is just as happy playing with an empty box as his new t-ball set but with Amazon prime and a credit card on file what's a travel guilty mama supposed to do? A while back Nick put the building blocks away and we brought them back out again August. Ta da - new toy!

G loves for us to build a "baby cage" for him to sit in. Not sure why the serious face in this pic:

A Wrinkle in Time

It is so hard for me to believe it has been over a month since I last posted and that it is October!  Where does the time go?!

We have been busy with the back porch renovation, a "new" tractor, harvesting, ear infections, work travel and general goofing around in this year's gorgeous Indian summer weather.

The good thing about this blog is that I am always taking pictures in hopes of being able to post at some time, so at least I can go back and review/jog my memory!

This year has been a bumper crop thanks to the garden move and Nick's constant diligence to building better soil.

The blackberries ripened beautifully all over the property so the cobblers are flowing!

 G being silly in the beans:

 Tomatoes, tomatoes, tomatoes.  It is October and we still have tomatoes ripening on the vine.  Here Gunnar helped me make tomato/mozzarells/basil to welcome the Londons on their moving day:

 This tomato was practically pumpkin size and DELICIOUS!

There was no place to hide for the wilderness this year!  Nick was lucky enough to go fishing with his brother again and this time they caught several Coho.  We have some frozen and Nick will be smoking some as well.  Nothing beats fresh salmon!