Beautiful Yard... more!

I just have to share how pretty my yard is this time of year... I love these trees so much! You can't help but just take it all in and say, wow -- how pretty!



Also, we were out taking some fun family shots - I *love* this one!!!

Family Fun

Family walks are fun in our house and we take them often!!! We love to visit in peace as we explore our neighboring parks & trails. Bryan's favorite time to take a walk is on a Sunday morning - preferably in good weather. This past Sunday could not be beat - it was absolutely stunning out so we headed out for a family walk. I brought along my camera and captured some fun shots to share, including Bryan enjoying some park fun on the slide - what a goof ball.

Baked Potato Soup

Last week I noticed comfort foods were eeking their way into our menu planning! The gentle morning chill in the air and my fall decor had something to do with it I am sure! Whatever the cause I welcome our comfort foods with open arms as they are some of our favorite meals to enjoy.

One meal I have never made was Baked Potato Soup - I have always wanted to, just never really got around to it. Well, I did it - I made some and to be honest it was simply amazing, comfort food at it's finest! So, I thought I'd share in case you too are looking for something new to add to your Fall line up!

Here is the recipe I used: Baked Potato Soup, Mmmm Good! The only adjustments I made were that I thinned it a bit more by about an additional cup of cream - it could probably stand a bit more and I added the bacon back in at the end instead of using it as a garnish.

Bye Bye Cable

People who know us, know we don't watch much TV. In fact, we never had cable until we moved here - even then, it's only been a bit over a year that we have had it. But, in the past year many nights after Holly is in bed we have landed on the couch doing much of nothing, watching TV. Holly also lands on that couch from time to time to engage in some kid programs laden with commercials that are now tainting her requests for stuff -- that came on quick & early.

This past year or so, we have also slowed down with our hobbies & interests. It is so easy to get caught up in something on the TV or to use it as a 'Ugh, I am tired' moment - then bed time rolls around and once again... nothing done, at least not like you'd hoped to. I know I feel really bummed that my personal hobbies and artsy moments have really gone to the way side - I actually miss that part of me a lot right now. Bryan misses it in him too. And, I miss the little girl who never said "Can I watch TV?" which is a daily request in our home right now.

Now, don't get me wrong - we like TV and all that comes with it, but I miss us as a family before TV. So, we have made the choice to say bye-bye cable. As of tomorrow we are once again a cable free home. Sure we'll catch a bit of PBS programming (commercial free, thank goodness) and we love our library like no other! So, movies and shows will happen - we just have to think about it more, plan accordingly and hopefully limit ourselves. What I am most excited about is the idea we might just start back into some of our once loved hobbies... look out scrapbooks, here I come!

Oktoberfest

Saturday night Holly spent a couple of hours with Uncle Don and Sarah while we headed down the hill to check out the Oktoberfest celebration at the fairgrounds. This celebration was really cool, fun and festive - of course. The newest pavilion was filled with folks, family activities, lots of really neat music, tons of wonderful smelling foods and of course... beer! A lot of beer!

We wanted to see what it was like and were pleasantly surprised - it was nice and pretty popular as there were a lot of folks there. The music was all of Scandinavian variety with some cool dancing. There were several beer bars featuring varieties of Oktoberfest beers and many food booths that had brats of any variety you can possibly imagine, Weinerschnitzel, stroganaff, german baked goods, etc... Good Stuff!

This was nice because it was close... much closer than our last attempt to take in an Oktoberfest celebration with our friends Ray & Devon. Back in our younger days (before kids) we met for dinner one night at Olive Garden where the wait was your typical hour to hour and a half long. We joked that we should head to Leavenworth for Oktoberfest... then that joke became a 'what the hell' moment. We loaded up and headed out at about 5 or 6 at night, no hotel reservations and not a lick of anything with us. It was fun trip over.

We arrived in town to find not a single hotel and to not find an Oktoberfest celebration but rather the Fall Leaf Festival. Oktoberfest was next weekend, oops! So, we tried several locations for a hotel with no luck and proceeded to head over to Wenatchee where we found a room to share and finally had dinner at Applebees - no comparison to Olive Garden, Ha! Oh well! We did spend the next day in Leavenworth and had a great day and a great memory!!!

Now when we leave town, we make sure we have a hotel reservation booked!

Anyhow, next year we would like to attend our local Oktoberfest again, with a good group of friends & family who enjoy good beer, fun music, a reason to celebrate and can enjoy a brat now and again. So.... we'll be in touch next year!

Been Tagged

This is my first 'tag' in cyber-blog land and it came from:!!!Wholarmor . The idea I think is that you have something fun to post on yourself that you might not normally and then you pass it on and invite others to participate... so, be glad you all don't either a) have blogs or b) you have hidden them from me!

Rules:
1- Post these rules on your blog
2- Write six random things about yourself
3- Tag six people at the end... hmmm, who?
4- If your tagged, have fun!

1. I love being a SAHM!

2. I learned sign language in elementary school, had my special ed baby sitting certificate, cpr/first aid and took 25 hours of training in jr high. From this I obtained speciality baby sitting jobs with disabled and/or hearing impaired children for parents who normally wouldn't leave their children. It was incredible satisfying and rewarding, even at that young age - as a parent now, I reflect at what a gift those parents received!

3. I was Home Economic & ECE student of the year in my senior year, resulting in a scholarship -- all a surprise!

4. I will home school my daughter.

5. Crunchy toffee... is my favorite sweet treat ever!

6. I used to teach scrap booking classes!!!

I am off to tag my six friends

My Little Ballerina

Holly started a small dance class last night that features ballet & tap. It was sooo cute to watch 10 little 3 & 4 year olds bee-bopping around the class in their cute outfits.... a moment that just makes you go "Awe, so cute!". Her teacher is a young gal from a local high school who has been in dance since 3 years old and competes & performs a lot. She is cute - but, as you would suspect with a 17 year old gal - she is not 'kid' savvy... as in how in the world can I control 10 preschoolers. Which honestly is enough to put anyone over the edge. But, I think she did great!

Holly had a blast and is very excited to continue with it. I love it because she *really* has to listen and use some control - a great skill to learn. She will also have to work a bit on her calmness, not giddy excitement. If she tends to continue liking this we may eventually move her to a studio in the area - but for now this is a great way to see how she does, if she really likes it or if this is just a phase. I am hoping she likes it - what a graceful art!