toffee shortbread

I saw these yummy looking cookies here and really wanted to try them out. They are super easy and delicious. It's a good thing they're small because I've eaten about a dozen of them already.

And I can't seem to stop thinking about these.

round 2

On Friday we headed to another pumpking patch with our friends Tim and Megan and little Brenden. The weather was beautiful! We met for coffee in the morning and then headed out and let the boys pick their pumpkins. They had fun tromping around the field. They were just as interested in all the plants as they were the pumpkins!Hey, I found one!

My two favorite guys!

We tried a couple different times to get some pics of the boys together. One of them usually seemed to be crying when we set them down (ok, it was mason every time). Except for once. I think mason pinched brenden or something. mason: See you later. My work here is done.We really did have a great time. Good friends, good pumpkins, and fun little boys. Ryan and I also picked up a bushel of apples (jonagold) and then got two more bushels on the way home (called winter banana....who knew there was such an apple?). So this weekend we canned red hot cinnamon apples, applesauce, and some whole berry cranberry sauce. Next up is apple pie filling and more applesauce.

right now...

a few things I'm loving right now:

~chilly mornings
~making soup and homemade bread
~sliced cucumbers drenched with vinegar and a pinch of sugar (maybe the weirdest craving yet)
~chatting with my sister and sharing pregnancy stories
~my walking buddy
~bible study
~getting our furniture back and moving it into the addition (it's only been 3 years since we had a real couch:)
~pumpkin candles
~playing with mason
~unpacking boxes that have been in storage for years
~acorn squash from our garden
~feeling the baby move
~texting my cousins
~making our own mustard
~grilled cheese sandwiches with that mustard
~hanging out with friends
~starting skien 2 of a 10-skien project
~new magazines in the mail

pumpkin pumpkin

On Saturday we spent the day with my best friend mindy and her family. We met at the pumpkin festival in the big city. There was a huge pumpkin patch, a corn maze, tractors, and lots of fun vendors. We walked around for a while and then hit up the pumpkin patch.

Mason wasn't so sure at first. He didn't want me to put him down.

But then he started exploring and we couldn't stop him. He loved the pumpkins!

I love this one! I especially love how little Olivia is in the corner plopped down in the middle of the pumpkins. It makes me smile.

They had a bunch piled in front of the actual pumpkin patch, which was great for photos, but we wanted to pick out pumpkins ourselves so we followed the guys into the patch.

I love that mindy and I live close enough (what's a couple hours?) that we can share days like this.

We had a picnic lunch at the festival. Then ryan and I hit up whole foods (looking for kumquats, but no such luck...) on our way back to their house. Back at raul and mindy's we sipped apple cider and played some old school nintendo. It's been like 10 years since I played mario brothers. We were cracking up! Then we had mindy's famous pumpkin soup for dinner and drove off into the night. I think mason was asleep in about 10 minutes and I was not far behind.

before & after

before carpet:

after carpet:



next up: furniture!

little bookworm

Mason has become quite the little bookworm lately. He loves to empty out his book basket one by one. He brings them all over to you and makes a really tall tower. Then he wants up. This now requires a few dance moves. He dances his feet around, raises up his arms, gives his most charming smile and keeps repeating "up-dy, up-dy" (up, please is what we're working on:)

But he really doesn't want to sit on your lap. Although I keep torturing him anyway and start him off on my lap. If he's really tired he'll cuddle up with you, otherwise he squiggles right next to you, into his own spot...on top of his perfectly placed tower of books.

We'll look at all the books. Then he'll want to go put them back in his book basket. One by one. Repeat about 100 times a day and you've achieved official bookworm status.