Jenna thought it would also be fun to make toasted pumpkin seeds & I agreed, but this meant we had to let the seeds dry overnight and bake them tomorrow. Jer had a hard time waiting....
As is tradition in our family, Jenna created a large, menacing fellow and Kendall made a happy, sweet one. I completed our pumpkin family with a grinning little baby. We showered our new creations with love.....
And turned off the lights for the grand finale!
The other day I happened to look out my window when this huge fox came trotting out of the brush by our pond. By the time I ran to get my camera, he was sauntering through my next-door-neighbor's yard and started climbing around on their retaining wall! The pictures are pretty bad because they were taken through a window, I zoomed up really close, and the fox kept moving. I wish they showed how really amazing he was!
Jeremy went off on his first hunting trip of the season last weekend, so it was just me & the girlies for a couple of days. I decided to seize this opportunity to introduce them to yet another fabulous TV show from their mommy's childhood, Happy Days! The girls (and me of course) LOVED it! Ahh, the memories. I was thinking that I'm so happy my kids like my old favorites & don't think they're old fashioned & lame, but I guess I used to watch "The Dick VanDyke Show", "I Love Lucy", and even the Beav and thought they were pretty cool too. Even though they were in "gasp" black & white. Needless to say, we're pretty excited for our next Netflix delivery of Richie & the gang. Yesterday Kendall told me that she wished she could have lived in the 80's when there were so many great shows to watch, but was quick to point out that 80's hair was not ok. 
It was a perfect day on Saturday & we decided to head to Taylors Falls for some hiking, climbing & beautiful fall colors. We thought lunch out sounded fun, but we quickly learned that while we love Taylors Falls, it is sorely lacking in decent restaurants. Our choices were a musty smelling cafe, or this little outdoor burger joint. After waiting an HOUR for our burgers, they tasted eerily similiar to school cafeteria mystery meat on a bun. Actually, Kendall assured us that her school's burgers were much better than these. We choked down what we needed for survival & went on to have a great day in the bluffs. Here are a few pictures. The sky was clear & blue, so I'm not sure why it looks so white? Any photographers out there?
We had to stop at the ice cream shop of course! Kendall had a chocolate/peanut butter concoction & Jenna went for the coconut/chocolate almond something-or-other. YUMMY!
Here are the ever-so-simple rules:
Six rules. Six things about myself.
1. I am addicted to talk radio. It started when I was a full-time stay-at-home-mom and I think just needed to hear adult voices around me. The stations have changed over the years as I become bored with one & move on to another, but it's still a geeky addiction that I love.
2. I was an L.A. Gear shoe model for one whole weekend. Of course this was when I was a freshman in college, 103 pounds and had size 5 1/2 feet (before pregnancies grew them to size 7). My friend & I wore little black leotards, cut off t-shirts, huge hair & had to perform an aerobic dance type thing every hour at a shoe convention. It's ok to laugh. I thought I was oh so cool at the time & earned $200 and 5 free pairs of shoes! Of course only 3 of the pairs were ever delivered & I'm still a bit bitter about that.
3. I like the smell of "distant skunk" as I call it. Not fresh road-kill skunk or skunk spray in your back yard, but the hint of skunk in the air as you drive down the road is enjoyable to me. My family is totally baffled by this oddity & enjoy making fun of me whenever "distant skunk" lingers in the air. I can hardly believe I just admitted to it actually.
4. I love High School Musical movies & can't wait for the new one. I know mom's are supposed to hate them, but I love them. The sad part is, Kendall & Jenna have both made plans to see it with friends so I may be going alone. What a pitiful sight that will be.
5. I tear up at some point during almost every movie. I hate it. It's embarrassing. It's not normal to cry during cartoons. Although there are times that I think something's wrong with my kids when they don't cry, like during "Eight Below". You can't be human & not practically sob during that one.
6. The smell of wool clothing makes me nauseous. I can often be seen smelling sweaters at the mall to see if they contain wool because I absolutely cannot wear them if I can detect it. Ick. My stomach churns just thinking about it.
Now I'm supposed to "tag" 6 people, but I don't know that many bloggers so I'm tagging just a few. I spent a ton of time doing this, so you guys better do it too. :)
This morning Jenna & I stayed home from church because she has an icky cough, so I've been enjoying a lazy Sunday morning & even put a pan of brownies in the oven for after lunch. After patting myself on the back for making brownies, I grabbed a bowl of Special K Chocolatey Delight and settled in to see what's new in blogland. As I was munching along enjoying the bits of chocolate that occasionally appear on my spoon, I suddenly encountered a foreign object the bobbed it's way to the top of the bowl. It appeared to be a mushy piece of CARDBOARD! Yep, as I look at it now fully dried on my desk...cardboard.
The air is cooler, the leaves are starting to change, but in our home we know fall has officially arrived when Jenna begins her decorating. Jenna had a bit of a headache when I picked her up from school today, but despite not feeling 100%, she knew this was the day she must begin her fall creations. She grabbed a box of crafty tidbits and a short time later introduced me to this wonderful scarecrow which she hung from our mantle. I especially love the crow on his arm and the cornstalks in his hay-hands!
It's hard to tell from the picture, but he's a 3-dimensional fellow with some type of cylinder beneath his fabric shirt & pants. I think he's pretty great & I can't wait to see how Jenna decks out the place for Halloween!
