Mother's Day & a few randoms

a perfect circle

Brownie's Pups

how to make indoor furniture look cool on the front lawn--- wear sunglasses while you're on it.

hand-salad-marni-john

making meatloaf on the barbi is not for the rule followers.

baby boo

primero and segundo

discover

be discovered!

Mama Saved the Meatball and other Small Town Adventures

My kids had fun breaking sheets of ice on top of puddles today

the amber allure

I tried a recipe for crockpot meatballs that didn't work out. The whole pot was one big gray meaty mush after stewing for 8 hours. I tried to salvage dinner by slathering the paste between circles of pie crust dough. A new dinner was born! I called it Empinadas Americana, which means "mama saved the meatball" in English. It was pretty good!

a perk that came with our house. A lot of slack, but it kept us nice and warm this winter.

Enzo took a pic of his ma and pa!

Who's Poo? A little game for a rural family

beautiful swirls

Random Winter Album

Boo Boo week of his 2nd birthday. I nursed him to sleep on this couch at Cedar Crest. He is wrapped in blankets made by my cousin Molly, and Sis in law Kris. He has on shoes from his Aunt Jenny and a ski suit from Alex Uncle Jose's family. Totally wrapped in love!

Aspen, our family's first dog having a comfy nap on our couch. I let him out to pee last week and he hasn't come back yet. The same day a couple of local dogs came to camp out on our lawn. They are trying to court our female dog. They have been here for a week waiting.  One suitor moos really loud like a cow trying to prove his inner torture and passion. The other hobbles around on 3 legs trying to get the "I need to be nurtured" edge. I hope that there is some kind of mating season going on right now and Aspen is camped out on someone elses lawn, hoping for a little romance.

This is a leftover chili waffle. I made chili in the crockpot one too many times this winter, and the last batch hung around for a few days. I tried to re-sell it buy mixing it up with some cornbread batter and making waffles. Kids loved it, but Alex would not dare try. I think that the occasional free falling kidney bean was an optical aversion for him.

This is the jewel of my cupboards right now. It is a breakfast bar designed to make oatmeal a 5 star experience. I have 4 more of this style of tupperware in my fridge with a chopped and ready to go salad bar that (at times) rivals Sweet Tomatoes. Super proud, and I found all the separators at thrift stores.

This is me with no eyes, no nose, and a chin that would make any superhero green with envy.

The boys love Spiderman. They got these cool pillows for Christmas. I love to admire them on top of their made beds bc I know the time will come too soon when all of the action hero paraphernalia is replaced with whatever gadgets are going to be better than i-phones and the like in 10 years.

LindenLove

Little Smokies and Vegitarian Sushi....Special treats for New Year's Eve!

Kris's Quiches

Silly Sibs

Happy New Year's Sparklers

photo booth fun

Enzo's itsy bitsy spider!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Nonah!

By coincidence, I had a Doctor's appointment on the same day at the same hospital you were born at two years ago. We were all driving there about the same time of day and using the same route we used when I was about to deliver you. I started to cry a little because I felt like I was reliving a beautiful memory, In your carseat behind me, you heard me sniffle and asked "Why, Mama, why?"
and I said,
"because I'm happy, son. I'm really really happy".  And then I started to laugh because I could see you were a little confused.

Happy Birthday Noah! It is so close to Christmas that you might feel like it is not that special, but I hope you know........It is such a special day for us!

o hljhytgtfffbm,,,.... ollmlLm
kkjoji;u';u     that last gf nndfrhm kcgvhgykyuogyu;7o88 letter was from Enzo. He wants to make sure you know that the "O" is hisljimfhfgnfnnnnnfgffgfgg,  .  m,n,/mm/ juo/.m,kn;jjn,j.k.,,k favorite letter up there and the favorite sound he likes in his name, 

matando a saudade ... amo vcs !

A Million Pumpkins in Gunnison

I found the worlds best pumpkin patch ever! My sister in law Kris (with kids below) led me to Becks Farmer's Market in Gunnison, UT today.

I told everyone afterward that there were hundreds of varieties of pumpkin...maybe I exaggerated a teeny bit....but there were a LOT. The names were as colorful as the pumpkins, the prices were incredible, and the flavor descriptions reminded me of the poetic way fine wine or gourmet coffee is described.

Confetti, Table Gold Acorn, Heart of Gold

post script: I cooked a confetti and table gold in the crockpot. The confetti was dry and tasted starchy like a cross between yucca and pumpkin. It was good with butter and brown sugar. Its seeds were really tasty baked in a little oil with garlic salt, soy sauce, and olive oil. The table gold was fabulous. It was lighter and creamier and tasted like a cross between pumpkin and squash. If I accidently got a bite of the outer skin there was a slight artichoke taste to them.

The lovely soft pastel pink  Galeuse d' Eysines. She wears her warts well!

Long Island Cheeses getting ready to dosey doe the Jarrahdale Thunder from Down Under

Old Mother Hubbard had some lumps in her cupboard!

For that special sorcerer in your life

 Turk's Turban

to be expected-Bliss was totally sold out...

I  took home Tondo, the old Italian.

The Tequila Sunrise Guys

The Last Orni-Corn

Amber C and Bon Bon

Orange Sunshine, Buttercup, Sweet Dumpling

Mmmm...just add gnocchi and ravioli!

and now, a word from our sponsor.....SMILE!

SnackJack and KaiKai

the snack-o-lanterns

Pump-Ke-Mon!

Gourd and Plenties

A true beauty...my mom could not resist this tantalizing and texturous taker!

Bye, Now!