It's the most wonderful time of the year...almost!

I love Fall. One of the only things I miss about living in the midwest (other than the people!) is Fall. Purdue Football games, The Feast of the Hunter's Moon, hayrides and hot dog roasts, Brown County, the Fall smell in the air...I could go on and on.

We simply do not have the greatest Falls in Colorado. (Excepting the briefest period during the season when the Aspen trees change to golden...so pretty but so brief.) Anyway, two of my greatest Colorado Fall comforts are yummy Fall-ish food, and those fabulous Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks (soon, dear ones...does anyone know the actual date they start selling these babies?)

Back to the story at hand.

So, I made an impromptu trip to the grocery store this afternoon. I was hungry, and you know they say that you should never shop for food while you are hungry. I also noticed some very large storm clouds rolling in and could practically smell the rain in the air. So I picked up a few apples so that I could make one of my favorite Autumn comfort treats--Apple Crisp!

Doesn't it look deliciously golden and crispy? Now, look closely at the opposite corner...
...while it was still piping hot I just couldn't resist a few smallish bites. So fresh out of the oven I even burned my tongue, a small price to pay. It will taste even better with vanilla bean ice cream later this evening! Yum.

Last weekend we had a block party. A huge success thanks to a couple of our awesome neighbors. Lance was (of course,) out of town, so I dared to take the kids by myself. Thank goodness they all still fit in the wagon, and one of the nice dads down the street threw our burgers on the grill with his family's so that we wouldn't starve. A good time was had by all.

So yes, I now consider that Fall is officially here and with that I may indulge in all of the tasty treats that will help me cope with our lack of seasonal changes. It also means that Christmas is right around the corner--Yippee!

Not to be outdone...

...Sydney also had a great first day of school!
(scraped nose & knee included.)

Backpacks, Helmets and Skates, Oh My!

Well, all good things (like summer,) must come to an end. Today was Katie's first day of first grade! Unlike last year, she told me which uniform she wanted to wear and how she wanted her hair. She looked pretty cute, complete with her new Hannah Montana Crocs from Daddy.(Sigh.) They grow up too fast.

We are finally coming out of three cold & rainy days. It wasn't even a fun summer rain where you can go outside and puddle jump. We even turned our heat on one of the nights. (Note, this is very unusual weather for Colorado!) We did all sorts of things to entertain each other. Trips to McDonalds & Chick-Fil-A, we visited the Butterfly Pavillion, went roller skating (see below,) and just plain used our imaginations.

Check out our very cool space helmets!

Can't you just hear the Pointer Sisters and Michael Jackson in the background?

Well, perhaps not. But they did get to do the limbo and the Hokey Pokey!

We have homemade jam.

The first paragraph of this post is probably not for the faint-hearted or queasy-stomached.
(If that is you, please bypass the narrative and go directly to picture #1. Thank you.)

Well, I knew it wasn't rocket science, but thought that it would go more smoothly with the help of an experienced jam-maker. We love to eat toast for breakfast and earlier this summer Katie asked where jam came from. She's been asking that a lot lately--and the answers to "where does steak come from...what is Tilapia...is chicken really a dead chicken"--have been a little surprising and rather unpleasant, I guess for a 5-year-old. I have had to stop mid-bite, during those meals, and suggest that we wait until after dinner to discuss it any further. Ewwwww! Anyway, when she heard that jam was just smashed up fruit and (let me add a LOT of) sugar, she was pleased (and perhaps a little relieved,) and decided that we should try our hand at making some of our own.
We have been on the receiving end of Miss Karleen's delicious jam in past years.
So I thought that she would be a great source for our little jam-making adventure.

Messy but oh-so-much-fun!
I knew that those adorable PBK aprons would come in handy--I got them on clearance then embroidered them myself!
The final result. The strawberry is, of course, scrumdiddlyumptious. Karleen and I were very pleasantly surprised at how incredibly supercalafragilisticexbialadocious the blueberry peach turned out. YUM. (I credit those two very long but appropriate words to Willy Wonka and Mary Poppins, respectively.)

Thanks, Miss Karleen, for spending your afternoon with us!

Syd skis!

She has successfully done it by herself but would much rather ski with Bekah!!!

Broncos Training Camp

Every time we drive north on I-25, past Mile High, the girls ask, "Daddy, can we please go to a Broncos game?" Since that is highly unlikely, Lance thought a visit to training camp would suffice.
Gotta love Jay Cutler (he's a hoosier, just like moi.)

We lasted about an hour...thank goodness for binoculars and snacks!

Did I mention that this is a free activity?

Tea for three...

I always imagined myself the mom of boys, and don't get me wrong, I love my little man; but an afternoon of tea and pretty dresses is so great! (And let me mention that I do LOVE cake!) I really like having girl time.

My special teapot and cups, they were very careful (and oh so cute!)

A few months ago I had these precious photos taken of my little ballerinas! However, when I went to pick it up they had made a few mistakes in the photos and matting. So it has been fixed and we just today picked up the beautiful final product. These are precious memories...

I hear a school bell in the distance...

We're ready!Even Will got a backpack. (Now he can carry his own diaper bag!)