Carving pumpkins

We had a volunteer pumpkin plant this year and harvested quite a few pumpkins. The kids each chose one for carving.
Designed by Henry, Helena, and Nora.

Field Trip : Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch on Monday. It was so cold. The weather has been beautiful all month. We've played at the park every week until now. Monday was windy and cold with rain showers. Our appointment at the pumpkin patch was right after a huge school group so we had our tour backwards instead of waiting for them to finish each activity.
We started in the petting barn. We were out of the wind, so this was the warmest stop.Rudy the Reindeer. He did not want to be petted by children. Climbing the straw bale pyramid.
Then we had our cookies and juice. We were sheltered some from the wind, it was relatively comfortable. Then a run through the straw bale maze. The big kids made it through several times. And a few of the little children just ran happily around in circles. Then we boarded the trailer and headed for the pumpkin field. I don't have any pictures of the second half of the visit because my camera memory card was full. Arrgh. But Andrea took some pictures. The kids had a good time despite the cold. Helena liked the hayride best. Henry's favorite part was the juice and cookie. Nora liked picking out her pumpkin. I hope we have warmer weather next year!

I've always wanted a secretary

Nora isn't fast enough at writing yet to do all the bulk tags at the grocery store, but she can do some!

Homemade Naan

Wheat Naan
1/2 cup All Purpose flour plus more as needed
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp wheat germ or ground flax seeds
1 tsp active dried yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsps sugar
a pinch of baking soda
2 Tbps olive oil (or any vegetable oil)
2 1/2 Tbps plain yogurt or buttermilk
3/4 cup warm water

In a large bowl combine the flour, wheat germ, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center and add the yeast, water, oil and yogurt. Stir.
Knead together for 3 minutes adding more flour as needed.
Oil a small bowl, place your dough inside, cover and let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour.
Punch down the dough and divide it into 6 balls. Roll each ball out on a floured surface until about ¼ inch thick. Prick the naan a few times with a fork.
Use a slightly wet cloth to cover the dough, wait for about 10 minutes. At the same time, heat up oven with a pizza stone in it to 450 F.
Lay it on the pizza stone, bake it for 3-4 minutes.
Brush a thin layer of butter or ghee when it is done before serving.

On her tummy

Penelope spends quite a bit of time like this lately. Whenever she is set down on her back she ends up like this. She rolled over for the first time on October 14th, two days after turning four months old. Especially at first she did not like finding herself on her stomach, but now she is happy to be there for longer and longer stretches. She always rolls to her right. She hasn't figured out rolling from front to back, but that isn't far off.

Idaho Visit

We spent a few days in Idaho in early October. Here are some of the highlights from our trip.
Penny finally got to meet Grandma Irene.We were there for story time at the library. And the traditional visit to see the fish.The building workshop at Lowe's was fun. Uncle Dan was a good sport and let Nora hammer his fingers instead of her own.We met friends to play at the park. The weather was beautiful.Uncle Mike and Aunt Becky bought some dry ice to observe. Everyone liked playing with the frozen soap bubbles. The kids had a great time with their cousins!