Labor Day at Smith Creek Ranch

On Labor Day our church family enjoyed a fun picnic outing at 

Smith Creek Ranch, hosted by sweet friends.

Of course I was on baby duty and didn't get photos of 

Ryder and Daddy on the hike, at the reservoir, or shooting on the range - 

but, I did get some other fun shots of the littles.

This sweet little kitty was oh so curious.

Silly...

...sweet...

...and sleepy.

There is such beauty in this desert!

Then on our way home we saw the famous 'shoe tree.'

You can read about the legend here.

Labor Day at Smith Creek Ranch

On Labor Day our church family enjoyed a fun picnic outing at 

Smith Creek Ranch, hosted by sweet friends.

Of course I was on baby duty and didn't get photos of 

Ryder and Daddy on the hike, at the reservoir, or shooting on the range - 

but, I did get some other fun shots of the littles.

This sweet little kitty was oh so curious.

Silly...

...sweet...

...and sleepy.

There is such beauty in this desert!

Then on our way home we saw the famous 'shoe tree.'

You can read about the legend here.

Life with Sickies

Well, just about everything shuts down here when my little guys are sick. Thankfully, they're just about back their old silly selves again - and just in time - we're on a mini vacation!

Thanksgiving was a great time spent as a family and then with friends for dinner. Great except for the fact that I totally forgot to make the mashed potatoes. Yes, you heard me. Our friends had arrived and I was just whisking up the gravy and I realized I hadn't even put the potatoes on to boil! No wonder I had felt like I had so much time.

Life Lesson: When you're hosting Thanksgiving Dinner and feeling super confident and relaxed - you've forgotten something.

Thankfully our friends came bearing tons of delicious sides and no one went home hungry. They did go home with the boys' cold though. :/

One of the things we love about living in a small town is the sense of community.
Last weekend our local high school football team was playing in the state championship! We went with and met up with a few other families from our church to cheer on the local boys.

And what a game it was!
They played well and it was pretty close the whole way through.

Ryder loved it.
Poor Lynden had a fever and just snuggled close.

We WON!

And we checked one more fun fall activity off of our to do list. 

Love having family time with my boys!

Not Leaving It To The Professionals

I couple of weeks ago I bought our Christmas cards at Costco when they were having a sale. 

Since then I've been thinking about the lack of quality photos I have of the boys. 

I had been planning on taking some while we were at the pumpkin patch last week, but a few things went wrong. With a new memory card and newly charged battery in my camera, I set out after breakfast to get a few pictures in our backyard. 

Ryder was a pretty good sport - he normally doesn't love having his picture taken. 

 Lynden, on the other hand, was overdue for a nap. 

He didn't last long.

 Sweet boy. 

 Then Ryder requested that I watch him 'Go So Fast' on his tricycle. 

This boy is almost ready for a bike!

Out of 117 photos taken, I hope that 1 will be good enough for our Christmas card. 

Haha, I don't know how professional photographers do it!

Happy Fall Y'all!

I just have the best of friends!

This last weekend a sweet friend hosted a lovely little 'Happy Fall Y'all' dinner party. 

The table scape was beautiful. 

The company was sweet.

Everything looked and tasted deliciously of Fall. 

If you know me, even just a little, you know that I love to bake. I was excited to contribute a desert. 

When I'm looking for something rich, decadent, and buttery - I look no further than 

The Pioneer Woman. 

To add a little seasonal flair to my chocolate cake, I Pinterested (that's a word, like Googled, right?) a fun chocolate leaf garnish. Here's the super simple tutorial if any of you are interested.

It took a few attempts to figure out the logistics, but I ended up with some somewhat recognizable fall leaves to top the chocolate cake slices. 

Now that that's over with, I'm on the hunt for a few more pumpkin recipes to whip up before everything turns to Christmas. 

I can't believe I'm saying that. 

Christmas already! 

But in the meantime...

Happy Fall Y'all!

Picking Pumpkins

This morning we met up with some friends at the pumpkin patch.

 I had grand plans to take a million pictures (like last year) and hopefully come up with something for our Christmas card this year. 

My camera had other ideas...  

A lost memory card and a dead battery turned my great plans upside-down. 

It's funny how something so little can get your day off on the wrong foot.  But, we did our best to recover and just enjoy the experience - not the 'wasted' ironing. 

Haha!

We settled for regular old iPhone quality photos and enjoyed ourselves nonetheless.

Ryder loved his cow train ride. 

Of course we chose 'Owen' in honour of our sweet friend back in Washington. 

I couldn't resist including a throwback from last year. 

Choosing just the right pumpkin is no easy task!

 Happy Fall!

 And just a few more from last year...

'Tis The Season For Fall Fun!

 The trees may not have colourful leaves but we're well into Fall now. We set aside a little family time this last week, after Braden being out of town for a week - to go the to corn maze at a local farm.

Of course, we had to dress the part, Lynden included.

Ryder's got a plaid shirt on under there somewhere!

Sometimes I can't believe just how blessed I am in this beautiful family. <3

It wasn't long until we were walking in the dark. 

Ryder loved to be in charge of the flashlight.

And before long we were each carrying a baby.

 What a fun night!

Local friends, be sure to check out the corn maze at Lattin Farms!