skills

Hmmm... I bet no one can tell who carved which pumpkin in our family!

Do you know what happy halloween means to me this year? I get to eat donuts for the first time in a year. And I do believe that I may eat just as many as last year.

That means tomorrow may the beginning of another no sugar spurt for me until thanksgiving. I did it for the month of Sept, but have thoroughly enjoyed myself for the month of October and I think it is time to store up the cravings again so i can really enjoy and pig out on the thanksgiving goodness with the Porters!

Happy Halloween to you!

Pumpkin Waffles

This last weekend I decided we needed a little fall goodness for breakfast.

I couldn't find a recipe for whole wheat pumpkin waffles that looked just right for me.
So I ending up playing around and this is the recipe I ended up with:

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup sugar
(then I added a handful of brown sugar because I thought it needed a little something)
1 T. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
nutmeg & ginger (sorry I'm not very good at measuring things!)
pinch (or so) salt
2 eggs
4 T. melted butter
1/2 cup canned pumpkin (that is what I measured- then I kept adding more because I REALLY like pumpkin- so I could have ended up with closer to a cup!)
enough milk to thin the batter to the right consistency
Pecans

I started out with the Pecans on top, because Bobby wasn't sure that he wanted them, but then for the last few, I chopped them up and cooked them in the waffles- YUM! I would suggest cooking them in!

Many of you are better (and more precise) chefs than I, so if you have any suggestions, I'd love them!

her day

I moved in with Kat straight out of the dorms in '99, and we ended up living together every time we were both living in the United States until I got married in 2007 (and then Bobby and I even lived with her for a bonus month while we were waiting for our house to close...)

She is incredible, and after that many years, she is better described as a sister than friend.

Today, Steve joins the family, and we welcome him, especially because he brings such a gorgeous smile to Kat's face.

Kat and I discovered long runs together, with orange slices in our pockets. We explored mountains, and learned survival skills. We went on road trips with guys we wanted to leave behind, and had dance parties behind closed doors. She is quiet and kind, but has a kick and a sense of humor you'll miss if you don't get to know her.

Steve, you'd better take care of this girl! Bon Voyage on the Honeymoon!


P.S. Kat & Steve you'd better not forget Grandpa Pfosts well wishes at the wedding dinner.. I believe you got the very direct command to start producing a male Pfost great-grand child ASAP!

The Fisher Price Tape Player

i have memories from my childhood that i really like. i remember this old (1980) fisher price tape player we had. i often would play one of my sisters erasure tapes on it. iremember one time when i wanted to listen to that erasure tape, i dont remember whose tape it was, i only remember that i took the tape and ran out of the house with the fisher price tape player because katie, probably wanting that tape, or i wasnt supposed to have it or something, was chasing me. after i had ran far enough for her to stop chasing me and resolve to give me one of her "ooo bobby i'm so mad at you" glares (like unto an 'evil eye' but with both eyes, and it had my name attached to it), i sat outside and listened to the whole tape. thats all i remember about the fisher price tape player, and every now and again when i hear an erasure song i think of that old fisher price tape player and the time i ran away from katie. i really like that memory. brings one of those "man i miss the good old days" warm fuzzy feelings. love ya katie!

Sometimes our kitchen gets dirty

Haven't given an update on the house in a while. The wall is down, the ceiling is braced and the drywall has begun to go up. Oh yea- and the Chimney is gone...

And somehow when you remove soot from a chimney dating back to 1914, it finds its way all over your house.

And then sometimes your husband gets dirty too...

Pretty sure I love it when this man sends me a text that says,
"Surprise I love you" 10 minutes after dropping me off at work.
I have it good.

Sailed the Ocean Blue

Lately, when I've been getting too stir crazy to run at the gym- I've decided to go tackle the mountain instead. So I've been hiking to the "Y" and back a couple times a week.

Last night Bobby assigned me the activity for Family Home Evening. (he should know never to do that!) So I took him with me on the little hike up the "Y" mountain. Bobby doesn't have a lot of love for hiking, so I'm sure glad he loves me and will appease my love for it once in a while.


And just for kicks, here is Bobby running away from me on the Mountain. First- because he wants to get the uphill over with and second- because he thinks he'll succeed in not having me take pictures of him that way. Little did he know that it hadn't occurred to me to take pictures of him at that point until he started running away!

So Happy Columbus day to all out there. I didn't get it off work this year, after we switched to the 4 day/10 hours schedule, but I'll take any excuse to celebrate anyway!

Which reminds me... two years ago today when I had the day off work, Bobby and I went to look at the fall leaves and Bobby accidentally told me he loved me. It went something like this, "that's because I love.. uh... uh.. I mean I like you.."

sticky

Caramel apples were on the agenda for Saturday night with friends. Fabulous activity and treat!



This is another humorous view at the difference between males and females. Just notice the difference in our faces as we eat the sticky decadence...
**Note Brian had just as awesome a sticky expression, I just didn't happen to catch it!

And just to switch it up a little bit, Here is Em and I rocking it (normally I make a much better spectator than a guitar hero)

Temperatures

And I'm Not quite sure I'm ready for it yet.

Fall, can you please stay awhile?

home?

Bobby and I headed to Northern California for a quick weekend trip. I haven't been to Chico for 5 years. It is a little hard to believe it has been that long since I've been "home." And realized, it hardly feels like home anymore.

But the weekend was jam packed with family.

We flew in Friday in time to help with some wedding prep (aka fruit chopping...) and the rehearsal.

Sunny California turned a little rainy. The rehearsal was a bit muddy, and my brothers, naturally, plenty goofy (kinda makes you wonder how they could have possibly dropped the ring during the ceremony!

But the wedding turned out perfect. We gambled for moving the chairs outside a hour before the wedding. And the clouds threatened to dampen the spirits, but then the umbrellas were a bit fun as well.. and the sun came out just in time for the bride and groom.
Jared probably would have gone for a wedding in shorts and a t-shirt, but the bride, as she should, won. Jared looked great in his tux. Personally I think the converse look pretty dang good with the tux.
Then a party, complete with a toast only Geoff could make. And here is a view of what Bobby does when he doesn't know many people at the party. Who knew such entertainment could come from the napkin decorations?

It was a fun long day, and Jared looked very happy. The last of the Hall's is married. I guess we are all growing up and better start acting like it! I think acting like kids runs in the family...

While we were in Chico, I got to drive by my old house, and suddenly the street seemed shorter and everything smaller. It was like my home from a lifetime ago. But while we were in town we got to eat at Burger Hut and Bobby's first experience eating at a real, off the side of the road Taco Wagon (which he loved after much skepticism)

To top the weekend off we even got to rush up to Placerville and see the Porter clan! Mom and Dad came down from Oregon and we got to laugh with Dave and Erin, and enjoy delicious brunch with Jeanie and Scott. Good times, great weekend, and busy enough that at least my body let me wait until we were on our way to the airport before it shut down and came down with a fever... Apparently it had had enough fun for the weekend!

Wallpaper history

Our house has a story. It is told in many layers of wall and wallpaper. Who ever thought it was a good idea to put wallpaper on top or old wallpaper layer after layer?