Trick-Or-Treat!

(Amya is not quite sure she is having fun yet)

We did the downtown Hood River trick-or-treating again this year...our 4th time! "Get in early and get out!" -- seems to be the motto.

{once Nelson's "bag" got full, he was done...problem was the candy kept disappearing! True story, Dan pulled a large plastic caramel wrapper out of his mouth, caramel gone.}

After melt-down status has occurred, we like to meet up with friends at Full Sail (because it is a really good idea to take crying, sugar filled children to a restaurant). It was pretty fun, actually! (the restaurant...we need to work on the trick-or-treating part)

Pumpkin Carving Bliss

This is the stuff memories are made of....


We ate tomato soup with alphabet pasta and cheesy toast points, drank hot apple cider with whipped cream on top and enjoyed the sunshine streaming through the window.
And then....reality set in!
Nelson stood up and grabbed his crotch and started crying and pointing to a full diaper (diaper rash, of course). In the process of getting him off the table, the cider got knocked over and spilled all over the floor. Amya jumped in the puddle and ran through house with sticky (it's gonna take me a week to get it clean) feet.
Ahhhh....never want to foget a bit of it!

Happy Halloween!

Little Fairy and Little Mermaid

Dan digging in the graveyard.....Redneck (Greg decided not to dress up), Baby Jake
The Devil

Little Skunk and Little Strawberry...........Little Turtle and Little Lobster

Little Lion......The Fonz (drinking a martini of course).....Sun Burned Tourist....Erik the Great and Time Warp Lady

Little Pony..........extra credit goes to Greg and his labels!


Tony and Baby Tiger.................Ice Queen

Super Family!

Little Pirates................Momma Pirate and King

Ghost of Christmas Present ................. Pappa Pirate

Princess Graham.................Wicked Witch and Snow Princess

(Michael Peterson Photography)
Three generations of Tinkers!

(ok, so I didn't take this picture, but they were at our party!

Fun Stuff!!

Amya Is Off To Preschool!

And she loves it! Truth be told, I may even love it more than her! The environment is so peaceful and nurturing.

Her teacher, Jaime, is expecting a baby any day now! One of the moms is a midwife and she came in with her equipment to let the children listen to the baby's heartbeat.

(lunch baskets)

When Nelson and I come to pick her up, he makes a bee-line for the playground!

...and when we have time, we play and play and play some more...

Amya Posing

I think she has missed the camera more than I have!

Orange-Poppy Seed Muffins

Yummy and healthy! My kids love these.

1 1/4 cup ground oats (quick cooking oatmeal ground in your blender)
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
2 Tbsp sugar
1 - 2 tsp orange zest (or lemon)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (even more if you're like me)
1/8 tsp allspice
1 cup flour (I used barley, but you can use all-purpose)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup o.j. (or lemon juice)
1 1/2 Tbsp flax meal (I used almond meal, which is just ground up almonds)
1 cup applesauce (unsweetened)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp canola oil

Oven: 375
Bake: 22 - 25 min (clean toothpick insert)
In a large bowl, combine the ground oats, poppy seeds, sugar, orange zest, sea salt, cinnamon, and allspice, and sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Stir through until well combined.
In another bowl combine juice with flax meal and stir through. Add the applesauce, milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and canola oil. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir through until well combined. Fill cupcake liners in pan.
If you want to make them more "dessert-like" make a citrus drizzle with whatever fruit juice you used, mixed with powdered sugar, and drizzle on top when cool. (Mmmmm)
**adapted from the cookbook, Vive Le Vegan, by Dreena Burton**

Hello....

.....it's been a while!

Dan fixed the computer! I've been using an old laptop for the past 10 months. That means no access to my pictures (or photo software), and therefor very little blogging. The pictures you've seen since December have been from Dan's phone or stolen from friends and family. What can I say, I lost the photography bug!...and we have very little documentation of the past year because of it. Don't get me wrong, it was a wonderful break! I went to parties, on vacation and gorgeous hikes in the woods, and actually enjoyed them in the moment! But I've been itching to get behind the camera lately, so the timing is perfect.

When I found the camera today, I dusted it off, pulled out the memory card, and this is what I found...

Well, they look like this now! (have I said, "It's been a while" yet?)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROL!

Today is Carol's Birthday....and the first post in months....coincidence?