Before and After- Kai's First Haircut

Above: Happy snappy Kai (after haircut and dinner)

Below: Grumpy frumpy Kai

Just a Trifle

Tonight was the final of 3 women's retreats at church. We wanted to have a special dessert for the evening so I was given the challenge of making 3 trifles. My goal was to include the retreat's theme (A Seaside Escape), things most women love (chocolate, things pleasing to the eye), and fall (this was for my own sake. It's too sad for me to bake something in November without pumpkin and nutmeg.) SO these are the results.

I named each of them, but forgot to put the name cards out for the display! So sad! The details are as follows:

Berry Sunsets: Raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries made into a syrupy type thing. Pound cake (the pickiest recipe I've ever followed!) All layered with a lemon whipped cream.

Autumn Beaches: Spice cake crumbles (to look like sand.) Pumpkin layer (cheesecake pudding with pumpkin and spices.) Whipped cream layer (I think I just whipped cream with sugar and vanilla... I can't remember now.) THEN I made toffee and layered that in with pecans after the whipped cream. I added some "beach towels" and an umbrella on my sandy top for the beach look.

Moonlit Walks: Chocolate brownies with chocolate pudding (mixed with whipped cream) on top. Then I stuck the halved Oreos to the sides and filled in the middle with Cool Whip and crushed Oreos. Then I layered it all again and ended with crushed Oreos on top.

They were all insanely rich and sweet. Ergo, the name trifle... for all you need is a trifle.

Day-Trippin' in Tahoe

We spent the entire day in Tahoe yesterday. Here are a TON of pictures from our day. We had a wonderful time, enjoying each other and enjoying the amazing beauty of Spooner Lake. We also learned about the salmon lifecycle at Taylor Creek.

All of these pictures are from Spooner Lake, a small lake just east of Tahoe. There are aspen groves there that are amazing! I think we made it just in time to see the fall colors. The winds were picking up and blowing all of the yellow leaves through the air. It was beautiful!

Doesn't she look like a country music singer?

Catching some air.

This was the face he made when the winds picked up. Those aspen trees are so loud!

Salmon spawning at Taylor Creek

My Beautiful Girl

Bridgeport

I started this post a long time ago and never got to actually posting it so here are some fairly outdate pictures. We went to Bridgeport about 2 months ago for a field trip. We are learning about the seasons this year in the kids' school and this is us experiencing summer first hand. (Incidentally, we were just there again today!)

Definitely should have brought swimsuits.

Cool covered bridge that is being blocked off tomorrow. I'm glad we got these pics while we had the chance.

Crazy squirrels that should have been much more afraid of us than they were.

View from our picnic table.

My blue-eyed girl.

Six Flags and Kai

Kai is almost one year old. He is so cute!!! He took his first step yesterday and I don't think it will be long before he really starts walking. He finally started eating finger foods and feels like a big boy for it. He's very talkative in his own little language. He ADORES his Poppa. Andrew and Keira will walk him around the house, holding his hand and he just loves it. He is a fun and happy little guy... although he currently has roseola and is spotted all over.

My Mom and Len came for a visit last week. We had some fun Gram-Gram and Papa ELM time, just hanging out together.

On the second day of school, we took a field trip to an amusement park in Vallejo. (Hey, that's part of the fun of home schooling, right?) We went with our friends Landon and Katie and their kiddos who are about the same ages as ours.

Kaylene, Micah, Andrew, Keira, and Gabe (we just couldn't keep him off of it!)

First Day of School and The Fair

Andrew had his first day of Kindergarten on August 17th. I am homeschooling him at a charter school here in Grass Valley. He's doing great and really enjoys it. After his first week, I asked him what his favorite part of school was. His response: "That you're my teacher." Ahhhhh...

Andrew with his favorite teacher. :)

I've been doing some pre-school work with Keira too. I overestimated her interest level in schoolwork the first day so the second day I had her prepare a tea party for us and we practiced sharing and manners. That went much better.

Crazy kids! (This picture was for Miss Samantha for a puzzle card. I think they remember her well. :) )

Keira mad-dogging the camera.

The fair was just before school started. It's a pretty big deal around here. It only lasts five days, but people go multiple times. (I would have liked to go again just to see the exhibits, but I'm a fair-nerd.) We got to go with our pastor's family and we had a great time. We spent the morning with the animals and then saw some exhibits and the kids chose one ride to go on at the end. The fairgrounds are beautiful here. (You can see the trees in the background.)

Friends! Here is Andrew with Isaac and Micah. Although the other boys are 3 and 4 years older than Andrew, they are awesome with him and include him in everything. Andrew LOVES them and thinks the world of them both.

This is Pastor Sam and Kathie. They are awesome! They have already invested in us so much and have really been committed to mentoring us both. We are SO blessed to have a senior pastor and pastor's wife who we can look up to and learn from.