Fall baking...

I am so ready to bake! I have been craving all things warm and wintery which tells me more than the leaves changing colors ever will. It is time to hunker down and get ready for the long cold winter. The news people interviewed a local ski area rep and based on their record keeping of snowfall by October we are in for an above average year. The Almanac calls for a colder than normal winter so if you put it together....I better stock up on oatmeal and canned goods. Oh, and baking supplies.

I called my niece today. She was baking! Budge is 10 and quite proud of her role as the "family baker". I have one of those too and got to tell her all about how her cousin Toad will make me cookies at the drop of a hint. I got to tell her how it makes a moms heart glad to smell the yummy goodness that fills the house. Mmmm.....


Budge was asking me how to make the frosting. She needed to frost these cupcakes and while she knew her mom would smell them, she still wanted it to be a surprise. Could I stay on the phone with her and walk her through making it. Heck yeah I could! I started explaining how making frosting was going to be fun because she was in for a shock when she saw how little liquid would go into the powdered sugar, and that it actually makes frosting.


Then she said something that blew me away...especially for 10 years old. She said "Auntie, that is what I just love about baking. It is almost like a miracle! So many times you put things together and just think 'how the heck did that happen?' like it's a miracle or sumpin!"

And then I get really sad that we don't live closer. This is my same niece who will call me (starting at 8 years old!!) and tell me she has her knitting in her hands and can I tell her exactly how to bind off. The trade off is that I can call her and tell her that I need to hear a little "Aran Boat Song" or "Red Haired Boy"....and she will do her best on her fiddle. A girl of many talents that one.

Oregon Trail...

I am clearly behind the curve on this but I have to share about our trip. Besides having 6 plus hours of drive time to knit, take in gorgeous scenery, and chat with my Honey Bunny...I had these lovely girls to greet me!


Is there anything quite like having beautiful nieces come running out to the end of the driveway, jumping up and down? Budge was literally waiting for us, watching down their long street, just to get that first glimpse of our car turning the corner. Oh, but it sure feeds the ego, I mean the heart!

We went up to celebrate with my brother and his wife. It was their 10th wedding anniversary, and they came up with a plan as unique as they are....Treehouses! We stayed in a Treesort, and had a treemendous time! Hehe...they do that to you there. They put a pun on anything possible and it is contagious.

Here was our original tree house....Serendipitree. We ended up trading with another family member who was solo for the weekend. They told us it would sleep 3, but I don't know how as the bed was a twin! I suppose if you wanted to sleep fetal on the floor, or like an owl on a branch outside...but we actually wanted some sort of bed. Kerri graciously traded us for her house that slept 5 and all was well.


Here is the house we ended up in. It was called Treeloon and is meant to look like a Saloon with the swinging doors. Not only was it bigger but it actually had a sink in it! I did have to make runs to the bathroom in the dark (scary) but I could at least wash my feet before climbing into bed, brush teeth and take out contacts. I'm a simple girl, the sink was perfect!

Here is our view from the deck...


Inside the Treeloon, not where we slept but a bunk that would acomodate 2-3 kids....I was tempted to take a picture of the "special bucket" that was in a cupboard should you not want to walk to the bathroom in the scary night. Since I was mortified even knowing it was there (Honey Bunny told me) it was all I could do to stand its presence. I could not bring myself to even touch the handle of the door. Is this just me who finds this sort of gross? I do have to wonder if anyone uses it, blech!


My sister on the other hand is a bit higher maintenance. So guess what she got? Thank goodness she didn't get the little cupboard with the night time amenity!! Across the wooden bridge from me was a militaryish tent that had a bed in it...Cavaltree. I asked her to model her house and open the flap door. She said a snarky "Model this!" ....then I had to run to the bathroom so I didn't wet my pants. That is how it goes with us.

Above that, on the back of the tree, there were a couple of wooden ladders that lead up to the top tree fort. My daughter and nieces all slept up there and we just hoped no one had to go to the bathroom in the night. The ladder area was dark and sketchy and we didn't need any falls.

The kids loved it. I tell you, if you have little ones this is a place to take them. This is the sort of thing that smaller children would never forget. I know my nephews and nieces will be talking about this for years to come. I would only do it again if it was a family thing like this, or I was taking small children. It is a bit on the pricey side, and I can say that I did it, no need to do it again but I would for an event. It really was a fun novelty adventure.

There was swimming....



Berry picking....



Exploring the 'hood.....



The best part? Family!



Oh, I nearly forgot! While we were there we met a couple from Family Fun Magazine. They were doing a story on the Treesort for an issue next summer. It is in the section called "Worth the Drive". They needed models for the photo portion and our family was who they chose. My brother and his wife were the parents, and while they have two boys only one was cooperative for pictures. So the "family" was my brother, SIL, nephew and niece! How cool is that? So I took pictures of them taking pictures...


My sister looking at the shots the photographer got...


We also got to squeeze in a soccer game during our trip. Is there anything cuter than 5 year old kids trying to make their legs work? I am endlessly amused by this! Poor kids can barely kick the darn thing, and then half way through the game they change the goal sides. Now they have to remember to kick the other direction. The other funny thing is the coaching styles...some coaches really try to instill the rules of the game and others are just about the kids having fun and learning good sportsmanship. I am in the camp of the latter, so I laugh at all the time outs, off sides calls and kicking out of bounds. The kids have no clue, at 5, but the coaches are ready to blow a gasket. So funny! Makes me run for the sani-hut!

Get 'em Bo!