Pomegranates on Parade

Gramsie-dear sent a box of round, rosy-hued Pomegranates
from a tree in her back yard in California!

~Such a special treat and welcome taste of familiarity from our native lands.

Weather permitting, I do not allow Pomegranate eating inside the house :-)
Thankfully the weather was glorious today and I was without excuse for throwing on
EVERYONE'S fleeces and shoes.

Once they were all together and preoccupied, how could I not take along my
camera to document the picking of succulent red seeds?

Sometimes learning a new skill (like how to actually eat those seeds)

takes some concentration.

My fearless tree-climber claims this particular model of boot (a different one than we usually buy)
didn't "hold up" as well.    I can't help but raise only one eyebrow at that when my imagination is so
well trained. Haha :-D

This is a boy we're talking about here.

As you can see, it's a very smart move to take family photos when everyone is so happily
preoccupied!  You may feel free to borrow from my awesome ingenuity :-)




Even little brother joined the fun - only, no one offered to share their fruit .

He was forced to nibble on leaves and dirt.

Miss Carolina was just a bit of a Ham today.
That's somewhat unusual for her and I thought she was pretty fun!

I would say this face right here is a great reason for why we don't eat these in the house.

And this isn't even particularly messy for my Olie-girl who has to experience everything with all
her senses (so wearing it on her skin is all part of the delight)!

Believe it or not, Aloria was walking BACKWARDS (!!!)

And believe it or not, she didn't stumble and land on her kiester (again, !!!)

More delicious leaves and sticks :-)

My amazing crew - the Great Eight!  They sure enjoyed all the fabulous Gramsie-sent stickiness.
A bucket of water went a long way in spiffing them right up :-)

Sweet sweet dreams will be had tonight.


Thanks Gramsie!

Special Summer Visitors

This Summer we had particularly special guests to North Idaho.
Grama and Grampa (my parents) came for a visit!

Both Grama and Grampa made themselves instant favorites
and were game for any kind of play my hoodlums and their cousins
could think up.
I was a little afraid the ol' Grampa ride might break down!  Not so, apparently.
This Grampa is not one of those newfangled contraptions, but a properly built model.
On top of that, he didn't even need to be fed tokens!

What fun :-)

The cherry on top of this visit was the tag-along presence of my youngest brothers
and sister.  Uncle Daniel, Uncle Ben, and Auntie Mattie were 6, 5, and 4 years old
when AJ and I got married.
I wasn't a big part of their lives growing up and it is such joy getting to know them
as adults!  A little slice of Heaven.

There were hikes.

And tea parties.

Lots of stories and crafts.

Some music :-)

Oh that Auntie Mattie!  What can possibly be more fabulous than
an Auntie that plays Dress-Up with you?

Autie Mattie Grace~  You are the best!

Grama and Grampa~  What precious memories we made together this Summer!
Thank you for coming all this way, and I hope it inspired you to do it again (after your
batteries and sore parts have a chance to recharge that is).

We love you!

Long but not Lost

My Friends!
Oh how behind I am and getting behinder every minute!

I have oodles of pictures for Grandmothers and some summer highlights
to journal just for us, but honestly.. where to start?

Let's begin with today.  Mr. Miles. 7 months.  Mmmm-MMM is he a
scrumptious baby or what?!!.  This little pose is his own invention and makes him
appear to have a bored-stiff air.  Of course we all know that's not true with
five zillion siblings entertaining him full time.

Maybe we need to step things up a notch and teach this guy how to read
or ride a bike or something. Haha!

The air has officially taken a turn for the crisp around here and with that change
comes a lot of golden leaves.  I am daily beside myself in wonder of it all.

Zack took me with him on one of his Grouse hunting circuits for good company,
and I brought my camera to keep me some quiet company.  The funny thing?
My mighty hunter was as full of friendly banter as a chattering squirrel!

"and this is where I saw two of them yesterday mom... right here in this bushy patch
...do you see this track here?... what kind of poop do you think this is... it was even
more fresh yesterday... and do you think this is elk or deer?.............."

So fun.

Clayton is a bona fide hunter this year as well, and sister Sue passed
Hunters Safety (wahoo!) and can tag along.
With all the hunts going on someone thought a tea party was needed
for the left-behind of us.

Olivia's Fall Tea~

This really was all her doing (don't you love the leaf garland on the glass door?)
though I took the opportunity to try a fancy new braid out on the girls and
even donned a skirt and earrings myself!  It was a great party!  Sorry the hunters
missed out :-)

When comes cool weather, comes more mud, comes more boots, comes more
sticks in the hair and runny noses, but also comes more soups, blankets, reading,
hot apple cider, popcorn, and baking.

So "come" dear Autumn because I love you.

Piles of firewood, last deliveries of gravel for the driveway, apple cores, popcorn eaters, 

pretty breakfast,  cherished butterfly pin gift, impulsively bought chrysanthemums...

Delish.

I was walking the forest near the cabin the other day in the drizzle.  I had a heavy jacket on, 

a roll of tree flagging tape, and was trying to decide which were "keep" trees and which were

"go" trees.  Having such great results with our logging experience two years ago, we imagine

a little more open space to let the sunlight in.

Would you know? Once under said canopy, it just so happens that every tree is a "keep" tree?

It was such a privilege to have this little chore to excuse me from my inside duties.  

There was wonder in every step - mosses and mushrooms, peeling bark and critter tracks.

Really seeing the individual trees and making decisions that effect the long-term outcome

of this property was an exercise in embracing change.

Good change is good.

Hard change is hard.

Generally I don't like to be on the choosing end of change - what if I don't like what I chose?

That's where the exercise comes in for me.  I will be proactive in making difficult decisions

and I will be content with the outcome.  This life is not the final destination, this remodeled 

forest is not the last home I'll have.  It's ok if I don't love the change.   It's only temporary.

This season, this Autumn, this crisp weather sinking into low temperatures and frosty blades

of grass ~ it's good.  I'm sipping lots of coffee and embracing the change.