Today's Harvest

It absolutely amazes me how I am constantly learning new things about myself!  I have discovered this summer that I love gardening.  I get such a wonderful sense of satisfaction watching things grow! Maybe that's why I love being a mom so much :)

Today I picked these from my herb & veggie garden.  

And I marveled at my pretty columbine & mini roses.

And I thanked God for the rain that fell this afternoon. He is so mighty.

This past weekend, Kreg & Westin & I took a little two hour drive up to Breckenridge to see Kreg's aunt Karla & her husband Randy and daughter Alissa who were up here vacationing.  We had such a great time! It was great to see them and to spend a little time in Breck... 

Karla & Randy had a great condo just off of downtown and backing up to a ski lift.  Pretty ideal! We met them there and then walked into town for lunch at a great grill that had a patio overlooking the river.  The weather was perfect! I think it was just about 68 degrees, which was awesome.  

After lunch, we rode the gondola to take us up to one of the ski villages... I can't remember exactly where we ended up but we rode a ski left up to the very top of the mountain which was TERRIFYING.  Not that I'm afraid of heights... but we had our 14-month-old son on our lap (who loved every moment, of course) and I KNOW his tendency to wiggle and squirm.  Thankfully, we made it up and down with no children falling off the lift.  And it was beautiful :)

We also got to walk the shops and eat some homemade ice cream.  It was a great day!
We are constantly reminded of how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful part of this country! We get so caught up in our day-to-day routine that we forget we're only a short drive from places people travel miles and days to see. We are determined to take better advantage of our location! 

On a side note, my friend Valerie, has asked me to write for her site The Village of Moms. If you haven't checked it out moms, you really must! She has great reviews and giveaways, as well as great articles from various moms on various topics.  I'm so honored to be asked to write... I'm feeling very inadequate because I don't feel I have much to offer in the way of advice!  She's been great, though, and told me to start off writing about something I feel very comfortable with-- photography. SO-- look for my posts on the third Monday of each month if you're interested! I'm praying that I will have positive things to say that will be encouraging and uplifting to the moms who visit Valerie's site. 

All in One Piece

I made it! All the dogs, all the houses, the business, and the children stayed in one piece while my parents were gone.  I'm counting that a success! We even snuck some fun in! We saw the Sorcerer's Apprentice, which I really enjoyed! My brother had been wanting to see it so he and Kreg and Westin & I all saw it Sunday afternoon-- I was so impressed that we didn't have to take Westin out once through the whole show.  I was prepared to miss half of it, but he did great! We also made a trip to Chuck-E-Cheese, had a Pizza Picnic Pepsi Party at the Park (a family tradition!), took Drake out to Panda Express (his favorite) for his birthday and had a little birthday party later that evening. 

One of my new favorite things is marshmallow rolled fondant.  I've discovered this year that it is so easy to make, so easy to use, and makes really fun-looking cakes! I've had a few opportunities to try it out these past few months and I'm just having too much fun.  I have a lot to learn but I think I'm getting the hang of it :) Here's the funky tower I made for Drake this week:

In case you would like to try it out, here's the way-to-easy recipe:

16 ounces white mini-marshmallows

2 to 5 tablespoons water
2 pounds powdered sugar

1/2 cup shortening

Melt marshmallows and 2 tablespoons of water in the microwave: Put the bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, open microwave and stir, back in microwave for 30 seconds more, open microwave and stir again, and continue doing this until melted. It usually takes about 2 1/2 minutes total. Place 3/4 of the powdered sugar on the top of the melted marshmallow mix. Now grease your hands GENEROUSLY, then heavily grease the counter you will be using and dump the bowl of marshmallow/sugar mixture in the middle. Start kneading like you would bread dough. You will immediately see why you have greased your hands.  Keep kneading, this stuff is sticky! Add the rest of the powdered sugar and knead some more. Re-grease your hands and counter when the fondant starts sticking. If the mix is tearing easily, it is to dry, so add water (about 1/2 tablespoon at a time and then knead it in). 

Speaking of recipes, I HAVE to note that Mamaw's cook book, "Recipes: for body and Soul" has been published and you can now purchase it!  Obviously, it's a must-have :) Here's a link to purchase it off of Amazon Recipes: for body and soul. We are SO proud of you, Mamaw!