alpaca farm + pumpkins | three

After the alpaca farm, we went to our favorite apples + pumpkins stand. My sister Jess discovered it years ago, and we've been going ever since. They always have ENORMOUS apples, fresh cider, and more kinds of pumpkins and squash than you can imagine. I love getting pumpkins each year, and I must say Caleb's much better in the pumpkin patch these days! I love pumpkins! And for the first time in a long time, I broke with tradition and didn't bring home a monster. Braden couldn't believe it, and I nearly couldn't believe it myself. :)

alpaca farm + pumpkins | two

I couldn't resist posting some more pictures of the alpacas. They are just hilarious looking! They all have these buck teeth--only on the bottom, mind you--and super long eyelashes...not to mention their 'hair.' And each one looks so different. If they were all mine, I would have too much fun naming them.

If you ever get a chance to visit alpacas, you should.

I've never met an animal quite like them.

alpaca farm + pumpkins | one

A couple of weeks ago the kids and I went to an alpaca farm with my sister and parents.

One of my parents' friends works on the farm and informed us of the upcoming open house. The farm is out in the middle of some beautiful country!

Hardly anyone was there, so we got to spend lots of time with the alpacas, petting them and watching them and talking with the owners and caretakers. Caleb LOVED it!
It took FOREVER for Maddie to finally pet the alpacas, and we could not figure that out. She normally is up for anything, and I really thought she'd love it. Alpacas are so cute and very gentle. They're actually much more scared of you.

This little baby had just been born 3 days earlier and weighed only 15 pounds. He was so skinny and looked like he could topple over if the wind blew.
La wanted to take this lovely lady home with her.

And the lovely lady didn't want us to leave. She couldn't get enough pets, snuggles or attention.

In fact these two ladies kept entwining necks both competing to get the most attention from us. Some of the other alpacas were skittish, but not these girls. They would sidle right up next to you and nuzzle you.

And my mom was all too willing to give them lots of lovin'!

(And they were all too willing to take as much as they could get!)

what braden captured on his iphone

We weren't really sure what to call her. The Pioneer Veternarian Lady?

The Old Woman who lived in a shoe, who had so many pets she didn't know what to do?

I don't know what she was doing, but whatever it was, she was having fun!

it's finally looking like fall around here.

qotd

After hearing lots of laughter coming from the backyard, I stood at the back door listening to Caleb explain to me the football game he and Daddy had been playing:

"...And I wayn by him wots wiff the bawl. And some of the byes he cawt me and some of the byes he didn't."

my latest

And so my latest food adventure is curing olives. I had wanted to try this last fall, but was just barely too late to order olives. So this year I was ready and waiting, and at the end of September I placed my order of 10lbs of organic green olives. They were so bright and green, they looked like little tiny green apples.

The only real pain of the job was having to mash and split (or slice) every single olive. That was a bit tedious! But it's a must, so that the bitterness can leach out.Now about two weeks later, look at the color change! They're looking like olives now. The two jars on the left are undergoing a water curing, while the one on the right is undergoing a salt-water curing...which is going far better, I must say. Next year I'm thinking the salt-water cure is the way to go. But we still have to wait a few more weeks to find out for sure. Once the bitterness is gone, the olives then have to cure briefly in a flavored brine. After that, they'll keep up to a year in the fridge. And for our olive-loving family, I hope they last that long!

m's birthday | party time

We had a big family party--Bubby, PopPop, Granny, Gair, Tarrah, Nonna, FaFa, La and the four of us! Her requested dinner: spaghetti and little meatballs, crouton salad (a.k.a. caesar salad), bread and green beans. Maddie had us all laughing trying to blow out her candles. She was puffing hugely but somehow wasn't blowing. I didn't get it--I don't remember her having this trouble before. We were all laughing and she finally got them out, and then everyone asked for a doughnut from the middle of the stack. :) Doughnuts were pretty yummy...

...and a bit messy, but isn't that part of the birthday fun when you're turning six?

Maddie had lots of fun at her party and enjoyed all her many gifts.

Thanks, Bubby and Nonna, for helping out with dinner and hosting!

m's birthday | doughnuts

This year for her birthday, Maddie opted for a doughnut tower over a cake. This decision was finally arrived at after numerous uninspiring ideas like apple cake that is shaped like a pumpkin with pink frosting...hmmm. I thought a doughnut 'cake' was definitely a good idea! Besides, I've always wanted to try my hand at making doughnuts. However, I was doubtful as to whether or not they'd really turn out right. But I grabbed my recipe, mixed my dough, and put my kitchen staff to work helping me roll and cut, and then we set the doughnuts and the holes out to rise.

I took charge of the frying, and I really couldn't believe it when the doughnuts started coming out of the fry pot looking like REAL doughnuts! Braden and I broke open a hole to try--oh boy...amazing. Fluffy, light and airy. Here's my master glazer hard at work. (He glazed over 3 dozen doughnuts plus the holes!)

Boy oh boy, don't they look yummy?! Maddie's request: chocolate glaze with rainbow sprinkles and plain vanilla glaze.

A happy Maddie and her doughnut birthday 'cake', crafted by Daddy.

And let me just say, the doughnuts were SOOOO good!! If you've never made your own doughnuts, you've got to give them a try! You'll be glad you did.

m's birthday | apple picking

After breakfast, we headed off to the orchard to pick some apples. It was a beautiful fall day!

We ran into our friends, the Weltons, there and walked together to the far reaches of the orchard, only to find empty row after empty row of fuji apples. We headed back to the stamens, but even then Braden had to use a ladder to get the only remaining apples on the trees. The orchard must have had a busy weekend before we got there! The kids still managed to enjoy themselves, even though they never picked any apples. Maddie strikes a pose for a birthday picture with Mommy.

Me and my kiddos.

m's birthday | breakfast

We had to celebrate Maddie's birthday a day early, as her daddy left on a business trip on her birthday morning. But Maddie didn't mind her birthday celebration coming a day early!

At breakfast she chose to open Aunt Xenia and Uncle Ali's birthday present.

It was a cute handmade tote, which promptly became M's library book bag, which she proudly took on our library trip a couple days later. (And don't take this expression on her face seriously, I caught her at a funny moment. The first expression rightly captures her response. It was very cute!)

*newsflash*

Now that Maddie is six her new favorite color is PEACH! Just to clarify, she loves ALL the colors, but peach is her 'most favorite'. It appears that last year's color change was a fluke and that peach will indeed last the whole year through, as is the tradition. But only time will tell. Oh the weighty decisions a six year old must make!

* miss maddie turns six *

OBX | family photos

We made sure to take a lot of family photos while we had everyone together. It's been over 3 years since we had all been together at the same time. The great-grandparents and grandparents.

The ladies. The gentlemen.

Nana and Grandpap with just a few of their great-grandchildren.

(Gotta love M's face.) Mom and Dad with all their progeny.

(Can you tell my kids are losing it by this point?)

Our family.

Jess, Dave & Devin.

And I think this is my favorite picture from the whole night. La with her nephews and niece. Each of the kids' personalities is right there!