Welcoming Jadalyn Juliane Miller!

Construction underway

Huge equipment but they completed the cement work in 15 minutes... they will be back Monday to do the wall part. It was awesome to watch... the tube in the back left is where the cement came out to fill the forms.

So tired

Helping Daddy mow the lawn was so much work, it wore Jevin out. He fell asleep at the wheel. :)

Playing in the leaves

I took these while playing in the yard today.

Taylors Falls Hike

Here are a few pictures, courtesy of Adriana's camera:

 

 

 

 

Looking for the Camera

Fall PIctures: Not

Yesterday I took some beautiful pictures at Como Conservatory. Today Veronica, Adriana, and I went with Peter and Joy on a beautiful hike along the St. Croix River. The leaves are at their peak and we stopped along the way to take gorgeous pictures of the leaves, 3 generations, my beautiful daughter, and the river. There were pictures of red, yellow, and orange leaves contrasted by white birches, deep green pines, the high cliffs and the blue river below. I was so excited about posting them and maybe blowing some of them up for framing. Near Taylor's Falls, the group split up for a few minutes and there was a lack of communication about where we were and cell phones were being used and someone told me to "wave your arms so we can find you". Unknowingly, there was a gorgeous red oak just over my head and when I waved my arms, I hit a branch and my camera went flying, bouncing twice on the rocks below and then *plopped* into this cavern-like hole between the rocks. We used a stick and determined that the water in the hole was only a couple of feet deep. I rolled up my pant legs and got into the smelly, murky water and discovered that half of the hole was 2 feet deep and then it abruptly dropped off on the other side of the waterhole. I felt all around the 2 foot ledge with my feet, but could not find the camera. I am very sad about losing the camera, but I'm also sad about losing all the wonderful pictures that I had taken over the last two days. Our video camera is broken too...so we are now officially without any form of picture taking. Big, bad bummer! Adriana took some pictures, so once she dumps her pictures off, I'll post some of me in the water looking for the camera which met a watery death today.

Picking Pumpkins at Sutter's Ridge

We went to local farm yesterday to do some pumpkin picking. We also climbed the hay mountain, played in their big sand pile and fed the goats. Lots of fun!

Smiles after Sauna!

October 2008 leaf trip

This is a tree in Maple Wood State Park that I used for a picture when Chris, Tali and Davin were little. The branch going to the right is now off, but it is the same tree.

The top of Holloway Hill in the park. Here it is the middle of October and the leaves are still on the trees. What a beautiful fall.

There is a new orchard new the Maple Hills Golf Course. He they are after a community education open house. We had a demonstration of how to be a bee keeper, a magic show, free pumpkins for all, and even free cookies and milk. What a great day.

Pumpkin Chip Bread/Muffins

Set oven at 350

Ingredients:
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 2/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin
1 cup cinnamin chips (Hershey's makes them--find them by chocolate chips)

Cream shortening & sugar together. Add eggs and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients. Then add to sugar/shortening mix. Add pumpkin, mix well. Stir in chips.
Grease loaf pan or muffin tins (or use liners)
Bake 20-25 minutes for muffins, 40 minutes for bread.

Title I Video

In an effort to explain the Title I (No Child Left Behind) program to staff, students, and parents, I wrote a script for a video last winter. I pitched it to administration and the Video Production teacher and they decided to give it a go. It was a pretty big project and since it was our first time trying anything like it, we had a few "learning experiences". I plan to show it on October 7th at our Title I Annual Meeting, complete with popcorn in the auditorium. Yes, special permission has been granted by the custodial staff and I have had to promise my life that it won't turn into a huge mess. Anyway, here's my movie. It's 15 minutes long, so grab a box of Milk Duds and remember that we all plan to keep our days jobs...no one is moving to Hollywood yet.

Sweet Potato and Corn Chowder

1 onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 to 1 minced jalepeno pepper, depending on how much kick you want it to have
Saute in some olive oil in your pot (2 Tablespoons??)

Add:
3-4 cups chicken broth
1 large can and 1 small can sweet potatoes, drained (but keep some of the liquid)or several large fresh sweet potatoes, peeled and diced up. I prefer the canned because then they fall apart and make a thicker broth while the other potatoes stay intact.
5 small potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cans of corn or 1 small bag of frozen corn
2 heaping teaspoons cumin
salt to taste
I added about 1/2 or 3/4 cup of the liquid from the canned sweet potatoes to give it a rich sweet flavor.
Cook until potatoes are soft.
At the table, serve with lime wedges, fresh cilantro leaves roughly chopped, and a dollop of sour cream. I also like to serve it with warm, crusty bread and farmer cheese.