Just plain ol' amazingly squishable cuteness!!!

I just had to share this picture my mom took of my nephew Charlie, 17 days old! Don't you just want to squish him all up??!! :)

Canning and hiking and the arrival of fall...

I have finally surrendered to fall I think. Not that I had any choice! I received the October issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine in the mail yesterday and it had such a lovely fall cover that made me feel all warm and cozy and happy that fall is here.

I tried my hand at canning for the first time. I canned
some peach jam. I was a bit nervous about it but it all went very smoothly with only a couple scorched fingers from some very hot drippings. I took a jar over to my parents and we opened it and tasted it and I have to say it was pretty scrumptious! I can't wait to make some pancakes to spread it on. And I can't wait to do some more canning! :)




On Wednesday my dad, Daniel and I went for a hike up on Chinook Pass near Mt. Rainier. We did the Naches Peak Loop, a lovely 4 mile loop that is very easy going but extremely beautiful. The wildflowers were still out and there were lovely little lakes, meadows and little waterfalls along the way. Plus amazing views of the Cascades and Mt. Rainier. Clouds were covering the mountain somewhat but it still was a beautiful to look at. Daniel was a very happy hiker as usual. My dad was very excited that the trail was part of the Pacific Crest Trail (the trail that reaches from the Canadian border to the Mexican border). He had me take his picture near the sign. We are planning on heading up to the other side of the mountain next week to do another hike near Paradise.

There's the mountain, kind of. :)


Dad on the Pacific Crest Trail.

And I had to include another cute pic of Daniel for his Auntie Ru Ru! :)

Journaling for a year...

September 15th of last year I decided I needed to start writing a daily journal. Daniel was three months old and growing fast and I wanted to make sure I was writing down all of the memorable moments and milestones in his development. I made the commitment to write something every single night before I went to bed even if it was only one sentence. I started out only writing a few sentences but once I was in the habit of writing every night I soon found myself writing one or two paragraphs. As I look over my entries for the last year I am so happy that I made this a habit. There are some things I had already forgotten Daniel used to do and reading over my entries I am freshly reminded of them. How precious these reminders will be to me many years in the future!

My little nephew Charlie is here!

5lbs, 15oz, 18 1/2 inches

Daisy's new do...

(BEFORE)

Today was Daisy's first day of 9th grade! I can't believe she is in high school! She got a new do for school. It's very cute! :)

(AFTER)

How does your garden grow...

...not very well actually. But since this is my first year having a vegetable garden I am very happy with the fruit of my labor. I have really enjoyed having my first little veggie garden this year. Everyone has been telling me that this year has not been a good one for gardens. I am really looking forward to next year and putting into use all the things I learned this year.

My tomato plants are doing okay. My Tomatoberries have been ripening and they are sweet like candy. They are perfect on salad or just popping them in your mouth whole. I also have Roma, Gill's All-purpose and Isis Candy but none of these have ripened yet. I have lots of green globes and I am waiting anxiously for them to ripen up!

My broccoli seems to be doing okay (even with the little bites on leaves). I planted this batch in the middle of August hopefully for a fall harvest of broccoli. It is a winter blend which is suppose to be very hearty and perfect for Northwest weather.

I am not exactly sure what type of squash this is. Ruh bought a packet of seeds from Fred Meyer that was suppose to be zucchini squash but these don't look like zucchini squash to me! My mother-in-law Bonita said she also bought a packet of seeds from Fred Meyer which ended up being something different than what was on the package. Very interesting! My dad thinks they might be pumpkins or globe squash.

I also have sugar pumpkins, butternut squash and black beauty zucchini that are growing well. At least I think they are growing well. I want to make pumpkin pies from homegrown sugar pumpkins this year and with the number of plants I have I will probably be giving some away and canning some. I can't wait to make Butternut Squash Soup, always perfect on cold fall and winter days!
My little Impatiens are doing really good! I have to say that Miracle Grow flower food does wonders. These plants are seriously about 10 times the size they were when I planted them! I love the ones on either side of my front steps.
I love my roses. There are six different rose bushes. I love clipping them and bringing them inside to enjoy and they bloom all spring and summer.











My mom gave me some money for my birthday and I bought a compost bin and a gardening book. I am looking forward to composting and enriching my soil for next year. The book I bought is Growing Vegetables West of the Cascades by Steve Solomon. I have been enjoying reading it and marking it up with notes and underlining things I want to remember for next year.

Oh I can't wait for next year's garden!




And I just had to add this picture of Daniel watching Daddy work out in the backyard. He will stand there at the door saying "Daddy!" I know he can't wait until he can go out and help Daddy work in the yard. :)

I just can't pass up a hike...

(In the picture Lake Cushman is in the background and beyond that is Hood Canal. We could also see Mt. Rainier, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens.)

I pretty much hit the ground running when we got back from our camping trip this past Monday. I worked the next three days and I planned on going grocery shopping on Friday morning with Daniel and then pretty much relaxing the rest of the day since I had to work Saturday morning.
Well, I was given the opportunity to go on a hike on Friday and I just can't pass up a good hike! A friend from church posted on Facebook that she was going to hike up Mt. Ellinor in the Olympics on Friday and asked if anyone wanted to go. I jumped on it. She has two boys who she usually takes on hikes with her but her husband was off from work so she was going to go without the kiddos. I asked if it would be okay if I brought Daniel along. The last time I went hiking with Camille was up Tiger Mountain before I had even met Ruh. We were under a time crunch to get back so her husband could go to a concert that evening so we didn't make it to the top but we still enjoyed some great views, the smell of the woods and some good conversation.



Camille even carried Daniel for a little bit and I can tell you I felt as light as a feather! I could have run up the rest of the way! She could tell right away that my pack for Daniel was not adjusted right so she took it off and we tried to work on it for a little while to see if we couldn't make it more comfortable. We couldn't really figure it out so if I can't get it adjusted here at home then I am going to take it in to REI (where I purchased it) and see if they will adjust it to me. We did get it adjusted a little bit and it doesn't pull on my shoulders as much but it still needs some tweaking.

It was a good day for a hike in the Olympics! Thanks for letting us tag along Camille! :)

My little hiker in the making. He loves my poles.