Apples and Pumpkins

Have you ever been to Green Bluff Farms? It's north of Spokane, WA.  We visited on Sunday for the first time and had a blast! There are over 40 growers that are all part of Green Bluff Growers.  This time of year they have their Apple Festival going on each weekend. A word of warning if you decide to visit; get there early! We got there after 12:00 and the traffic and parking situation was horrendous! Next time I'm going to plan a whole long day since we were only able to visit three spots. Bummer!

Here's a rundown of some of the things we did in the short amount of time we were there.

On our way through the parking lot at the Harvest House we saw this. CJ said "I've never seen horse hooves that big before! Wow!!!"

This little guy was there. Just nine weeks old. How adorable is he?! You could bottle feed him for the bargain price of just $20. We did NOT bottle feed the baby zebra.

The boys got hungry so they had a fun little snack at this fun little seating area.

He's a Deer man! I have no idea what's up with that expression.

After we were done at the Harvest House we were summoned across the road to Green Bluff United Methodist Church by the heavenly smell of baking apples. They had a sign out front bragging about their apple dumplings. So, we ordered up three and ate them while we enjoyed old country tunes and hymns played on the banjo and sung by an elderly gentlemen who I can only assume was a member of the church. It was absolutely delightful!

Apple dumpling covered in vanilla cream sauce. YUMMY!

After we finished at the church we headed to Knapp's. What a wonderful farm! There were pumpkins, gourds, and apples everywhere!

 Delicious apples!

(photo courtesy of spokanekelly on flickr since I forgot to take a picture of apples) 

They had "punkin chunkin" where they launch a pumpkin over a 1/4 mile from their homemade canon. Pretty impressive!

The boys really enjoyed their hay bale maze, and according to their website they also have a corn maze. Unfortunately, we didn't have time to experience that. =o(

We did have time for this though!

And this. I think my mom should be a bit more nervous!

After all of those fun activities it was time to go pick our pumpkins. I only gave the boys one rule for picking their pumpkin. They had to be able to pick it up themselves. "Is it off the ground mom?"

Photo op!

"Here's a good one!"

"Oh wait! That one is nice too!"

The one that Mr. Stripes finally settled on.

As usual, the oldest kid has to do all the work while the youngest is just along for the ride.

What a gorgeous place for a farm! Check out that view in the background.

Finally some help from the little guy.

While we were waiting in line to pay for our pumpkins I thought it would be nice to get a nice picture of the both of them in front of the red barn. If you ever doubted that a photographer's hardest subjects are their own children, here's the proof! Not one normal shot, and as you can see once again... always the youngest. 

So that was our fun afternoon at Green Bluff Growers. I will definitely be going there at least once next year. We had such a great time!

I hope you all are enjoying the lovely fall weather and beautiful colors that have finally arrived on the Palouse.

Remember your blessings!
Amber

School Is Now In Session

You know what the hardest part about being a mom is? Letting go. Yesterday my baby started kindergarten. It's such an exciting time for him, and I'm excited right along with him, but for me it's bitter-sweet. I'm pretty tough most of the time, but sometimes I can be a real sissy!

I was fine while he was getting ready. I was fine on the walk to school. I was fine waiting inside the door of the school. Then as we were all being herded down the hallway to the kindergarteners' classrooms, the 1st and 2nd grade teachers were standing outside their doors saying stuff like "Here come the kindergarteners!" and "Welcome to school!" I just about lost it. My eyes became wet. I pulled it together before my son could see me.

As my baby boy was hanging up his sparkly new Spiderman backpack and exploring his new surroundings all I could think about was the last five-and-a-half years. As his father and I were trying to get his attention so we could say goodbye, I was thinking how independent he has become and how starting kindergarten is a new chapter in his life. Then as I stepped across the threshold of the kindergarten door to leave, the tears I had been fighting back broke through and started trickling down my cheeks. Thank goodness it didn't last long, but even now just thinking about it gets me choked up.

On to the pictures!

Both boys all ready to go.


On their way!


In front of the school sign. This is an annual shot. My older boy hates it, but he humors me.


Levi in his classroom making friends. He is definitely NOT a shy kid!




I hope you all have had a wonderful summer!

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Another Camping Trip

We've been camping a lot this summer thanks to the purchase of a new-to-us toy hauler in May. I am now spoiled and will never go back to tent camping!

A couple weeks ago we went camping up the North Fork of the Clearwater River, South of Avery, ID.  It's gorgeous there and one of our favorite places in Idaho to go camping. We found a beautiful spot along the river.



The whole crew came along; us, the kids, my mom, our dogs, and my mom's kitten, Sophie. There was lots to do.

Relax






Or try to anyway.




Some know better and find more private locations to relax.


Practice target shooting.


Pan for gold.


Go four-wheeling.


Or try to. Sometimes a fallen tree gets in the way and you have to wait for the big guy to saw through it.






Play in the water.








And others take picture of the water.




At the end of the day there's always the time spent by the campfire.




Remember your blessings!
Amber

My Own Private Show

We went camping over the 4th of July weekend. It was so nice being out with the family; riding 4-wheelers, fishing, swimming, and just relaxing. The place we camped at was incredibly gorgeous too.

Some people think I'm crazy, but when I'm camping I love getting up before sunrise and going for walks with my camera. This time of year that requires rising before 5:00 a.m., and it's so satisfying when I step out to something as beautiful as this:

As the sun rises colors start emerging, and the lake turns into this:

There's just something about watching nature come alive. It's like watching God paint a masterpiece on a canvas; an ever-evolving masterpiece. It makes me feel like I'm watching a private show made just for me.

Next time you're out camping get up before the sun. You won't regret it!

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Skies

While I do have lots to blog about I am lacking the time to do it so today, in an effort to at least put something on my blog, I'll leave you with a few photographs of some beautiful skies from this spring.









Have a safe and happy 4th, and don't forget to remember your blessings!
Amber

No-Cost Homemade Photo Booth

My son's end-of-the-year 3rd grade party was yesterday, and I foolishly eagerly volunteered to organize it. Thankfully, it was just for his class, and it was only one hour long.  Like I always do, I started out by searching the internet for unique ideas for activities, games, food, decorations, etc.  Then I actually thought of an idea myself!  I know... shocking!  Wouldn't it be fun if I could make a photo booth!

I knew this project was going to take me a lot of elbow grease so I delegated the other two games, decorations, and food to the other parents who had volunteered to help. Thank God for them!

Because I didn't want this to cost me a bunch of money I called the local appliance store and asked if they had a refrigerator or freezer box I could have. Luckily they did! Yay!

First thing I did was cut the box in half, then I stapled strips of old scrap wood I had laying around to the top and bottom of the opening, making the doorways on either side of the booth.

To make sure I had enough room for the pictures I had my two stinky dirty little boys come pose for me. Then I cut out a square where my camera lens would poke through to the inside of the booth.

After that I added a backdrop using an old curtain rod and a white curtain that I already had. The cardboard would have worked fine, especially after turning the pictures B/W, but I wanted something that would make the end result look more "photo boothish."

Then, I interrupted my stinky boys from playing baseball in the yard for another test.

Perfect! We're good to move on to the next step. Time for paint!

I used leftover paint I had from other home projects to paint the outside of the box. CJ, Levi, and even Winchester helped(?) paint... for a bit anyway. They eventually got bored so I pulled out their kiddie pool and was left finishing this myself. It got much less messy after that.

I used a set of old curtains to cover the openings and my son painted the words "PHOTO BOOTH" on each side (again with paint I already had).

Lastly, I determined I needed more light to come in from the camera side of the booth (so I wouldn't have to use a flash) so I cut out a "window" and covered it with some thin white fabric (from an old sheet) so to avoid the sun casting unwanted shadows through the hole. I added two stools for seating and our photo booth was ready to go!

It looked good, but would it work? Time to test it out... again!

Success!!! We have a photo booth ready for a 3rd grade end-of-year party. The part I like best about this is that it cost me exactly $0.00 to make!  Anyone can do this project, and any camera can be used with it. Promise!

I'll be writing another post about how you take the photos you took in your photo booth:

And turn them into a fun B&W photo strip.

Plus, how I made this for my son's teacher!

Remember your blessings!
Amber