Pears Galore!

I've been overrun by pears. My mom has a pear tree in front of her house and we went to town Sunday and ended up picking over 10 overflowing bags of the little juicy fruits.  It was so fun!  However, picking that many pears at one time poses a problem.  I really have to figure out something to do with them all.

This is just a small few of the pears that have invaded my kitchen.

I started with some pear butter. This pot of cut up pears fills the house with the most wonderful aroma!

You'd think that a stock pot full of cubed pears would make quite a dent in my first basket of pears. Not so much. 

The pear butter turned out soooo yummy!

I also made country pear cobbler. I doubled the recipe and, as you can see, just baked it in the cast iron pan I cooked the pears in.

Isn't the bubbling beautiful?!

Sweet sweet cobbler. Perfect with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of joe.

And just like that, it was gone. YUM!

Remember your blessings!

Amber

Fall Time Family Favorites

I thought it was time to share a couple more recipes. This time of year makes me want to spend time in the kitchen.  It's probably because all summer I try to avoid spending time in the kitchen so it's like a long-lost friend by the time the leaves start changing.  I start craving warm foods and Thanksgiving goodies.  Click on the recipe images to see them bigger.

Here are my Grandma Nona's calico beans. Yum!

Here's a recipe for potato dumplilngs. My great grandma used to make these for her family during the depression.

 Date bars! Yummy!

These cookies are soooo good! If you like date cookies, you MUST make these. My grandma makes them for Thanksgiving and Christmas every year.

And because I'm in the mood to make pumpkin soup I went and found a recipe to try. This one sounds delicious, don't you think! Velvet Pumpkin Soup

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Casey's Birthday Hike

In our family we let the birthday boy or girl pick what they want to do on their special day.  This year Levi wanted bowling, CJ wanted Silverwood, I wanted sprint boat races.  Casey, being that elk hunting starts only a week after his birthday, wanted to go scout his elk hunting spot.  So, we loaded up the boys and the dogs into the truck and headed up to the mountain.

This is the kind of thing we were hoping to find! Fresh elk rubs!

Casey got to tell the boys all about some of the elk he's harvested in the past.

The dogs went along. Winchester was in heaven!

What a goofball!

Since we can't trust Moose not to run off he had to stay on a leash.  Poor Moose. It didn't help that Winchester would come back to taunt him occasionally, but even with his leash limitations, Moose still had a great time.

Time for a little drinky drink.

Now THIS is a happy pooch!

CJ had to carry his .22 in case he saw a grouse.  He also forgot his jacket so he wore my sweatshirt. Just a little big on him.

Remember your blessings!
Amber

3rd Grade Tackle Football

My older boy's first football game was on Saturday.  It's so fun watching those little 3rd and 4th graders out there in their football uniforms playing the game.

My little #2 before the game.

The team doing their warm-up drills. #2 is last in line in the far left line.

#36 scored the first touchdown of the game. Go Thrashers!!! Coach Tom is quite excited back there, as he should be!

What play will it be coach? Oh wait, this is the defense.  Nevermind. Just stop the other team!

My boy waiting for his turn and watching from the sideline.

This one's probably my favorite picture. Gotta love those team sports!

Go get him #2!

I think the coach told him to do a twist here. I have no idea what that means.

He looks so grown up, doesn't he?

He looks so little, doesn't he?

That's my boy pushing back! Grrrrrrr!!!

That's one handsome boy right there!

Time for the end-of-game high fives witt the other team.

Silver Thrashers win 19-0!
Way to go boys!

That's all folks!

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Harvest at Sundown

I had the chance to hang out and watch a local wheat harvest last night.  I was there until well after sundown and was able to snap some twilight photos.

A friend of mine is the driver in this picture.

Just look at that diesel smoke blow! Giddy up horsey.

Here they are bringing the horses in for the night.

Farmers work until the job is done, and if that happens to mean they need to turn on the bright flood lights of the combine so be it.

On my way home I had to take a picture of the harvest moon. How can you not marvel at the beauty God has created for us?

Remember your blessings!
Amber

Palouse Wheat

I've been taking lots of pictures of wheat lately.  This time of year I'm usually driving home from photo sessions on Sunday evenings just as the sun is setting, and I can't help myself.  It's so gorgeous the way the warm sun covers the fields with it's golden blanket of light.

I love the way there are certain pieces of the wheat that tower above the others.

And the odd way they each bend and hang.

I love how once in awhile you find some that intertwine and make cute shapes.

I love the way the wheat compliments the landscape and creates a perfect way to showcase the beautiful amazing sky.

The stalks are so straight and linear then you have all the chaos at the top.

Above all though, it always comes right back to the warmth.

 It's like this for such a short time at the end of summer, and it's marvelous. Don't you think?

Remember your blessings!
Amber