Apple Picking with the Family

Today we went apple picking in Amesbury at Cider Hill Farms. It was a beautiful day after the rainy week we have had. The air was crisp, just like a fall day should be. The sky with blue with fluffy white clouds.

The orchard was planted on a fairly steep hill, but once you got to the top (riding a cool wagon moving by daddy power) the view was amazing. Probably in one more week the surrounding trees will be in full color.

The day wouldn't be complete with out apple cider donuts. As much as we love them at Russell Orchards, these were AMAZING. I think that had something to do with the cinnamon and sugar covering them and the fact they were almost 1/2 the price.

Going...

going...

gone!

Very fun day with the family! It was topped off with fresh apple pie... with 2 crusts (as Hannah requested) and vanilla ice cream! YUMMY!

September pictures

Today Hannah's school had a teacher in-service day, so she had the day off. I decided to take the girls to Ravenswoods to see if I could get some pictures... not an easy task. They are either acting goofy or turning away to look at something else. These were ok... if anything, they show who the girls are these days.

Elizabeth ~ my pick-up everything, get into everything, busy little girl

Gracie ~ my introverted,  "coming into her own personality now that big sister is in school," learning so much little girl

Hannah ~ my school-loving, people-loving, "what are we going to do now" firstborn little girl

Ironically, probably the best picture of the girls together was my first picture; right outside our side door.

Grace ~ 3 years, Elizabeth ~ 19 months, Hannah ~ 5 years

Yum... Yum... YUM!!!

I never thought I would put these two things together... Yum and Eggplant. Really. I didn't think it was possible and especially not in my kitchen. But this week, it happened and I have an empty 9x13 to prove it. Yes, we had a little help from 2 friends, but I did write 9 X 13, do you know how much eggplant that is?

Anyway, my story begins here.

Spring 2012 ~ Garden

No, there are not any eggplants planted in these raised beds, because this Olson didn't think that would be a good choice for our family. The eggplants come later.

Those little raised beds became this...

Kale plants are towering over my "cheesy" girls.

That would be brussel sprouts among which Gracie could easily hide.

Beyond the Kale... tomato plants and the next part of my story.

I've wanted to make my own tomato sauce (canning is something I think I want to tackle someday... just not this day), but so far this season haven't had enough tomatoes to do that. Not so this week...

These tomatoes and peppers became this...

Can you smell it?

The recipe I used for my sauce was from cooks.com... Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce. The recipe called for 3 Tbsp of sugar, but my fresh garden tomatoes were SO SWEET, the sauce didn't need it.

Now comes the eggplant... sorry no pictures. Daryl's boss gets veggies from a local farm and she had some extra eggplant. Last week Daryl grilled it and we all enjoyed it (did I just say that?), especially Elizabeth. So when Amy asked if I wanted some more, I decided to try eggplant parmesan. I invited our lovely friends and neighbors, Andrew and Becky (way more adventuresome vegetable eaters than us) to join us for supper. (We love our friends... but deep down I was really afraid of too many leftovers:-). )

The recipe I used was from allrecipes.com... Eggplant Parmesan II. This recipe calls for baking the breaded eggplant rather than frying it. I took the advice of several reviewers and salted the peeled and sliced eggplant first for 30 minutes. After rising and patting it dry, I breaded it and baked it for 20+ minutes (rather than 5 on each side). The girls ate some of the eggplant as chips after it was baked. That was a good sign.

I assembled the eggplant parm as the recipe called for using my homemade sauce rather than store bought.

Oh.My.Word. My husband ate seconds and maybe thirds. Hannah ate everything on her plate and devoured the "leftover" eggplant "chips". (the other two have been on a bit of an eating strike... even with their "favorite foods) Our friends and I also had several helpings. The dish was empty at the end of the meal.

I would definitely make this meal again. Did I just say that about... EGGPLANT? Come to think of it, it is a rather pretty vegetable.

Image from http://www.wrensoft.com/zoom/demos/fruitshop/index.html

Family Art Project

While Nana, Poppi, Jon, Mo and Elsa were in town, we requested the skills of my brother to design a canvas for our living room wall. It ended up being a great project that everyone could help with... check it out!

The project began with each granddaughter painting a corner... Elsa wasn't such a fan of the mess.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, jumped right in... literally.

Elizabeth loved painting... anything she could get her hands on.

She quickly picked up the concept of painting leaves.

Grace and mommy pressing a leaf onto the canvas.

Elsa chose to supervise.

Nana and Elsa having a conversation with Elizabeth adding her own 2 cents.

Hannah adding a leaf to the canvas.

Jon perfected the technique by the last corner.

About this time, thunder started rumbling. Thanks to Becky and Andrew, our downstairs friends and neighbors, all our efforts were NOT washed away.

Elizabeth moving from painting leaves to painting her fingers.

Hannah was in her element.

The finished product hanging on our living room wall... we are very pleased with the result!

Jon, thanks for your leadership and vision!

Hess Family Visit 2012

We just finished a week jammed packed with family, fun and love. It is hard to believe the week we were looking forward to for so long is over:-(. As we were leaving the airport, Hannah was in tears (as was mommy), Hannah said "Next year we need to be together for 2 weeks and it has to go slow." Gracie piped up, "5 weeks." Hannah responded, "No, Gracie, 5 weeks is too long." Oh, those kiddos... it would be nice to see family more than once a year, but we were so blessed by the week we did have. Here is just a preview... (special thanks to Maureen for being our photographer!)

We flew a kite and rode bike at the high school.

We played at the park and the beach.

We celebrated Gracie's 3rd birthday.

We created a beautiful painting for our living room.

Check back, I hope to share more of our fun week. Love you, family!

Grace's 3rd Birthday

At the last, the moment you have all be waiting for... Daddy's Birthday Cake for Grace. Well, before we get to that moment, here are some pre-pictures from her birthday. On Grace's actually birthday, we had a family dinner and gave her our presents... the game "Hungry Hungry Hippo" and a stroller for her baby. Grace asked for a "circle pizza" and strawberries for her birthday dinner. I also let her pick out a cake at the grocery store, because it seemed sad not to have a cake on her actual day.

Apparently there is a helium shortage, so we had to go with the balloon on the stick.

The party we saved for when Nana, Poppi, Uncle Jon, Aunt Mo and Elsa arrived. We make shrimp kabobs on the grill... yummy!

After dinner, THE CAKE... Grace had asked for a "Sack Cake." For those of you who don't know what a "sack" is, it is like a "snuggie" for babies. Since babies are not to have blankets in their cribs, this can be used as a blanket. Well, Grace has long out-grown her sack, but she uses it as her "lovey."

So, how did daddy do? We think it did pretty well and for days after this, Grace would come up to daddy and say "Daddy, I wuved my cake. Thank you SO MUCH!"

9 cakes down 45 more to go!

Questions with Grace at age 3

Grace Elise at Age 3

 Interview with Grace:

1. What is your favorite color? red
2. What is your favorite toy? Abby Caddaby
3. What is your favorite fruit? manana (banana)
4. What is your favorite tv show? Curious George
5. What is your favorite thing to eat for lunch? cheesits
6. What is your favorite outfit? dada dresses (dancing)
7. What is your favorite game? Uno Attack
8. What is your favorite snack? Ice cream cones
9. What is your favorite animal? none
10. What is your favorite song? Abby's song
11. What is your favorite book? none
12. Who is your best friend? Nathan and Sam
13. What is your favorite cereal? Strawberry Healthy Morning
14. What is your favorite thing to do outside? play  in the backyard
15. What is your favorite drink? apple juice
16. What is your favorite holiday? none
17. What do you like to take to bed with you at night? Strawberry Shortcake
18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? cereal
19. What do you want for dinner on your birthday? circle pizza
20. What do you want to be when you grow up? nothing
21. What was your favorite thing about being 2? going to be 3
22. What are you looking forward to about being 3? nothing