Fall is in the air

We're really hoping for a nice long India Summer so our garden will have plenty of time to grow (and because Summer didn't really begin until July 5th). But you know how much I love, love, love the Fall and how I just can't wait for that cool, crisp feeling in the air. And all the school supplies are on sale at all the stores. How could I resist putting together this little door decoration. I've been collecting things for it since May?

Isn't this the most perfect fall ribbon. (Robert's closing sale: $0.25)

And nothing says fall better than pine cones. (Front Yard: $0.00)



And I found these perfect little foam squash by accident. (DI: $1.00)

The way I feel when I put up the perfect seasonal door decoration: Priceless.

Jill Crawls

This really isn't much to see, and it's nothing to hear because our camara doesn't record audio. So here you go: video footage of Jill's first attempts at crawling. (Taken from a much longer video of Jill just sitting round, notice that we had to bait her with a carrot to get her to do her tricks on tape.)

Jill's 4 easy steps for perfect bean selection

This week we jarred 40 quarts of green beans. (We have another 40 still in the garden waiting to be picked if anyone is interested.)
Jill, our quality check specialist understood and preformed her job very thoroughly. Here are Jill's 4 easy steps for perfect bean selection:

Step 1:

Grab a handful of beans (no fewer that three or four).

Step 2:

Carefully examine each bean for any signs of age, over growth, or decay.

Step 3:

Test a few for taste. (This is a very important step. At least half of the beans are guaranteed to be fresh and crisp if you taste test along the way.)

And Step 4:

Discard any beans that don't meet the highest standard for quality.

There you have it. Now, go can your beans with speed and confidence If you need a quality check specialist, Jill works for $20 or one bunch of bananas an hour.

A Tale of Two Hiking Trips: Part 2

This time we started a little earlier than Jill expected. She doesn't like to be woken before she's ready.



We went to a place called the Palisades Lakes. We didn't actually make it to either of the lakes, but we did stop a fish a few times. And of course we took a picnic.

Jill showed great enthusiasm for the great outdoors this time around.

She got to help Dad do some fishing. Mom also did some fishing, and took a lot of pictures of wild flowers.

But Jill is always the only one who gets to sleep on the way back. What a life.

The Tale of Two Hikeing trips: Part 1

Summer around here means getting out into nature and showing how tough you are.

For Jill's first outdoor, backwoods experience we went to a part of Birch Creek just past Teton that Matt really loves.

We took a picnic, the fishing gear, and of course Jill.

The stream was too rocky to wade down, so on the way in we hopped some fences, worked out way though some forests and marshes, and finally found a dirt path that led here:

to the perfect picnic spot. We are, then Jill and I took a nap while . . .

Daddy caught dinner.

On the way back we found the ran into the owner of the fences we previously jumped, and he very kindly showed us an easier way back to the start. Thank you sir, We very much appriciate your hospitality.

New Tricks

Jill's new trick this month is called the roll and grab, followed shortly after by the get stuck in the corner and cry.

As you can see, her favorite things can be found on the lowest shelves.



When she goes for the books, I just don't have the heart to stop her. How did she know?

mirror games

Here are some sides of Jill you don't see when she's being her shy self in public.

Enjoy!

As you can see (if you look close up) we like to play right next to the mirror too. Jill is a pro at high-5's.