fall is on the ground

We are busy these days...enjoying the cooler days, collecting chestnuts and picking pears. Cutting wood for winter, collecting an armful of eggs each day from the girls, and getting into the rhythm of a half day of school for Little One. And yet, life feels simple. I love it.
~A

celebrating 4 years

Wyatt recently turned four. We had lots of family out to the "farmette" for the celebration. When I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, he promptly replied, "A big brown cake with brown icing and fruit in it." Made to order.

The boys spent a bit of time in the baseball diamond...


We all enjoyed the glorious weather...

The kids had a hard time parting with the golf cart...

And the birthday boy talked for days about how fantastic the day turned out to be.

***Since posting this, I've had a request for the cake recipe I used. It's my own adaptation of the Magnolia Bakery cupcake recipe. I think I've managed to find a recipe the adults like and that I don't feel *as badly* about giving to my kids. Here goes:

Chocolate Layer Cake

2 c. whole wheat white flour

1 t. baking soda

3/4 c. good quality organic butter (or 1 and 1/2 sticks)

1 c. maple syrup

1 c. brown sugar

4 eggs, room temperature

6 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted

1 c. buttermilk or sour milk (I actually used almond milk with a teaspoon or two of vinegar because that was what I had)

1 t. vanilla

Combine flour and baking soda. Cream brown sugar and butter. Add maple syrup. Add eggs, one at a time. Add melted chocolate.

Add dry alternately with milk and vanilla.

Pour into two 9 in cake pans and bake at 350 for 30 - 40 minutes or until cake tester is clean.

Icing:

1/2 c. good quality organic butter

powdered sugar (start with 4 c. and add from there if needed)

1/2 c. milk (again, I used almond)

2 t. vanilla

melted unsweeted chocolate or cocoa to desired chocolaty-ness

I iced the first layer, put on a layer of raspberries (reserving three for garnish), then squashed the top layer on and iced the whole thing. Garnish with a dusting of cocoa powder and the three left-over raspberries.

The Speedway

Wyatt has officially learned to steer and pedal a bicycle with training wheels.  Although mathematically his switch from the three-wheeled tricycle to the four-wheel bike seems a reversion, it is the only way he will eventually pedal on two, which may not be that far from now.  The dude can already cook.  

For the last two days, he's been tearing up a nice track in our backyard - a loop on the sidewalk/patio and through the yard with a pit-stop back to the grill area.  And, I've been tooling around with him on my own bike, practicing all sorts of neat tricks ... yes, that does mean I am once again setting a bad example for Wyatt to mimic.  Today, I was trying to launch over the basketball and somehow managed not to end-o.

Wyatt's bike happens to be a hand-me-down from a church member, and was a left-over after another child had her pickings.  The key word in the last sentence was "her."  As you can tell in the picture below, this bike is straight from the same people who designed LA Gear clothing and sneakers ... for females.  It is a sweet Barney-purple and hot pink with neon-sign lettering on the frame.  Radical.

One last thing about this picture:  Wyatt is looking more and more like boy and less and less like baby.  Seasons change.  Time moves in ways unimaginable.

Wes

PS by Anna: what Wes forgets to mention in this post is the fact that included in the speedway is a 6 inch ramp that Wyatt jumps.  Every time he passes me he says, "Bye Mom.  I love you, Mom!"  A good habit to get into, I suppose, if every trip runs the risk of being a "crash and burn."  :)

Bizarre

To make sense of everything is to ignore the absurdity in your own backyard.

Wes

Sabbath