Big Guns

What do you do for Thanksgiving at your house?  When we travel to visit Kirk's family there is plenty of great food, cousins to play with, game nights, and after-Thanksgiving day sales.  But one of the things that Kirk loves to do is go skeet shooting.  Luckily, so does the rest of his family. 

Here are the boys checking out the newest purchase...

The girls aren't left behind.

You can never train them young enough, right???

Bring on the Drums

I think that a 6th grade band concert is something only a parent or grandparent can appreciate.  Here's a look at Hannah's first band concert.  She chose percussion and is loving it.

First Snow

We saw the first snow on the mountains last week and a little more this morning.  No snow at home yet, but we are getting ready.  

We have been busy at the farm trying to get some things done before winter sets in.  Kirk replaced all of the poles and some siding on one of the barns so it will last the winter.  Good thing too, because most of the posts were totally rotted at ground level and I can imagine a good wind or snow storm would have sent it crashing down.

Last weekend we all worked on clearing a trail from the creek up to the forest.  Kirk worked the chain saw and the girls cleared it out.

The fall leaves are really beautiful right now.  There are some western larches on the property that are especially beautiful.

The girls also enjoyed a little frolicking in the forest.

Today we spent some time clearing out trees to make a sledding hill for this winter.  Kirk cut them down. Paige and Maren ran the quad and pulled the smaller downed trees and branches to the burn pile. I drove the tractor (for the first time!) and pulled out the bigger trees.  We are hoping to have a nice sledding hill so all of our friends can come and have fun with us. 

Oat Drops

I found this great recipe on Pinterest.  I can't really claim that these are cookies since there is no butter and no sugar.  The bananas add plenty of sweetness and keep them moist. They taste great and will make a yummy, healthy after school snack for the girls.

Oat Drops

1 ½  cups regular rolled oats
1 cup coconut flakes
½  teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½  teaspoon allspice
¼  cup of almond meal*
½  cup mixed nuts, finely chopped
1 cup dried fruit*
3 ripe bananas, mashed
¼  cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine rolled oats, almond meal, mixed nuts and coconut flakes. Stir in allspice and cinnamon. Add dried fruit and stir until well and evenly mixed. Make sure the dried fruit does not clump.
In another bowl, combine canola oil, mashed banana and vanilla extract. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and stir until well combined.
Use a ice cream scoop to mold the batter into balls and place on baking sheet. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until edges are golden brown.

* For the almond meal, I put 1 c. blanched almonds and 1T. sugar in my food processor and processed until very fine.

** I omitted the dried fruit and used chocolate chips instead. A little bit of Chocolate always makes it better, right?