crickets, sand, and raspberries

Its mid September and I am trying not to mourn. 

The weather here has been incredible and Autumn really is so beautiful in this high mountain valley I live in, but still, I mourn the loss of summer.



Its been a good one.

One of the things I will miss tremendously is crickets.

I love love love to hear the crickets sing me to sleep with my window open at night. 

That's just one of those simple summer pleasures for me.

I am going to keep that window open for as long as possible!

 

But fall means I am actually baking and cooking again.

In the summer I have the hardest time cooking.  It just seems way too hot and its the last thing I want to do when there are so many more fun things going on outside.

I was feeling fallish and I made some pumpkin cookies today from a recipe from a blog I read. 

So good, so easy.

1 spice cake mix, 1 15 oz can of pumpkin, and a half a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips.

That's it.  THREE INGREDIENTS!

Mix it all up, bake at 350 degrees for 16 to 18 minutes.  DONE!

Thank you KERIN!

 

Another great thing about fall is the sandbox.

For some strange reason, the sandbox is a hot spot in the spring and the fall.

But not in the summer.

My kids hardly touch the sandbox in July and August.

I can't get them out of it in the spring and the fall.

 



My floor is constantly gritty from their sandy little bodies returning to eat dinner that I ACTUALLY cooked after they have spent time in the sandbox making mermaids out of themselves for hours before we eat. I actually made them strip down in the garage last night before they came in.

There was a nice pile of sand on the concrete.

 



So, here is to more scouring baths and an enjoyable fall.

I am trying to not miss summer, but still, oh how I miss it already!

One funny thing today:

Emmitt and I were picking our raspberries and putting them in a colander.  He is my fruit bat and eats more fruit than all my kids combined.  He loves it.

After he picked a rather nice juicy red handful he said "I just love the dark red raspberries.  They are like flavor bombs in my mouth." 

I love him.