pumpkin time

Yes, it's fall! Well, it's supposed to be. We are ready for cooler weather. Thanks, Amy, for sharing this recipe with me last year. I found it again in my recipe box...can't wait to make it for potluck Sunday!


Grandma's Yummy Pumpkin Pie Cake
topping: 1 box white or yellow cake mix, 1 cube butter (melted)
cake:
1 can (29 oz) canned 100% pure pumpkin
4 eggs, beaten
1 c sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
1 t salt
2 t cinnamon
1 t ginger
1/2 t ground cloves
1/4 t nutmeg
directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix butter and cake mix together until crumbly - set aside. Beat eggs and mix all 10 ingredients in a bowl with a hand mixer. Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle cake with topping. Bake at 350 for 45-55 minutes (sometimes longer) or until knife comes out clean.

Benjamin is 6!!!

A week before Benjamin's birthday, Benjamin requested that he have "chocolate donuts with lots of sprinkles" as his birthday cake. Well...I couldn't refuse such a request. It certainly made my life easier in planning his birthday celebration(s). Nana & Papa furnished the "exactly perfect" ones when we had lunch with cousins & great Grandma Burnette. FUN. We also got him a gigantic chocolate donut from our favorite donut shop. Finger licking good...he was pleased!

4 sweet cousins...a happy bunch

Special donuts from Nana & Papa - thank you!

Surprise....it's a Huge donut (oh, and I loved the price...$5.99 - compare that with a store bought cake)

What you can't see is that Trevin desperately wanted to help with the candles.

a remote control truck & lots of legos...doesn't get much better for a 6 year old boy.

What a wonderful big boy we have! He is already looking forward to turning 7.

Parent-Teacher Conference

We are all adjusting to Benjamin being in school....Trevin learning to practice patience as we drive to/from school each day. He loves doing BrainQuest cards with me as we wait to pick Benjamin up in the afternoons. They are fun & better than reading books in the car.

I'll attend my first parent-teacher conference in a few weeks to discuss assessements that Benjamin's teacher has completed on him in the classroom. I'm excited to hear how Benjamin is doing & how I can help him at home. But since it is all so new to me, I was excited to discover this worksheet that will help me know what questions to ask & what information to glean from the meeting. Maybe you'd find it helpful as well.

a busy september!

Birthdays, parties, school, workdays, violin lessons, work....wow, we've been busy! Here's a quick peek of some of the highlights.

Benjamin's recycling project...

Happy Birthday to me!

Trevin celebrating at Marie's bday

Happy Birthday Marie!


Benjamin's 6th birthday up next

End of Summer Highlight

One of the fun things we did with Nana & Papa before school started was a little train trip from Round Rock to downtown Austin. They've recently added this line, so it was a fun first experience. Once we got to downtown, we walked a few blooks to a wonderful crepe shop & had a mid-day snack. It was wonderful! Thanks Mom & Dad for the little trip.

thought for the day

Two already?

Happy Birthday to our little man! It feels good that we already celebrated with him since today is a school day for Benjamin, early release, violin lesson, & mtg tonight. Here are a few more pictures from his little celebration. So, today, we'll slow down and enjoy our time with a little boy who's growing way too fast!





For comparison...here's Benjamin when he turned 2!

Labor Day!

2 years ago on Labor Day was one of the happiest days of our life...giving Benjamin a little brother. Our lives changed forever. We love our little boy so much and it is amazing to watch him change & grow every day.

We had a small birthday celebration yesterday. It was just right. Russell & I had so much fun decorating the cake together...nothing fancy or extravagent, but perfect for Trevin. He was delighted to have a train cake. Choo choo, let the fun begin...

Top Five

Top 5 for Benjamin at school is...

1. Eating in the cafeteria
2. Going to Spanish class & learning some new words
3. Meeting some "really nice boys"
4. PE! I played freeze tag
5. Meeting my new teacher


You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.Clay P. Bedford

Little Brother

Trevin didn't see Benjamin wearing his backpack on the first day of school. He didn't even go to school with us....however, he sure knew what was going on. After I returned home from school, this is what Trevin requested....that he wear his little backpack! It was so cute.