I love brown!

And yellow...and orange....and red....and pretty fall colors.....and pretty quilts in these colors too!! And you do to:) Maybe you just don't know it yet. Go check it out. And no Carolyn...you aren't going to get it because I am - haha :P

Usually autumn follows summer...right?

What a wintery weekend! We got snow here in Boise...Crazy! Yeah - i'm sure most of you have already seen it (Labor Day in Wyoming!!) but it really doesn't snow here this early. A new record I believe. The weather guy said that it was going to freeze the other day, so I got busy pulling everything out of the garden. I'm a little overwhelmed with what to do with it all...and how many very large cucumbers I found out there! I'm not sure what to do with them all (suggestions???). I did try my hand at some jalapeno jelly today....but that only uses up so many....and as I picked over 50 of them off of two plants...!! It was my first try at canning ANYTHING (lame I know) so I hope the jars seal sometime:) So here's to hoping that it warms up again....I love fall! For now I guess I'll go turn my heat up!

"Mr. Howe tear down this wall!"

It's been as Melanie likes to call it "Extreme Yard Makeover"! We decided to replace the railroad tie retaining wall with brick/stone. I think it turned out well. It was a much more involved project than we both expected, from tearing out the old railroad ties, hauling them to the dump, digging out the yard to fit the bricks, leveling the first row, and desiging corners. I was a little sorry we decided to start it once there was no returing. I'm glad we persisted though because it looks sooo much better. Matt finished it up for the most part yesterday. What a CHAMP!! I ran a race and had some clients to see and he worked in the rain all day yesterday (For which I am forever greatful)! I wish I had some pictures of the rain yesterday because it way crazy how much came down.

Here's some before, during, and after shots!

Before

The point of no return!

The almost end result!

Since I didn't get a photo of my hard working guy out in the rain - here's some from the race (St. Lukes Women's Fitness Celebration 5K)...we looked a bit like drowned rats by the end!

Good Eats!

Thought I'd share a new recipe I've tried and an old favorite!

First the new....

Big overgrown zucchini (you know the ones all your neighbors try to give you) are great for this!

Zucchini Crisp

4 C. Zucchini peeled, seeded, and chopped
1/3 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C. + 2 T. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1 C. Flour
1 C. Oatmeal
1/2 C. Brown Sugar
6 T. Butter
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Coat 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
Place zucchini and lemon juice in a medium saucepan. Cook, covered over med. low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 15 min. or until tender. Stir in white sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and nutmeg. Simmer one min. longer. Remove from heat and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl combine flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in the butter until mixture resembles course crumbs.
Place zucchini in prepared dish and sprinkle crumbs on top.
Bake in pre-heated oven for 30-40 min or until golden and bubbly.

Enjoy! Tastes great with ice cream, or whipped cream with carmel and cinnamon sprinkled on top. Don't forget that it isn't really apples! (I had Matt try it before I told him what it was and he totally thought it apples...very surprised to learn it was zucchini!)


Here's a link to the old favorite!

Baja Fish Tacos

Guess what's for dinner tonight??

Carpenter Family Reunion

We spent last weekend in Robertson, Wyoming for a family reunion (points to anyone who knows where that is let alone has ever heard of it!) It was in the middle of a cow pasture (don't worry, besides the cow patties everwhere, it doesn't look much like a cow pasture). The weather was great until Sunday night when it rained all night and we even ran into some snow going home the next day. It was pretty fun to see everyone. As this is an annual event, it's like Christmas in that you realize that a whole year has gone by...CRAZY!

We had a bit of bad luck going to and from. We were stuck in stop and go traffic on the interstate for a brush fire on the way down and some crazy accident (some girl thought it would be a good idea to get onto the wrong side of the interstate...unfortunatly the semis didn't think it was such a great idea) on the way back. Both times we were within like 30 miles of Boise. Not fun!

A few pix from the weekend...

No reunion is complete without Papa's homemade root beer. The wasps and bees particularly like it too!

Traditional "Saw dust dig". You never know what you'll find in the sawdust. Money and candy are among the most popular. When I was a kid, I used to think I made SO much money diging in the dust. I'm sure it was less than a buck or two. Usually you get about as much sawdust in your bag and shoes as you do anything else...of course this year I got a handfull down my pants. Thanks Dad! (That stuff itches like no other....and you can't just shake it out!) If ever you participate in such an event...watch your back!

These little cousins sure take a liking to Matt everytime that we are there. It's fun to see them each year and yet kind of sad to see them all grow up!

My family is in charge next year....we'll have to see what fun we can come up with:)

Spokane to Sandpoint

Idaho Spuddy Buddies!

Last weekend was the Spokane to Sandpoint relay. We finally got a team of 12. Well...there were 12.....then 11....then 10....then 11.....then 10...... I think if came together like two days before. The weather was super hot! Upper 90s for running is not really my thing so I'm amazed that we all survived it! It took our team 29 and a half hours to complete the 185 mile course. The scenery was stunning in places. Quite enjoyable. We were able to get a house on the lake in Coeur d'Alene and it was so nice to have a place to relax for a few hours during the race....not that I was able to sleep any. I think I was a little more sleep deprived for this race than for RenoTaho. I was in van 2 for this race and it seems that van 2 never gets as much sleep. We tried to nab a few hours on an elementary school gym floor but that SO didn't work. There was probably a hundred people spread out over the floor, 15 people snoring, and cell phone and watch beepers going off like crazy! It was nice to get some sleep Saturday night after it was all over.

Between legs 24 and 25, our team got to ride the tremors rollercoaster at Silverwood as part of the course at about 1:00 in the morning. It was fast and freaky. It's a woody so it felt like we were going to fly off the tracks at any moment. CRAZY! (if any of you have ever been on it you'd probably have to agree!) THE coolest wood rollercoaster I have EVER been on! Hopefully I'll get to go again sometime:)

This is the last relay for us this summer. OK we only did two...but it is quite a big deal to coordinate 12 people. They are definitely an adventure and a great way to see new country for sure!



Check out some of the pics from the race here!

or go to http://www.flickr.com/pixbyleslie


After the relay we headed over to Moses Lake for some fun family time. My Grandpa J lives there and it was really great to see him and aunts, uncles, and cousins! My gramps is the funniest 91 year old EVER! I love that guy...even if he can't remember my name Ha ha! (all he needs to know is Sally...right dear cousins and sisters??)

L: Grandpa and Parker (Mel's little boy)...he LOVED him! R: A whole bunch of Sallys!!

We are headed to a family reunion next weekend and I'm excited to see all my sisters and fam again! I wish Rory was going to be there. I can't believe that he only has 2 months left in Canada! I'm sooo excited to see him!

It could happen to you!

Watch out where you go running...or walking....or biking....or....