A perfect weekend

Whew.  I still feel like I'm recovering from the weekend.  And it's already Wednesday!  We had a busy but great weekend up north.  On Sunday I went with Joe, his cousin Gil and Uncle Jack on a hike at Crystal Mountain.  I was a little apprehensive, they were going to look for a ski that Joe had lost last winter, but they all agreed I could handle it.  What they didn't tell me was there wasn't really a trail, we had to make our own.  Really?  At 7,000 feet?!  I could have gone up all day, it was just knowing that the higher we went the more down hill we'd have to do.  I'm glad I did it though, it was an adventure for sure.  I was pretty proud once I was back to the lodge safe and sound.  Liam took the less adventurous route (thankfully) and went with Papa and Grandma Jayne up the gondola.  They walked through the fields of flowers, saw some animals and then rode back down.  He had a great time having one-on-one time with them and they enjoyed it too.

We also rode bikes and Liam had a great time playing with Dylan.  If I wasn't already old (haha), I'd say that the age difference between Dylan and Liam would be perfect if we have another baby.  Dylan is so good with him and Liam adores him.  Dylan wanted to read to Liam at bedtime, I didn't think Liam would like it much but I was wrong.  So wrong.  He wouldn't even sit in my lap!  He had to sit on Dylan's lap.  The smile shining through his binki was priceless.  He loved it.

What else?  I've been baking and trying new recipes.  Joe's Uncle Jack has inspired me and I've been having so much fun.  He's an amazing cook and baker and I want people to think that about me, too!  Last week I made English muffins.  We love them and I'm constantly buying them at the store.  I decided to find a recipe and go for it and they turned out perfect.  It's amazing to compare the ingredients in mine to the store-bought ones.  Makes me want to bake everything from scratch.  I'm currently waiting for dough to rise, making homemade buns for a bbq tonight.  It's so easy and fun!

Summer is flying by so fast.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw Halloween stuff out at Safeway yesterday.  Fall is my favorite time of year but I'm loving summer this year.  The long days, being able to be outside most of the day with Liam.  Makes everything seem so much easier to handle.  I think I'm just resistant to change like everyone else though.  Always hate to see the seasons end, guess because it's just a reminder of how fast time is going.

In sad news, Allie, our family dog for the last 14ish years, died on Friday.  We were at Joe's parents house when I got the call, it was one of the worst days I've had in a long time.  I couldn't believe what I was hearing.  She was really starting to show her age but she's been such a fixture in our family.  I think we got her when I was in 8th grade.  We had been up at my parents visiting before leaving on Friday and something happened that I'll never forget, and I'm so thankful for this last memory.  We were walking out of the garage and Liam ran to her bed where she was sleeping, patted her gently (very unusual), and said, "nigh night, allie."  And then he ran off.  Even Liam loved her, I dread going up there and him asking where she is.  That was the first thing he always did, look for Allie.  Rest in peace, sweet girl.

My first attempt at English Muffins

Joe made me stand by the wood fired oven that his Uncle Jack built to show how big it is.  It's amazing, especially the pizza that came out of it.  The best I've ever had! 

 A fun day with Papa and Grandma Jayne at Crystal Moutain