Last Days of Summer

what better way to say farewell to warm days than a trip to the park with Dad and the dumptruck.

Sculpture Garden - Walker Art Center

Nickelodean Universe - Mall of America

Minnesota Sea Life Aquarium

Minneapolis

We spent a wonderful week in Minneapolis. Steve and I attended the IS&T Non Impact Printing Conference during the day while NaNa and Elsinore played. In our free time we toured the city via light rail. The weather was perfect... 70 degress and blue skies.

Old Wheels - Good Style

We spent a couple weeks in Oregon to enjoy the Fall and visit with NaNa and
PopPop. They brought Steve's Radio Flyer from when he was a child and took
Elsinore for daily trips to the park and grocery store. The duo received
much attention from everyone with whom they crossed paths.

the screaming eagle finds her nest

It was a rainy weekend in Portland. We signed up to be members of OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry). They have a Science Playground that is for toddlers and we spent about six hours playing there between Saturday and Sunday. What a great place! Above is a photo of Els wrestling a fox and a bear inside a giant eagle's nest (yes, the fox is bigger than the bear). It is no small surprise that the screaming E seemed to feel so at home in the nest...nor that the Mama eagle dutifully picked bugs out of Elsi's hair.

stud muffins

When Aunt Ruth learned of Elsinore's love of pancakes for breakfast, she shared a recipe for some delicious and incredibly nutritious (Mom approved!) muffins. Ruth eats them as energy boosts when training for her triathlons. We made up a giant batch and froze them. Elsinore, along with the rest of the family, loves them.

1 1/2 cups flour (I used whole grain pancake mix), 3/4 cup flax seed meal, 3/4 cup oat bran or wheat germ, 1 cup brown sugar (I used agave syrup), 2 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp cinnamon, 1 1/2 cups shredded carrots, 2 peeled shredded apples, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 cup Chopped walnuts-almonds-seeds (I used pecans, almonds and sunflower seeds), 3/4 cup milk (I used goat milk), 2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla
Combine dry ingredients, add wet ingredients. Add rest to main mixture but don't over mix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. BAKE 350 degrees 15-20 minutes.

the stink-eye

the tour of idaho begins

Dad left today to tackle the 'tour of idaho' with Mark...1300
miles on dirt from the idaho/utah border to the idaho/canada border.