what it takes to get a decent picture of 6 people...

 after church last sunday we got out the tripod to take a few family pictures while everyone still looked kinda put together. handy andy put it on the timer and all 63 shots turned out perfectly- just like this one.

hahaha...here's a taste of what the other 62 pictures actually looked like:

turn your heads around! look at the camera!

hurry and sit down!

why do we have pumpkins in the picture with us?...too distracting..

 then the real drama began...

 simultaneously water started dripping towards sophie and ben and then handy andy stabbed will in the face with the pumpkin stem.

freaking out over here...

can we be done now?!

and this is why a picture of all 6 of us is incredibly rare. :)

have some pumpkin chocolate cake

crisp, chilly fall is here. i've resumed my cold weather uniform of fleece pants, smart wools, and 2-3 layers on top. i've also sought every excuse possible to turn on the oven and get yummy smells and warmth into the house.

which is why i made an entire pumpkin chocolate sheet cake for just our family. fortunately some friends came over at the last minute and shared it with us. :) 

and i'm here to share the recipe with you.

 pumpkin chocolate sheet cake
4 eggs
1 cup light olive oil or vegetable
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 can of pumpkin (about 2 cups)
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. cloves
1 tsp. nutmeg
chocolate chips

in a large bowl, beat eggs, oil and sugar until well blended. add pumpkin and mix thoroughly. in separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg. gradually add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture. mix until smooth. add chocolate chips and mix. pour into greased and floured 11x17inch jelly roll pan. bake at 375 for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. spread chocolate fudge frosting over cake.

chocolate fudge frosting
1/2 cup butter
4 T. unsweetened cocoa
6 T. buttermilk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 lb. powdered sugar
pinch of salt

heat butter, cocoa and buttermilk to boiling in saucepan. remove from heat and mix in vanilla and sugar and pinch of salt. frosting is runny but hardens as it cools.

****

in other news, this quirky song has been in my head for several days now. if you haven't watched the video before, it gets really fun at 2:50. makes me wish i was a ballerina. 

dump truck hoodie

one of ben's best little buddies turned 2 a couple days after his own birthday and we had great fun going to his truck/car birthday party.

a few months ago i made this race car hoodie for another little friend, but once i found the Little Blue Truck book i knew we had to go the dirt road route instead of the race track. (and besides, i was completely out of navy and black felt for the road :))

 these are easy to make- find a picture online, trace and cut it out in some wool/poly blend felt and then sew onto a hoodie from target. 

*for the dump truck i did put a bit of liquid stitch stuff down in the middle of little pieces like the window and the rear bumper. then after it was dry i top stitched it onto the jacket.

this book is super cute with a sweet message at the end. i would have bought a copy for our family too, but i had ben with me and he beelined to a giant board book of Good Night Moon instead. :)

this "2" patch covers the stupid graphic that was already on the jacket.

added a little scrap of felt to make a personalized tag.

all done and ready for the party.

baby ben's balloon birthday bash

we had a simple birthday party for ben last week.

the theme was, of course, balloons. it was nice and simple and he was delighted.

simple sack lunch with my most favorite napkins from Target.

happy times with his little cousin

exciiiiited for cake

piñata time...will though it was HILARIOUS to hit the pinata with a zucchini

            
sweet times with family (we SO missed not having all the aunties and uncles and cousins who moved this summer. although we did get to facetime with auntie bethany, which was a bit of a consolation)
         
               

we love you so much benny. happy birthday sweet boy!
here's to another year full of kisses from mama