Happy Halloween

Every year my cousins get together with our kids for a Halloween party. It's funny how all the costumes get passed around. I think there are costumes here that have been worn at least five times.

Also, if you look to the upper right corner you'll see my grandparents who now have 15 great grands with another on the way!

It's also been fun to compare Max with Jack in certain clothes and outfits since their b-days are just 9 days apart. It may not look like it here, but Max is now almost 3 months and the same weight  Jack was at 6 months.

Pumpkin Scone

Josh and I love Starbuck's pumpkin scone however very rarely do we treat ourselves in addition to coffee. Google here I come. I was on the hunt for a copy cat recipe and I think I managed pretty well. I've made these scones a few time in the past couple weeks and what should last at least 4 days end up disappearing in about a day and a half! If you don't like scones because they tend to be too dry, don't shy away. These are the perfect consistency (in my opinion). Hope you like!

Starbuck's Pumpkin Scones

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups all-purpose flour
7 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
3 tablespoons half-and-half
1 large egg
6 tablespoons cold butter

Plain Glaze
1 cup plus 1 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk

Spiced Icing (this is actually enough for about 3 batches)
1 cup plus 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch ground cloves

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ginger in a large bowl.
3. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin, half-and-half, and eggs.
4. Cut butter into cubes then add it to the dry ingredients. Use a pastry knife or a fork to combine butter with dry ingredients. Continue mixing until no chunks of butter are visible. You can also use a food processor: Pulse butter into dry ingredients until it is the texture of cornmeal or coarse sand.
5. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then form the dough into a ball. Pat out dough onto a lightly floured surface and form it into a 1 -inch thick rectangle that is about 9 inches long and 3 inches wide. Use a large knife or a pizza wheel to slice the dough twice through the width, making three equal portions. Cut those three slices diagonally so that you have 6 triangular slices of dough.
6. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes on a baking sheet that has been lightly oiled or lined with parchment paper. Scones should begin to turn light brown. (I baked mine for 13 minutes and thought it was perfect)
7. While scones cool, prepare plain glaze by combining ingredients in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Mx until smooth.
8 When scones are cool, use a brush to paint a coating of the glaze over the top of each scone.
9. As that white glaze firms up, prepare spiced icing by combining ingredients in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed. Drizzle this thicker icing over each scone and allow the icing to dry before serving (at least 1 hour). A squirt bottle works great for this, or you can drizzle with a whisk.Makes 6 scones.

The Green Machine

Well this year, Jack was finally eligible for some good old-fashioned sporting and we signed him up for the local Under-6 soccer league.  Of course, being a push over, I agreed to help out with the coaching.  Everything has been great this season, good kids, fun times, except for the fact that our team is brutal.  After a pair of 9-1 thrashings, my expectations for this season's success went out the window.  Regardless, I hope Jack has had as much fun as I have and look forward to many more years of doing the sports thing with him.

 Jack has fallen victim to the "follow the ball" mentality, but he certainly lacks in focus and aggressiveness.  

 My job is to manage the sideline...as you can see below, I have my own issues.

- Josh

Sweet Potato

I guess I didn't realize that Sweet Potato Vine grew real potatoes! I've used sweet potato vine in planters before but never found something like this. When I went to pull out all my plants this week to clean up for winter this is what I found! If you can't tell from the picture, the big one in the front is about 8 inches long and the size of regular large potato. It makes sense though...a potato vine growing potatoes. It just never occured to me I would find such large roots in my planters. Does anyone know if these are edible? I tried googling it but couldn't find a concrete answer.

Smile

Max is all smiles all the time right now. I love it!
(Don't mind the spit up spot by his head)

Two Months...and a few days

I'm normally a very punctual person, however I seem to be late on just about everything around here...

Maxwell is now two months old and still my biggest :)

He weighed in at 14 pounds and 24.5 inches.

If you can have a favorite at two months, his is the play gym. We just recently dusted it off and this kid loves to lie under that thing and kick his legs and coo...He sometimes actually cries when I pull him away.

Lovin' him so much and grateful for all the joy he's brought us the past two months.

Star Student

Alright, I'm a little behind, but I still had to brag a little bit. 

Last week Jack was honored in an assembly in front of the whole school for being the star student of the month in his class and displaying the character trait of wisdom. I was so proud of my little guy! Being an August birthday I sometimes second guess our decision to send Jack to kindergarten, but this was just a little extra confirmation that God has him right where he should be. 

Remember this post too...The verse at the bottom I was praying for Jack...I don't believe it's a coincidence

Lord, turn Jack's ear toward wisdom and his heart toward understanding. Give him a teachable spirit, one that calls out for insight and searches for it as for hidden treasure. (Proverbs 2:2-4) 

Even better, our good friends daughter also got the award for her class.