Hendricks Birthday Celebration

Yesterday we celebrated the September and October birthdays of Jared, Granny, and Zach in one big family celebration.  Since the girls had parties with friends rather than family this year, they were also included among the honorees of this swanky soiree.

We gathered for a simple lunch of sandwiches, chips, chili, and potatoes, followed by October/Halloween themed cupcakes for dessert.

Sandwiches ready for fixing

Cupcakes for dessert

After eating, we opened gifts.  The girls got all kinds of dolls (real and paper), as well as some cool UVA hoodies and winter hats from Mincers.  The boys and Granny received t-shirts bought by Charles in Nashville, as well as some other items.

Granny reading one of her birthday cards.  Did you know she planted the redwood forests?

Sophie sporting her pink UVA hoodie, complete with a pouch for storing Banky.

Showing off their paper dolls and paper doll pets.

We also enjoyed lots of crafts and other fun: carving and painting pumpkins, tie dying t-shirts, roasting marshmallows around the fire pit, and a scavenger hunt designed by the girls.

Carving and painting pumpkins

The finished masterpieces

Sophie did a good job of squirting her own dye this time

The scavenger hunt list (one of them) and the crew in action

I enjoyed the fire

Papa enjoyed a nap

To end the day we all went to eat at Southern Kitchen, where Charles and Sophie both enjoyed their beloved fried chicken and the boys enjoyed numerous potato sides.

Cool sign and cool vibe inside too

The Hendricks clan, one and all

It was a nice day spent with family.  Happy birthday to all!

Oyster Fry

Every October, the Brunk extended family gathers for a reunion known as the annual oyster fry.  This is my Grandma Mary's family: descendents of hers and her two sisters, Evelyn and Maude.  Aunt Evelyn is the only one of the three sisters left, and we're so glad to still have her around.

Those in attendance on Sunday speculated that this tradition began around 1970 or so and has continued ever since, always taking place at our mountain land.  Isn't it beautiful?

The leaves were just starting to change.  In another week or two we would have seen quite a spectacular array of color.

Grandpa and Cousin Dick always fry the oysters.  Sadly, I didn't think to take a picture of them in action. (After I originally posted this, Barb sent me the picture below.)

Photo courtesy B. Gunden

Many of the younger generations don't appreciate oysters and so will bring their own meats to grill over the open fire.  I tried one oyster this year and found it to be not too bad!  Everyone brings side dishes and desserts to share, and it's a veritable feast for all who attend.

After singing a blessing and eating together, folks lounge in folding chairs around the fire, drinking coffee and catching up with one another.  Often a walk to the dam helps relieve too full bellies, and this Sunday was no exception to that tradition.  The views from the top of the dam (as above) are quite picturesque.

Some of the boys love to ride the 4-wheeler up and down the hollow.  At one point they took a break from their riding to try to throw rocks from the top of the dam and have them land in the lake below.  This is quite a long way, and they would use the strong winds on top of the dam to assist them in their efforts.  I thought they'd never make it all the way to the water, but they did... quite a few times even!

My favorite people posed for a photo on top of the dam too.  You can see how windy it is up there in this picture.

Some folks also participated in playing corn hole.  We had an exceptionally warm day this year, as opposed to last year when it was cold and even a little dreary.  One cousin showed off her gymnastics talents, and my girls preferred to be corn hole spectators when they weren't playing in the bed of the pick-up truck or taking 4-wheeler rides with their dad.

It was nice to spend a beautiful (though warm) fall day with everyone, and we look forward to next year!

Cabin Getaway

Photos from our weekend getaway at the cabin with Grandma, Grandpa, Carter, and a bear.

Playing with cars

Eating cars

Lots of fun with a wagon

No words needed

Cousins!

Upside down on the squirrel-eaten steps

Checking out the view from the top of the dam

It's hard to keep this little guy still!

Grandparents and grandkids

The excitement of the morning, a bear hunt

Watching them drag the bear in

Another dam photo

Looks like he might have been saying "uh-oh"

Don't you love the hat?

Super Carter!

Big eyes in the cold bath

He loves playing outside

Sophie is a great playmate

The hunting crew with their dogs

Beep beep!

Funny face!

Aren't they cute?

American Girl Dolls

The long awaited day finally arrived.  Friday night the girls found and counted the money that they've been saving FOREVER, and Saturday we left bright and early to drive to Tysons Corner mall to the American Girl store.

We arrived right on time as they were opening the doors at 9am.  Sophie was taking notes of all she saw in her trusty notepad.

The girls had both picked out a doll online already: Saige for Sophie and Caroline for Hannah.  Of course we had to peruse both floors of the store, and there was so much to see!

The historic dolls were upstairs, which was the floor we entered on.  Caroline is a historic doll from 1812.

Saige was also upstairs; she is the doll of the year for 2013.

Also upstairs are the bookstore and the restaurant where they will serve you AND your doll.  They attach little high chairs to the table for the dolls to sit in.  Incidentally, there are also doll hangers in the stalls in the restroom; they consist of two hooks that go under the doll's arms so that she can hang out (literally) while you do your business.

Downstairs were Bitty Babies and the dolls that you can personalize to look just like you.  There's also a doll hair salon, which had a wait out the door when we arrived.  Apparently it's a popular draw!

After perusing all the options, both girls decided to stick with their original doll selections.  Sophie had a hard time deciding though.

After using their money to purchase their dolls, we walked the rest of the mall (stopping at the Lego and Disney stores, as well as Old Navy) and then grabbed lunch at California Pizza Kitchen before heading home.  The girls had fun playing with their new dolls in the backseat during the drive.

They also played and played once we got home.  Can you find the American Girl dolls amongst all the rest?

And, of course, Sophie dressed Saige and herself in the matching nightgown set she got for her birthday in July.  Here they are posing along with her Saige book.

Now that they've spent all their money, they're ready to begin saving again so that they can purchase clothing, pets, and accessories for their new dolls.  Does this seem like a scam to anyone else??

September Photo Dump

Silly Sophie during story time one evening

Awesome Sophie drawing: Princess of Peace and Prince of Peace

A picture for Carter, by Sophie

Awesome Hannah drawing: using polynomials to create a picture as a homework assignment for math

A typical afternoon activity: doing their real homework while playing school, a 2-for-1 deal!

Late blooming sunflowers in the garden

2013 Preserves

And a little bit later than last year (about 3 weeks in fact), I'm now calling the preserving season over and done.  The "leftover" list was as of June 2013, and the items preserved this year are current through September.

It didn't feel like we got quite as much from the garden this year, maybe because the tomatoes were late to ripen due to a mild summer.  We also had blight again this year.  I focused my tomato energies on diced tomatoes (so versatile in so many recipes through the winter) and did not do any sauces or salsas.  I may regret that later when I'm purchasing those from the store, but it was a necessary survival mechanism given that the tomatoes didn't even begin to ripen until school was ready to start.

We had a good selection of winter squash, despite the fact that the vines up and died before many of them finished ripening.  I'm a big fan of delicata squash; we ended up with 8-10 of those.  We also had around 15 spaghetti squash, 8 or so butternut, around 6 acorn (would have liked more of these), and 10-12 sugar pumpkins.  I may keep some pumpkin puree for pie, but I'm planning to make most of it into pumpkin butter given the copious amounts of that delicious nectar that I consumed last year.  I'll update the totals below as I finish processing the pumpkins.

Leftover from 2012:
Strawberry jam - 2 half pints
Frozen corn - 7 quarts, 1 pint
Peaches - 35 quarts
Applesauce - 10 pints
Fresh salsa - 5 pints
STS salsa - 3 pints
Salsa #2 - 5 pints
Peach salsa - 4 pints
Catsup - 10 pints (this needs to be tossed)
Diced tomatoes - 1 pint
Tomato juice - 4 pints
Marinara sauce - 3 pints
Apple pie filling - 5 quarts

2013 preserves:
Strawberry jam - 11 half pints
Low sugar strawberry jam - 10 half pints
Mint jelly - 12 half pints
Chicken stock - 11 quarts
Dill pickles - 7 pints
Bread and butter pickles - 8 pints
Pureed zucchini - 5 bags frozen
Shredded zucchini - 6 bags frozen
Dill spears - 8 pints
Zucchini relish - 7 pints
Strawberries - half gallon frozen
Wineberries - 1 quart frozen
Blackberries - 2 gallons frozen
Diced tomatoes - 63 pints
Corn - 11 ears frozen in husks
Mint concentrate - 3 quarts, 8 pints frozen
Pumpkin butter - 8 pints frozen