Bob's Red Mill: Our Outing with Nana JJ

Last week Sheldon was in Denver for work so Sheldon's mom & I decided it would be fun to take the kids on an outing. We went to Bob's Red Mill near Portland, a name of which some of you health nuts may recognize!


This mill grinds several kinds of grains and packages and manufacturers natural foods in a natural way (www.bobsredmill.com). This is definitely a place we were both excited about since we are interested in eating as healthy as possible. After the tour of the mill, where we learned all about our favorite grains, we headed over to the bakery for a wonderful lunch and treats! Our outing concluded with a shopping trip at the on-site store for all of our favorite grains, cereals, and beans. You can't just get some of these in a regular grocery store!

Since I really enjoy grinding my own grains into flour at home this was the store for me. Many of these grains are healthier than regular flour, which is why I'm interested in them. Some of the grains I use are wheat, quinoa, spelt, amaranth, kamut, buckwheat, and rye. I enjoy combining them in our favorite bread, muffin, waffle, and cookie recipes. I know you must think I'm strange, but I consider this a hobby for me! I'm sure Jackie and I looked like 2 kids in candy store as we loaded up our carts!

Thanks Nana JJ for the outing, we always enjoy a day with you!

Look a the silly hair/beard nets the workers wear. The kids
thought they were fun "costumes."

Here is a muffin recipe we've enjoyed this week using some of the our freshly ground grains (you can substitute with any flours).

Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Praline Top (Optional):
2 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. brown sugar
1/3 cup flour (I used spelt flour)
1 Tbsp. of ground flax
1/3 cup of oats or chopped pecans

Muffin Batter:
2 cups flour (I used a combo of spelt, amaranth, wheat, and white)
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp each of nutmeg, cloves, & ginger
2/3 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1/3 cup canola or grapeseed oil
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries or raisins

Combine topping ingredients using a pastry blender to make a crumb topping.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine and whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Stir the wet mixture into the dry ingredients until just blended. Fold in raisins or cranberries. Pour batter into muffin tins and sprinkle on praline topping. Bake 10-15 minutes at 400 degrees until toothpick comes out clean. Makes approx. 1 dozen.

Our Vegetable Garden

One of my summer highlights is growing my own vegetable garden. Since I enjoy being outdoors, it's relaxing for me to work in the garden. It's also very rewarding to sow the seeds and watch the plants grow and finally produce beautiful vegetables. It kinda reminds me of how I desire my life to be producing spiritual "fruit" (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), especially as a witness to my children who will learn what it means to live for Jesus from me (WOW...what a big responsibility I have been given)! The garden has also been fun for the kids. Braden loves to help me "work" in the garden and pick the veggies when they are ready. As fall is here, our garden produce will soon be coming to an end, but we look forward to a new season next spring.

Jamie's Surprise Trip to Iowa

One day I got this "wild idea" that I should fly to Iowa and surprise my sister for her bridal shower. Even though I really wanted to do that, I knew that lots of details needed to be sorted out to make this trip possible, and thanks to the willingness of so many people to help, everything worked out! Thanks Sheldon for letting me go and playing "Mr. Mom" for 5 days, and thanks to all our parents for helping to make it happen (the kids loved to have Nana J watch them while Daddy was at work)!

Click on the play button to see a video of Kristin and I re-uniting (we missed the REAL surprise entrance). As you can see, Kristin was very SURPRISED and the trip was a blessing!


Mom, Kristin, and I at the bridal shower

Part of what made this trip so special was the time I got to spend with my parents, my grandparents, Aunt Lisa & Uncle Randy, my cousin Jennifer, & especially my sister (I even got to help her do some wedding stuff)! The weather was beautiful so we "lived life to the fullest," and I enjoyed refreshment from normal life responsibilities. It was also a neat time of year to visit since it was the beginning of harvest season, which I haven't been a part of for years.

We took a 13 mile bike ride on the bike trail near the Lake.


Dad with his combine.

A video of dad in the combine harvesting Soybeans.


Dad hauling a wagon load of soybeans with his tractor.


Field corn, not yet ready to be harvested.

Bonneville Dam

Well, Jamie is out of town visiting her sister Kristin in Iowa for a bridal shower. She flew out there without anyone knowing (other than her parents) and got to surprise everyone!

That leaves me with the kiddos to think up something fun to do. Braden is always full of questions about how things work, and lately he's been VERY curious about how electricity works, where it comes from, and all about power stations and generators and power lines. So I figure, why not take them to the Bonneville dam???


We got to take the full tour, learn all about how the dam was built and how it makes electricity. Braden and Ashlyn were particularly interested in how the generators worked. Braden was so excited to tell the other visitors that there were "EIGHT generators" that made electricity!


After we toured the power station, we got to check out the fish ladder and learn how the salmon get around the dam. It turned out this was the perfect time of year to see lots of salmon in the fish ladder viewing area. The kids were very excited about this, and remembered all the times that they ate salmon.



Of course, remembering salmon dinners made everyone hungry - so we hit the road and headed home. (With a quick stop at Burger King - Sorry Jamie!)

Labor Day Hike

What a treat! Sheldon and I went hiking-just the 2 of us- on labor day while the kids enjoyed a day with Nana J at her "hottub house" (as they would say). We hiked 8 miles on the Siouxon Creek Trail. It was a beautiful hike through the forest along a crystal clear creek and several small waterfalls. Being out in the forest was so refreshing and just reminded me once again of the beauty and creativity of our God!

Millions of Peaches (and Pears)

We made our annual visit to the pear orchard near our home over the weekend and noticed that there was a peach orchard nearby too. What a fun experience for the kids, to pick their own fruit! (Well...I love it too)! Now we are enjoying peaches and pears on everything. One of our favorites recipes was the pear ginger sauce I made for our orange spice pancakes this morning.

Oregon Symphony at Waterfront Park

We enjoyed a free concert of the Oregon Symphony at Waterfront Park in Portland last week. We met up with Michael and Chandelle and their girls (cousins Melea and Lily--see them all dancing in the picture), and some other family friends. It was a warm evening with a beautiful sunset.....great for enjoying the music which was topped off with cannons and fireworks. Our main reason for taking in this event is Braden's fascination with the "conductor man" (as he would say), classical music, and fireworks! With that being said, this was right up his alley!





























Here is Braden at home with classical musical playing while he's pretending to be the "conductor man!"