So ready for Autumn....

A fallen leaf is nothing more than a summer's wave goodbye
-*~ Unknown~*-

The weather here has cooled down a LOT and that is amazing considering we're still in the 90's, but just this drop in the temperature makes me think of fall and I welcome it with open arms.

We've had storms in the area for the past week, some of them never materialize, they just cover the sky in big fluffy dark clouds and throw out some thunder and lightning but not a drop of water comes down. Nevertheless it makes for some stunning photography, and this is using a pretty cheap digital camera, I don't have any of those big expensive fancy shmancy ones.

Right before the big Dust Storm we had last night, the sky went from beautiful deep blue to dark grey, almost black.

This one just takes my breath away, I don't even have words to describe it, it's just beautiful. It's weird though because after I opened it in my graphics program, Curt walked by and said "Huh, that looks like a face" and sure enough if you look in the middle of the big cloud right towards the bottom you can see a profile. Creepy!

Curt just finished a week long class of training for "Engine Run". It's something he's done plenty times before but since being on this base he's had to pretty much relearn everything, they do things completely different here, it's very frustrating for a man who's been in for 17 years.

Anyway, today was the last day and they had to go in and run the jet, which means, go into the cockpit like the pilots and turn the jet on and leave it running for 15 minutes while they go through all these emergency procedures and then take the jet to afterburner etc. It's pretty neat to see, so do you want to witness a jet running????? I mean for some of us this is the closest we'll ever come to being near one LOL


Original Video - More videos at TinyPic

I'm just so fascinated by the job my husband does and so darn proud of him :)

Above is a photo of the afterburner.

I can't tell you how glad I am that the weekend is finally here, we don't have many plans other than a fun day out tomorrow for a project that Nicholas is working on.

Every week the teacher sends home Brown Bear, this cute little brown stuffed toy, along with a journal and the "Brown Bear Brown Bear What do you see?" book. They have to take photos of the bear doing fun activities with them and then return it on Monday, they're also the Star of the Week which means everyday they have something assigned.

Monday - Nicholas will return the Journal and also an About Me page to share with the class, including photos of him and the family.

Tuesday - Show and Tell, he can take in anything he wants to show

Wednesday - Parent Letter...Curt and I have to write a letter to the class telling them how special Nicholas is to us. We have to send the letter in a sealed envelope and then the teacher will read it to everyone. How neat is that?

Thursday - Favorite book

Friday - Fun Friday, he can take in anything he wants to share.

I can't begin to tell you how excited he is, when we picked him up from school today he ran towards us with Brown Bear in his hands and yelled out "I'm star of the week, I get to bring brown bear home". The smile on his face was just the cutest thing ever.

One thing I've learned this past week is that both kids are doing very well in school, both are excellent students and extremely well behaved, according to the teachers. It warms my heart and it makes me realize that I must be doing something right, all the questions and doubts that sometimes plague a parent's mind are completely removed when you hear something like that.

I'm sure by now you've also noticed my template change, I thought it time to make more Fall looking, but I had to keep the cottages, they always make me smile.

Being that it's friday it means a quiet night at home, the kids like taking their baths, getting into their pj's and then hanging out with daddy, either playing games on the computer or the Wii or watching movies. This usually means that I get to crawl into bed early after my hot bath, read a book or watch a movie....which is exactly what I'm doing tonight:

The Tenant of Wildfell Hall
The Importance of Being Earnest
Lady Jane

and I also have my "Brides of Lancaster County" to read. So I'm off, but before I go here's a recipe to tempt Autumn into arriving a little earlier instead of making us wait another 10 days. :)

"Pumpkin Pie Squares"

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine

FILLING:
2 cans (15 oz. each) pumpkin
2 cans (12 oz. each) evaporated milk
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves

TOPPINGS:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

Combine the first four ingredients until crumbly; press into a greased 13"x9" baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, beat filling ingredients in a mixing bowl until smooth; pour over crust. Bake for 45 minutes. Combine brown sugar, pecans, and butter; sprinkle over top. Bake 15-20 minutes longer or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool. Cut into squares. Store in refrigerator.