what did we do with the surplus of tomatoes from our garden?

Made tomato soup.
The recipe is simple. Chop 1/4 cup of onions and saute them over medium heat with a teaspoon of oil for 3 minutes. Seed, peel and chop 5 cups of tomatoes and add them to the onions. Cook covered for 10 minutes. Uncover the tomato mixture and simmer for 25 more minutes.
Transfer the tomato mixture to the blender and blend until creamy. Place the creamed tomato mixture back into the saucepan, add 2 cups of milk, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a dash of pepper. Heat for 2 more minutes. Serve hot.
For added flavor, I made croutons from our leftover challah.
Sprinkle the croutons and a little cotija cheese et voila!

what happens when sarah's husband goes out of town?

Auntie Lindee comes to play! That's not entirely true. Sarah has three boys under the age of two. Let me repeat: three boys under the age of two. John Oscar (labeled below) was born in December 2006. The twins, Buzz (in blue) and Lars (in black) were born in March of this year.
When John, Sarah's husband, went out of town, I showed up to help. The boys are very well behaved and get along quite well. Buzz even offers Lars a "teething ring".
Is Lars giving me the finger?
Here's John Oscar with his favorite toy.
Our big outing for the day was a trip to the Oregon Zoo in Portland. Although we had this stroller, Buzz preferred to be held. All in all it was a good day:)

what happens when we hike the same trail a few weeks later?

We discover new things.
When we first hiked this trail a few weeks ago, fall was no where in sight. Now, the colors on the mountain are changing.
This time Ben reminded me of his love for Foster.
We hiked higher on the mountain and when we stopped for lunch, Foster took a little nap on the rocks. It's hard to wear out Foster.
On the way down the mountain, we decided to take another route. We discovered a "glacier" on the other side of the mountain.
We heard and saw water running out of the hole on the left.
Here it is up close. The water was melted snow. It created a waterfall that flowed into a stream. We had a wonderful hike!

we don't have to worry about hurricanes- but what do we have to worry about in hood river?

Fire!
Today brush along the freeway caught fire due to a tire blow out. (Click for full story)
I heard the fire engines and when I went outside, I saw the flames. Luckily the fire engines arrived in time to protect the homes and businesses near the brush.
Our home is a couple blocks north of the freeway. Luckily the wind is blowing east saving us from smoke.

what happens when abby & james have a gas leak in their house?

They get to come to Hood River for a mini vacation!
Monday Foster and I took them to Tamanawas Falls. Above, James and Abby take in the falls. Below, Abby & Foster explore the creek below the falls.
Along the trail is a sheet of rock wall, most of which has fallen on the trail.
You can imagine what the ground looks like if the this is the rock wall.
I love the colors in the wall.
A couple of years ago a flood washed out two of the three trail bridges.
After our hike, we went to the Gorge White House. We bought fresh fruit at the fruit stand and cut dahlias from their field.
The dahlia fields are beautiful and seem to be endless.
Below are some of my favorites.


By the way, the gas leak should be fixed today:)

what is special about september 8th?

My Aunt Cindy was born on this day in 1959. She passed away a few years ago of cancer and this is the day we choose to honor her. The picture above was taken while she was on her mission in Chicago. It's my favorite picture of her.

Her son Andrew is now on his mission and will report to the Canada Vancouver Mission September 17th. Right now he's in the Missionary Training Center in Utah. Hayley, her daughter hopes to follow in her footsteps and attend BYU after she graduates from high school this June.
Here's Hayley and Cindy on the teacups at Disneyland- Cindy's favorite place one earth.

If you'd like to join me in honoring Cindy's memory, please donate on her behalf to American Cancer Society Relay for Life- Team Cindy Brown. My family is participating in the Relay for Life September 19th & 20th where they will honor her.

what do i love about computers and online statements?

I no longer have to store reams of paper. Below is about half of what took me two days and two shredders to get rid of. It was Ben's old files from the past ten years.

which town ranked number five out of fifty as one of the best places to live & play?

Hood River, of course.
Check out the article online or pick up a copy of the magazine- National Geographic Adventure.

how was my birthday campout?

Great! We had such a good time, we went again on Monday night!We arrived around 7:00pm on the night of my birthday. We set up camp, had a fajita dinner cooked over the fire, followed by a game of Scrabble (yes I won, but only by about 100 points). After the fire wound down, we went to bed.
The next morning I cooked eggs, with tomatoes from our garden, over the fire. I'm a pretty good camping chef.
Ben was pretty happy with the breakfast.
It was only fair that he cleaned the dishes.
Foster helped, too.
When I packed the food, I thought of everything.
Including a way to prevent the oil from leaking. Don't mess with me!
On Monday, Ben and I decided to go back to the campground for a "day of camping". We just wanted to be by the river- read, swim, eat and nap. After a delicious dinner and amazing fire, we decided to stay the night. This time we slept a little better. We had a secret weapon- a futon mattress!