Haunted Cookie House

I had such a wonderful time in So Cal recently, and we did many fun things together.  This will be a long post filled with pictures, just to let you know.  I got to visit all the shops that I don't normally get to go to here in the mountains, and that was such a treat for me.  We also drove through Starbuck's to get a coffee and pumpkin loaf, which I really miss.  At home, Jess kept the coffee coming, and placed it on these cute little book coasters that she found.

This is her coffee corner, with a Mickey bowl for sugar.  She buys the organic sugar, and although I don't put sugar in my coffee, it was nice to have for all the company.

Jess is nursing, and she can't have dairy right now, so she baked two apple spice breads from scratch, and put one in the freezer for later.  we had a slice warmed up with butter, and it turned out moist and good.

Nel brought this silver heart back from her travels in Switzerland, and Jess has it hanging from her hutch.  It's so unique.

We had some wine in grandma's glasses.  These belonged to Brian's grandma, and I love them.  They are pretty, sturdy, and old.

Jess has two tall book shelves in her home, and they are filled with all of her favorite books.  She made this decoupage pumpkin years ago.

I looked over and noticed this picture of Francesca, and there was just something about it that I loved.

I read to the kids every chance I got.

Auntie Nel got creative with the kids and made a haunted cookie house with them.  She first put all the sides together, added a little frosting to make it festive, and let the kids go to town decorating it with frosting and sprinkles and bats.  They had the best time.

Some Fall things around Jess' house.

After the baby was fed, changed, and fell asleep,

 me and Jess watched the new season of Virgin River.  We finished all the episodes of season 5 while I was there, and the finale was something very unexpected.  It was a pretty good season.

One night, I watched Francesca and the baby, while Jess and Brian had a "date night."  They had the best time going out to dinner and just spending time together.

Jess is really enjoying staying at home with Charlotte, and I'm so pleased that she has quite a bit of time off from work to take care of the baby and be there for her in these early months.

Brian made barbecued chicken one night, and it was delicious.  And one morning he made us a breakfast feast of sausage, bacon, hash browns, scrambled eggs, fruit, and cinnamon rolls.  They were organic cinnamon rolls from Trader Joe's, and were amazing.  All the breakfast was so good that I just started eating and didn't get a picture.  Papa giving the baby some love.

Uncle Renecke and Jess.  Renecke makes me laugh when he tells a story, and I can't tell you how many times Nel has burst into laughter at something he said.  He is so talented when playing the guitar, and it was a pleasant time for us listening to him play his music one afternoon.

Mia and Francesca doing chalk drawing on the back porch.

Over the next few weeks, I'll try to share our time at the pumpkin patch and other places we visited.  Our littlest member of the family has brought us great joy.

~Sheri