Family Bike Ride at Storm King Art Center

A few weeks ago, we went to Storm King Art Center. The colors were spectacular, as were the grounds. We met our friends there, had a picnic and then biked around most of the exhibitions. 

Alex and his friend had so much fun running around all the sculptures and hills. It was a super fun outing, and only about an hour outside of the city, so very manageable to get to. 

Alex and his friend on top of waves of grass. Alex’s friend’s mother rolled down one of these hills, and it was awesome. If I weren’t almost six months pregnant, I would have done the same thing!

There were some serious hills at Storm King and most of the paths were gravel. I was a little apprehensive about some of the paths, but all turned out fine. 

I made it to the top…barely!

This Evoking Tradition exhibit just closed, but Alex really liked running up to the big feet and smelling them, then running away and saying how stinky they were. It was hilarious. 

Here the boys are hiding from “No Noggin”—a mythical scaregrow ghost in one of the Curious George books. We both ended up getting this book from our Scholastic Book Fair at school and the boys loved it. 

It was a super great day and we highly recommend visiting! 

Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramels

I made these spice cupcakes (from a box!) and topped them with cream cheese frosting and caramels. They were a great fall cupcake. The hardest part of this recipe was chopping the caramel, but, as you can see from the photos below, they were also one of Alex’s favorite parts!

I made these spice cupcakes (from a box!) and topped them with cream cheese frosting and caramels. They were a great fall cupcake. The hardest part of this recipe was chopping the caramel, but, as you can see from the photos below, they were also one of Alex’s favorite parts!

Cake

I followed the directions from the Duncan Hines, Spice Cake box.

Cream Cheese Frosting

INGREDIENTS

4 ounces of unsalted butter, softened

4 ounces of cream cheese, softened

2 cups of powdered sugar

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS

1.       In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer.

2.       With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy.

3.       Beat in the vanilla extract.

4.       Spread on cooled cupcakes and top with chopped caramels. 

Hiking in Vermont

A few weeks ago, we went to Vermont to experience the peak of their fall colors. While there, we went for a hike at Mt. Philo. Alex did the entire thing himself (at least up)—he was a trooper. 

Stopping for a quick break. 

 

 

We made it to the top! The views were spectacular. 

Halloween Recap - 2014

This year, for Halloween, we did another family costume. Last year, we went as the Wizardof Oz and this year, we went as Despicable Me 2. Andy was Gru, I was Lucy and Alex, of course, was a minion. 

Sitting on the stoop, waiting for trick-or-treaters to stop by

Alex wanted his face painted this year, so I decided to paint it yellow. As you can see by him seeing himself in the mirror, he absolutely loved being in costume and having his face painted (I think we may be related). I really want to make Halloween fun for him, so he enjoys it as much as I do. 

We went trick-or-treating on our block, then headed home to hand out candy and, after we passed out our last bag, we went just one street North, where they shut down the street and almost every other brownstone is decked out. Alex had so much fun running from place-to-place—not sure if it was the candy before-hand, or the excitement of the crowd, but he was so excited to partake in some family friendly Halloween activities. 

Carving Pumpkins

I was up very late on Thursday carving my three pumpkins (3am, which made work the next day tough!). I am not sure I will be doing this again next year, as they were incredibly time consuming. They were beautiful, but they were a lot of work and my arms were sore from carving for about two days after. 

I did make some fabulous pumpkin seeds from them, though—recipe below. The best way I can describe them is pumpkin seeds/Chex Mix.

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 tablespoons of margarine, melted

 1/2 teaspoon of salt

 1/8 teaspoon of garlic salt

 2 teaspoons of Worcestershire sauce

 2 cups raw whole pumpkin seeds

DIRECTIONS

1.       Preheat oven to 275 degrees F (135 degrees C).

2.       Combine the margarine, salt, garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce and pumpkin seeds. Mix thoroughly and place in shallow baking dish.

3.       Bake for 1-1.5 hours, stirring occasionally.

Andy, Alex and our pumpkins were certainly a hit (most people did not know who I was!). After bath, we read every Halloween book we have (I am ready to retire them for the year). All-in-all, it was another fabulous Halloween!