I am Thankful !

       Tis the season....and the week....to be thankful for all we've been given!  I have so much to be thankful for, I don't know where to begin!  Maybe here...with family...

Our daughter Jen, with husband Marc,

Calvin, Nate & Jill

Our son, Max, with wife Sara,

Will, Greyson & Tate

Our middle son, Sam, with wife, Roz,

Ben, Lucien, Monica & Olivia

Our youngest son, John & his wife, Alicia...

and grandbaby #11 in May!!

Our kids and their families have been such a huge part of our resort...we couldn't have done it without them!

Everyone pitches in when they come to visit!  What a blessed part of the summer our family has been...heck, we love them all year long!!

I'm thankful for a Papa who builds a car wash for the kids....just because his wife saw this crazy idea on pinterest!  It was a hit!!

I'm thankful for the "chipmunk hunting crew" who choose to play outside instead of video games inside!

I'm thankful for special resort visitors who bring new elves for the "Elfun Trail"....even if it is the Milwaukee Brewers!  Thank you, Luke & Gracie!

I was thankful for 2 days in July to sew with my cousins...what a fun time!

I'm thankful for "beach hunks" who wander the resort with an apple and a pinecone...and that's a great day!!

I'm thankful we have a pool for the hot summer weather...and the grandkids are thankful too!

I'm thankful that for the last 11 years, we've always had a smiling grandbaby....year after year after year!

I'm thankful for 25 years of sunsets over the lake...a picture we never take for granted!

I'm thankful that we have this nice pile of wood for the winter fires!

So thankful we finally got one of these...to make that woodsplitting a little easier for the Lodgemaster!

I'm thankful for walks in the woods with my husband...where we get to see God's creatures...up close!

Heck, I'm even thankful for this crazy dog...she loves the resort life!

Wow...I guess I have alot in my life to be thankful for!  We'll cook the turkey and fixins on Thursday and contemplate all our blessings...and thank God for this life He has blessed us with!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

October Travels...Memories...and a New Recipe!

How's that for a title?  I'm a little slow on the posting these days...I have buried myself in my sewing castle, creating all those things I couldn't make all summer long!  I'm finishing baby quilts for new babies born to friends/church family, making tablerunners for gifts and to sell in the lodge gift shop next summer....best of all, organizing everything that speaks of sewing!  Organization is my passion, but you wouldn't know it sometimes when you see my room....it gets pretty messy when I'm searching for fabrics or patterns to create something new.  So...sewing room photos will have to wait until I concentrate on the organization part of the room.

In October we traveled to IL to attend my cousin's son's wedding....what a wonderful time we had seeing relatives and resort friends we hadn't seen since summer. 

Sara & Tim had an outdoor ceremony on a beautiful fall afternoon...

And we got to see one of our favorite girls...Eva!  My cousins and my siblings call me Susie, but Eva calls me Snoozie...music to my ears everytime she chats!

From the wedding, we traveled to our hometown to visit our family.  We couldn't resist driving past our "old houses" we lived in when our kids were littles before we moved to Minnesota.

We lived in this house from 1975 to 1985....our 3 boys were all born when we lived here...a teeny house that we didn't know was teeny until we moved into this house...

My absolute dream house!  I thought we would live here forever...I even imagined grandchildren in the house!  We lived in this house for almost 2 years, then found our dream resort and left Illinois with all our stuff and 4 kids and moved to Minnesota.  It was fun to go back in time and see the small town where our kids lived for those years and had a great time!

Now....back to Minnesota and our resort and all the fun we have living here!  Let's see...the rest of the title of this blog post...a new recipe...here it is:

Reeses Pieces Fall Crunch

12 oz. Golden Grahams

3 cups pretzels

1 cup peanuts

3 cups Bugles

24 oz. almond bark

1 cup Reeses Pieces

Mix together the cereal, pretzels, nuts & Bugles in large bowl.  Melt the almond bark and pour over the mixture...

Stir gently to not crush ingredients; spread onto waxed paper...sprinkle Reeses Pieces onto wet mixture...

Let set in freezer or on counter until almond bark is hardened.  Break apart and put in bags or jars to share...but taste it first to make sure it's good enough for friends & family!

The variation on this recipe is to add Mint M & M's at Christmas time...the subtle mint taste is so yummy...then you have to change the name to "Snowflake Mix"! 

I don't know which flavor is better...let me know!

A post note...the Papa in our family is in his late fall/early winter mode...creating things requested by certain family members.

Here's the products of one day of work in his shop...

A lemonade stand/grocery store counter/target store/produce stand/toll booth, etc., for some grandkids in Shakopee.

And....

A table for another little one in Shakopee...I see lots of tea parties in my future!

Can't wait!