Long Live The Weekends!

Why do fun weekends have to end so quickly??? My mom came for a girls weekend and boy did we have FUN! This weekend was all about creativity as we thrifted and hit up Michaels and Craft Warehouse (twice!!!) and made some CUTE CUTE CUTE holiday gifts but cannot show you as you might be getting one :) It was such a great weekend and I just want to say thank you to my mom, you gave me a weekend I totally needed!! You are the best!!!

So I haven't had a chance to upload any new pics for awhile but thought I would share these scones that I made a few weekends ago...if you are a fan of Maple like I am then you will LOVE these!
Maple Scones

1 3/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups oats
2 tsp baking powder
10 Tbsp cold butter
1/3 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg

Mix flour, oats, and baking powder together and cut in 10 Tbsp cold butter. Add remaining ingredients. Knead dough and pat down into an 1 inch thick circle. Cut into eight wedges and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes at 425. Once cooled, add maple frosting...yum yum!

Maple Frosting:
1 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp maple syrup
1 Tbsp cream
1 c. powdered sugar
Whisk until smooth and frost scones...enjoy!!!

Thanks Monica for the recipe!

Apple Cider Making

Our family has a tradition of making apple cider every fall. All I remember of it from childhood is having to go to my grandpa's really early in the morning, usually in the rain, getting sticky hands from pouring cider into the containers, and having donuts as a morning treat! I can say that I like the tradition a lot more now! And here are some pictures to show you how our Hansen Family Apple Cider is made...

Start with A LOT of apples...a whole bin full straight from the apple orchard!!

Put them in the egg basket and take them to be cut...Eli and Catie like helping with this part!

Now the apples need to be quartered...luckly that water is warm, not ice cold like grandpa used to make it. This is also a great time to catch up on family news from aunts, uncles, and cousins :)Here's the press, already working on some applesPour the apples into the press where it will crush them down...make sure to use that really old stick so your hands don't get cut on the blades at the bottom of the bin!

Take a moment to cuddle with Lily...isn't she a cutie-pie!!!Here is my sister pressing the crushed apples for their sweet sweet ciderKenton pours cider into 1/2 gallon containers making sure to sieve out any apple chunks that got through the press.Ta-Da!!! Here's the final product, 92 1/2 gallons of Hansen Family Apple Cider...the best Apple Cider you will ever taste!!And now that work is over it's time to play on the farm...YAY!!!

Pumpkin Patch

It's officially fall and nothing feels like fall as much as visiting a pumpkin patch!! Over the weekend I took my niece and nephew to Roloff Pumpkin Farm which you may know as the farm from TLC's hit show Little People Big World! It was opening day and I think the afternoon grayness kept many farm goers away as we almost had the place to ourselves! We did the farm tour and if you watch the show you can see some pics of the farm here that you may recognize :)

Here are some cute pictures of the adorable Eli and Lily with their favorite auntie having a fun day at the pumpkin patch!!