Hiking Arabia

Sam's birthday was a couple of weeks ago and he wanted to do something outside. It was a gorgeous fall day so I was all for it. We packed up the dogs and got our backpacks together and off we went. Arabia Mountain is only a few miles from our house so it didn't take us long to arrive. Willa jumps in and out of the Jeep by herself. Bruce acts like he is going to but then thinks about it too much and balks. So he, the heavier of the two, get lifted in and out of the Jeep. We started off hiking with me walking Willa and Sam walking Bruce. However, Willa, having been abandoned on that mountain, knew her way around and pulled me the entire time. So we switched. Bruce tends to be slightly more of a relaxed walker. He gets distracted by things to smell very easily, which gives me a chance to catch my breath. Arabia is gorgeous, especially in the fall. There are two different small lakes and several old buildings that are made from the quarried rock of the mountain. The beautiful thing about them is that nature is taking the structures back over. Which just goes to show that we need nature, nature doesn't need us. In fact, nature would probably be much happier if we all went away. When it came time toward the end of the trip to hike up the small mountain, we switched dogs and I allowed Willa's energetic little body to pull me up the mountain. It was awesome! Once to the top, we took a snack break and just took in the clean air and surrounding landscape. I feel so much cleaner when I'm out of the city. I can breather easier, think clearer, I just feel better. We came back down from the mountain and I baked Sam a chocolate birthday cake and chili. We ate, drank beer, and watched the best episode of Walking Dead ever. It was a great birthday for Sam and a great day for us as a family.
Here's some photos:

Frankenpie

I needed to go to Aldi's on Tuesday to pick-up one thing for dinner so I called Sam on my way home from work to ask if he'd like to come with me. He said he would, so I picked him up and away we went to grab one thing for dinner. We arrived and I automatically gravitated to the wine section. Aldi's sells pretty good wine for really cheap and I was out so 6 bottles of cabernet went into the cart. I concentrated more on grabbing staples and wine counts as a staple in our household. Don't judge me, red wine is good for my heart...and my stress level. Sam kept getting distracted by all the novelty items Aldi's sells, especially around the holidays...and he was hungry. Big mistake. When I wasn't looking, he'd put three boxes of cereal in the cart. I grabbed pasta sauce, he grabbed three different kinds of specialty German mustards. While I was loading the cart with toilet paper and fresh vegetables, he was distracted by the pie filling selection. All of sudden, he said, "Honey! Look, blueberry pie filling! You can make a pie!!!!" I told him I didn't know how to make a pie and kept shopping, thinking he'd put the can back on the shelf. Nope. "I can make a pie" he said "Where's the pie crust?" I pointed to the back and kept shopping. Before I knew it, he had grabbed the blueberry and apple pie filling as well as the crust. "Honey! Do we have a pie pan?" We don't but I figured a round cake pan wasn't that much different. We finally made it out of the store after dropping over $100. At least I got the kielbasa for the jambalaya...the one thing I actually needed. We get home and while I work on dinner, Sam works on his crazy concoction...which he has named Frankenpie. He let out a couple of devilish laughs while arranging the pie crust...it was a bit disturbing how well he constructed the pie, having never made one before. But at this point in our relationship, I'm rarely surprised by the things he can do. After 40 minutes in the oven, the blueberry/apple Frankenpie was done. And it was awesome!!! The crust was cooked to flaky perfection, the filling was weirdly good considering the mix. I had warned Sam that if the Frankenpie was a success, he had created a family tradition that I would demand every Halloween from here on out. After my first bite, the tradition was firmly cemented in the McFarland family. Can't wait to taste it again next year!

 Here's the pie before more sugar and spices went on top. He also curved the smile more after I took this picture. 

Here it right out of the oven, smiling at me with a twisted expression...it was so tasty!!!