Avocado Smoothie?!

Yep, well a little avocado, and lots of other good stuff too. As I have mentioned before here at Alaskan Brothers my boys and their "picky eating" habits in addition to living as rural as we do can make it a challenge to have the things on hand you'd like to. At certain times each month the fridge starts to get a little empty so like most Alaskans you get used to using what you have. Luckily my kids like smoothies and I can put a plethora (never typed that word before, it's weird but I like it) of good things into them, like veggies, yogurt,spices etc. Thank you to the inventor of the blender by the way. So yesterdays smoothie turned out extra creamy, yummy and almost milk shake like, and here's what I threw into it:
A brown frozen banana (we also use them in bread, muffins, pancakes etc.)
1/4 of a leftover avocado
1/2 cup or so, maybe more, I don't measure anything, of honey greek yogurt
*these first 3 ingedients are what gave it that creamy ice cream like texture
juice, any kind, we had cranberry cherry in the fridge
a dash of ginger powder (fresh is awesome if you have it)
a squirt of lemon juice
3 or 4 ice cubes
and blend until creamy!
I love experimenting with berries,veggies, juices & yogurts and the boys, most always, love it no matter what's in it. Sometimes it's more of an icy smoothie, no yogurt just fruit, ice and juice. I do tell them after what's in it. So they know what veggie they had. Jaxon has been really good about trying new things lately, Hawken not so much. We are working on it. Today was our turn to bring snack to Hawken's class so last night I made some homemade granola bars and they were a hit. They are super easy. We also brought some bulk dried banana chips, not as popular but something Hawken surprisingly likes, sometimes...
Granola Bars:
Warm a little butter in a pan, this helps with sticking issues. Add some peanut butter and honey or a little brown sugar. Get it warm and gooey then add whatever you want, I did oatmeal, sunflower seeds and some mini choc. chips (at the end so they were not completely melted) because it's what I had. Sometimes I do dried cranberries or raisins even Cheerios or granola cereal works if you don't have oatmeal. Then scrape your mixture onto a plate or cookie sheet or wax paper works well, press it down and shape it. I put it  in the freezer for an hour or so and then the fridge for the night to set up. Cut into shapes with cookie cutters or just sqaures and enjoy. * (Sorry if I have misspelled anything, spell check isn't working right now and I so winged the word "plethora" I have no idea if that one is right but I really wanted to use it) ;0)

now this is the holiday spirit...

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/nypd-boots-homeless-man-photo-145219581.html

I don't do alot of "links" or "rants" here in this blog space but here is a story worth reading and passing on, the kind there should be more of in the news, the type of story that can help restore our faith in humanity. Kudos to the fine officer in this picture and best wishes to the man he was helping. How many people do you think noticed this mans situation but just kept walking... Too many is my guess. (click on the link above to have your "heart strings" tugged on a bit)

Jaxon in black & white

Michelle really captured Jaxon's silliness in these. He is very expressive and artistic in so many ways... Thanx Michelle, these will be treasured photos in our family! Crow's View Photography is located right here in Talkeetna but she will travel to the Valley, Anchorage and Girdwood to do photos shoots indoors or out and her specialty is pregnant mamas and new baby photos as well as family photos shoots. Leave a comment here if you want her info. or contact me with an email mountntopdesigns@yahoo.com
*a funny side note; Jax was the first Talkeetna resident Michelle met here. He was talking to her and her little boy thru a fence at the local brewery one day. I met her a few weeks later at the playground and she recognized Jax from her lunch that day at the brewery. Pretty funny, that was like 3 years ago now. Our boys are good buddies, Hawken refers to her older son by his full name, "my best friend Porter"  Love it!

Hawken in black & white

                                                                          

                                                                       

                                                                          

These are the photos my friend Michelle Crow took of the boys last winter when we went to her house for a playdate. She is an awesome photographer and also has 2 boys. I really love these black and white versions of the photo shoot. What a couple of handsome little boys huh?!  :0) Ok I made them so I'm bias but I know a few Grandmas that will agree with me for sure...

Fairy House

I did a craft show called "Enchanted Village" at a Waldorf inspired charter school in Anchorage last month. It was great, lots of cool stuff and nice families. I was also placed right next to a friend of mine who makes lovely pottery and awesome sundries. Well this little fairy house was just for fun and made with stuff I had around the house. The door, windows and acorn lamp are a set I bought for my shop that was built around a tree. I had them at the base of it, a huge Cottonwood. Anyway I guess I'm kind of a dork but alot of the kids, and adults, liked it. I just had it on display with my little fairy finger puppet propped up on a chop stick behind the door. Well here it is...

                                                                  

                                                                           

I created the log on watercolor paper, attached it to a base and glued moss around the bottom. I got tricky with strategically placed holes, string and tape to get the door, windows and acorn hanging in their spots. The top is covered with brown tissue paper and at the event a couple little boys picked up the chopstick with the little fairy on it and poked holes in the top. I kind of saw that coming and wasn't surprised but watching it happen was pretty amusing. I can add some more tissue over the top and patch it up if I so choose. It's fun but I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it. May just have it out in my booth as a prop next summer, we'll see. More crafts in the works, so there's more to come...

Our Halloween

We braved some pretty strong chilly winds to go out trick-or-treating this year after an hour and a  half at the PTA's Harvest Carnival. Jax was a "Clone Trooper" and Hawk was "Super Man" I mean "Super Hawken" as he was calling himself that day.