Joleyn Larson Photography & Design

this was the most moist flavorful cake i’ve ever made. absolutely wonderful. so thought i’d share the recipe with you all.

2 cups flower, 2 cups sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon almond extract and vanilla extract, 3 cups shredded carrot, 1 cup cooking oil, 4 eggs

{i added the vanilla and almond extract :: the recipe didn’t call for them}

combine dry ingredients then add the carrot, oil and eggs. mix well.

pour into 2 greased 9 x 1 1/2-inch baking pans…i used the square “throw a way kind” . bake in a 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes or till a toothpick comes out clean.

yummo! we didn’t even make the frosting…didn’t need it.

lazy dazy sunday. it was wonderfully warm and sunny with the most gentle breeze. even the ladybugs came out to play. went to church got the most amazing message…ever feel like it was meant just for you? tried a new recipe for carrot cake using our garden fresh carrots, and tried a new lemon rosemary chicken recipe using our fresh herbs…yummo!  spent the afternoon at the mall with my peanut. it was her day for special alone time with mom. i so {love} this one on one time. shopped her favorite stores…and got some really cute things. it was a really nice day to relax and hang out and i felt really blessed today. {warm and fuzzy} just like my pics.

first day of school. alarms went off. kids crawled out of bed. new clothes, puffy eyes and big yawns at the breakfast table. so cute. tinge of excitement mixed with a huge lul…summer can’t be over…can it? hard to get into the swing of things. comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face…”we know mom”…just checking.   snacks…check, water bottles…check. jackets…check. what time is it? out the door in a blazing blur…bus is coming.

hey…what about my kiss…..{squeeze} {xoxoxo} have a great day….mom loves ya.

TR is in 7th grade, Ry in 6th, Alex in 3rd and Jhacie in 1st.

day one :: our first day. the big long drive to billings. yucko…6 hours of fun crammed in the exp. stayed at julie and steve’s for the night. we had a blast. bbq’d out on the deck, swimming and dq ice cream.

day two :: got our groceries for the week, unpacked,wow…Rock Creek Jewel…Luxury Condominium on Rock Creek…..what a beautiful place…don’t get lost in all this space. check out the view. fishing in the creek.  took a walk uptown. ice cream at scoop’s. cole & gracie’s pics. family fun out on the lawn. arm wrestling. goofing off.

day three :: julie stays with the kids. says go and have some fun. kids are relieved they don’t have to make the day long drive. t. and me take a road trip up the beartooth highway and go to yellowstone national park. no kids. great day. stopped and hiked a bit at the top. followed some mountain goats. found this rock i had to have. spent too much time digging the thing out. yikes…it was a heavy hike back. my hubby can do it…he did. haha! it really was a pretty rock. pink quartz. the park was amazing. loved all the animals. loved mammoth hotsprings. loved the paintpots and the geysers. loved it all. saw the bear right before we headed home. late night. beartooth pass is closed. we take chief joseph bi-way home. wow. beautiful sunset. just beautiful.

day four :: julie and kids go home. we are on our own. get our fishing licenses. get our lunches packed. we head up the mountain to check out the lakes. who see’s bear tooth first? west summit :: photo op. island lake is where we fish for the day. we hike around to some of our favorite spots. have a little bit luck. over to lil bear lake. more fishing. more hiking. back home for dinner and a movie.

day five :: up and over. stopped at the waterfall. went down to rock creek and fly fished. lots of luck there. alex guts his first fish. every one catches something.

day six :: our last day. shopping red lodge local shops. got some goodies. big pot of home made chili. icecream and a game of chess at scoops. quick nap. fishing at greenough lake. hiking too. lots of cute ducks. warm sunny day. relaxing by the lake.  dinner at the red lodge pizza co. hot tubbing. bubble tub. nacho libre. {I was wondering if you would like to join me in my quarters this night… for some toast. } winding down. time for bed.

day seven :: wake up quick trip down town. get my “root bowl” at my favorite shop C.C. Legends. meet the shop’s dogs…Lady and Katie.{big sigh}  time to go back home. brunch with julie and kids in billings. long drive ahead………………………….so good to be home in our own beds tonight. what  a great vacation. we had such a great time. i loved this post. it took forever to get done. but i love it. this was the best one yet. can’t wait to go back and see what happens next time.

wow, my blog has been dead for a while. what happened after the first of the month? been more busy than ever…i know i thought i was when baseball was in full swing…but really it got worse…. I think school time snuck up on me so fast this time around…knocked me right on my butt! I knew our vacation was still coming up too, so really had to get busy and get stuff done.

School shopping for four kiddos. Insane!! Supplies, new shoes…new shoes for gym…..soccer gear x3, new shirts, new pants, locker stuff, gym bags. I mean, really the lists kept flowing in, and mom was in the stores every other day trying to keep up. I can finally say….{cough, cough}….i am done! We are ready for school. Bring it on. We start this coming Wed. and whether the kids can admit to being ready or not…mom is. I mean, not ready for summer to be over…it hardly feels like we had one this time….but i’m ready in the sense that nothing else is needed from good ol mom to send my kiddos off to school. haha!

having said all the above. i now have a ton of vacation pics to go through, play with, organize. we had the most amazing vacation this year.a week long adventure…and yeh, another trip up to red lodge, montana and those wondrous mountains {our fourth time} but this time around…no tents, no cabins…instead a rock creek resort condo! wow, it was amazing and we were so spoiled. i just can’t get enough of the MT mountains. i swear i think i could live there. each time we make the treck up through those crazy winding switchbacks and reach the summit…it takes my breath away. it just inspires me. i could stop every turn and take a picture of something beautiful. {sigh} it is heaven on earth. the kids had a blast. tracy was able to unwind and relax and i just soaked it all in. literally in that fabolous bubble tub we had in our master suit. i told you this time we were spoiled.

We spent several days fishing and hiking around our favorite spots. even ventured into some new spots thanks to our little handy dandy hiking book we bought. island lake, long lake, rock creek itself, we tried lily lake which had great views, but no great fishing spots. lil bear lake was a fun place to run around. i could go on and on. i feel like a tour leader…c’mon….i’ll show ya around the great out doors.

i promised pics…and there are a ton…so i’m off to get to work on them. don’t forget…set up an account with word press…over there in the section called “my meta :: rss feed” ….click on register…and sign your self up…easy peasy really….then ta-duh….you can log in and leave us comments till your lil heart is content. we love to see who stops by.

c’mon…just go do it already!

so now…back to work on those pictures….

{hugs}

joleyn

when we were in minot for the fair we spent the night at the sleep inn again. we love this place! it has this giant water slide park and the most fabulous breakfast a family could have. even mom did the slides…..even though there is not one pic of her in the pool…hmmm…guess there is an advantage to holding the camera.

the four of them went down together….peanut is in there some where.

We went to the minot state fair again…i think this is three years in a row now…is that a family tradition yet? we loved it. took in all the rides. ate all the food. dodged the carni’s. checked out exhibits. got a little bit of sun.

over all…had a great time with the family. i didn’t bring my baby though….my big canon….instead i shot these pics with my old sony cyber shot 7.2…think  i may have some fair entries for next year.

lil peanut on the merry go round. after that we hit the big kid rides.

alex and jhacie on the “SWING”.

see them up there? way up there in the sky!!

then to the roller coaster…wave  your hands in the air like you just don’t care.

then to the pathway pond to try and snag a fish…peanut was so worried this was our “long” vacation. she did’t catch a thing here…just making sure she still had another try in the mountains.

ry and mom.

alex up in the swing again…he thought it was so relaxing up there.

ry, jhacie and dad.

jhacie and ryan. this ride didn’t go so well. first time for peanut on the “favorite” ol’ genesis.

it took about 4 turns total, and i thought she was gonna lose it all. the carni stopped the ride after 4 turns….he must have thought the same thing. 

safe and sound in her momma’s arms. maybe next year sweetie.

the older boys going up in the “fierce” ride. 

my favorite ride…the big one.

dad even won me a duck. ok, so i bagged him to win me something…can’t be choosy.

tr.jr and tr.sr.