2 MILES, 2000 FT. in 2 HOURS

Mt. Garfield is our desert mountain; standing 2000ft. above the valley with a 2 mile trail going up the side. It's very steep quite unlike any other trail I've hiked. Terran and I took a beautiful, cool Saturday morning a couple weeks ago & made the climb. It's something that locals can't help but do once in a while. There is even a running race up and down it in the Spring.

A little breathless, but we conquered the mount.

Trying not to let the unease show.

Kaia didn't like being that high in the least bit. Aside from being slightly cross eyed in the picture she had a panicked look on her face while we were on top. While...

Kojo the daredevil just had to see what was at the bottom.

The highlight of the hike was the wild horses we saw on the trail. They were absolutely gorgeous. We love how strong and healthy they looked.

The Horse Whisperer.

This guy looked a little sad we were leaving, or maybe he's just playing peekaboo.

Kojo the Ghost Dog

Playing the Tourist

Hanging Lake about an hour and 1/2 drive and a mile hike up a steep hill. Well worth the walk with this at the end. It's a huge tourist hike in Glenwood Springs boasting of 80,000 people a year.

Wes and Terran living on the edge.

My Honey and I

For All You Coffee Lovers

I have never been a huge fan of low fat foods, especially desserts. I was raised with the motto if you’re going to eat it, it should be the real thing and taste good. No substitutes!! Well, as I grow older and those real foods I enjoy so much try to stick around longer than I’d prefer and in places I’d rather they didn’t, I’m a little more open to light foods. It was with a bit of hesitation that I tried this recipe and found that it is great. It tastes yummy and is gentle to the waist line. Ahh, you gotta love that.

Cafe con Leche Cream Pie

3/4 C. Chocolate Wafer Crumbs (about 15 cookies, such as Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers or Chocolate Grams work)

4 tsp Butter, melted

Cooking spray

3/4 cup extra strong brewed coffee

1 1/4 tsp unflavored gelatin

1 (8 ounce) block 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1 (8 ounce) block fat-free cream cheese

1 (14 ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk

3 cups frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

1/2 tsp unsweetened cocoa

1. Preheat oven to 350

2. Combine chocolate wafer crumbs and butter, tossing with a fork until well combined. Firmly press mixture into the bottom of a 9-inch spring-form pan coated with with cooking-spray. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes; cool completely.

3. Pour brewed coffee into a medium microwave safe bowl. Sprinkle that gelatin over coffee; let stand 10 minutes. Combine cheeses and milk in a food processor' process until smooth. Microwave coffee mixtures at HIGH for 20 seconds. Add coffee mixture to cheese mixture, and process until well combined. Pour cheese mixture into prepared crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Spread the whipped topping evenly over filling; sprinkle cocoa powder over pie. Chill one hour before serving.

Yield 10 Servings

Spacial Notes: This dessert needs to be prepared the day before serving for chilling purposes. When I first read this recipe that did not register and our pie didn't set all the way. :)

Bon Appetit,

Naomi

VISITORS

I am excited as my family is here for almost a weeks visit. My mom, my brother Tim, and niece Kaitlyn drove down from Washington for a end of summer visit. I could not think of a better way to end summer and celebrate the Labor Day Weekend. :)

Kaitlyn was excited to see me and Uncle Terran, but it was nothing compared to her excitement to see the dogs. She and Kaia are best buddies, one following the other every where. You can't see Kaia in the picture, but Kaitlyn would blow the bubbles and Kaia would run after them trying to bite them. Quite cute!!

Naomi

Birthday Dinner

Last night for my birthday (it is today, but we celebrated last night) my hubby made the most amazing dinner for me. He cooked all afternoon and evening for this dinner. He made stuffed sole, with a roasted onion in a bacon wrap, a cheese and herb bread, and a artichoke, grapefruit salad. I could not believe my eyes or my mouth. He used my Jamie Oliver cookbook for the dinner and then we had our annual chocolate peppermint cake for dessert. I love good food and love my darling man even more. Having both together was wonderful!!!!!

Morning Harvest

I picked this entire bowl of beautiful red cherry tomatoes this morning. They aren't washed or sorted yet; just fresh from the vine.

Here is our garden this year. It has become a crazy jungle. The ground vines are cantaloupe, two tomato palnts in back ground (the large one is the cherry toms and is taller than my 5'2" height), behind the the toms is our watermelon. Please note that the tire is the tie off for the string holding the tomato plant up. It looks kind of junky, but has a valuable purpose.

Because the plants are so wild it's hard to see if the toms I'm picking are really ripe. These are waiting for the sun to help finish adding the last bit of blush they need to be ready eat.


Enjoying the harvest,
N.

Vacation

It’s a lovely, lovely cool Saturday morning (it rained last night) and I felt I should share about some of the fun we’ve been having in the sun. Actually I’m going to share about our mini vacation which was super and fairly cool too.
During one of my weeks off last month (Yes, I do mean July, if you can believe it. Time is flying.), Terran also took the week off and we went CAMPING. Hurray, hurray we got out of town and went to the mountains spending five days and four nights just the two of us, plus the dogs. We saw a total of 5 people out there and they were just passing through.

The Camp

I do not suggest forgetting the pump to blow up the air mattress with, especially when it is a queen size. T & I both spent quite a bit of time using up a large supply of our hot air to make sure we had a comfy bed to sleep on. You have to look through the car to see me blowing.

Our first night out we got barked at by a group of three coyotes on a hill across from camp. You have to look very carefully to see them. Terran was suprised that they would draw attention to themselves so close to us. We think the dogs upset them. Kojo and Kaia didn't know what to think.

Aah, snack time.

Kojo spent much of his time in camp trying to coax squirrels and chipmunks out of the trees. Poor guy, it didn't work. I personally wouldn't have shown my teeth so much if I had been him. You can't see it, but he is standing on a fallen log to get as high as he could.

Camp Causalty

There always has to be some sort of injury when camping. Out poor tent was the one to suffer this time. We think one the dogs stepped on it and poked a couple holes. The bandaids did work and kept the rain out of the tent duing the afternoon showers.

Beauty

Terran took both these photos

The Wilderness

On a hike we saw a gorgeous herd of Elk. It had several bulls and a couple of calves with their moms. I like this one the best. It shows how cute the calf is.

Dogs are like toddlers and are very difficult to capture in good photos together, because they are always moving. We got several great dog photos this trip. I am thrilled! Here's a very cute one.

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music

King and Queen of the Mountain. Kojo and Kaia are obsessed with climbing any rock formation and standing at the top. I think Terran and I are to blame, because we are always hiking and taking them with us, even when we have to lift them up little cliffs and such to make the summit.

Home Sweet Home

Finally, a really good smore made with the toaster oven. The ones roasted over the fire didn't turn out to well.

There's no place like home to get a good sleep

Kaitlyn

THE TWO DAD'S

Happy Father's Day !!!!!!!

Washington

Finally, here they are, pictures from Olympia of the World Class Hansen Family and One Goodwin. I am proud of myself, because I figured out how to retrieve the pictures myself. I am quite dense about the computer and any step forward is reason to celebrate. Though when Picasa decides to boycott a couple of adorable pictures by not letting me post them the celebration wanes slightly.

Enjoy,
Naomi

We spent a day at the beach having a blast and
freezing.

Auntie Naomi and Kaitlyn

I love this picture of Salome and Kaitlyn

My brother Tim and Kaitlyn feeding the birds.

My Mom Spoiled me rotten by taking me to dinner at the
Space Needle in Seattle. We had the most beautiful day with
nary a cloud in the sky and good company.

The Space Needle. We are dinner
at the very top. The elevator has windows
all around it making the ride up
is a little nerve racking

My Mom put together a lovely tea party for just the Girls. It
was quite fun to dress up, eat little sandwiches, and drink tea
together.

Nisqually, a beautiful wet lands area that I have walked since
I was a little girl. While walking with my brothers Mt. Rainier
showed us her face.

STILL ALIVE AND KICKING

A month!!! Has it really been a month since I last wrote? I can't really claim the little up date about me visiting my fam was REAL post either, so I will be harsh on myself and admit to longer than a month. Oh, the shame, oh the shame. I have had such high hopes about staying on top of blogging of being a once a weeker or at least a twice a monther. The latter is a little more realistic. Especially for this time of year. :) But that does not seem to be happening. Today I am claiming as a new begining, a clean slate and from this moment forward I will blog (Hmm....we'll see). I love high hopes for the future.

I took many wonderful pictures in Washington that I am longing to share, but can't find where my darling husband put them on the computer. So, I'm afraid that you (if there are any readers left) will have to wait a little longer.

This again is going to be short. I need to head to bed soon and want to have time to read everyones blogs. :)

Catching up in cyber world,

Naomi

Great Northwest

Just a short note to let everyone know that I am enjoying the cool spring weather of Olympia, WA with my wonderful family. I am here to spend a week with my parents, siblings, and niece. Lucky me! Can't wait to share pictures and stories.

Naomi