Fall seemed to come and go so quickly, it seems like yesterday I was just planning for Halloween and here we are into the Christmas season already. Life has been a whirlwind lately after we got back from our trip to California.
Here are some pictures of our fall to winter transition…
I’d never had sauerkraut until I met Curt in Nebraska. “Fermented cabbage? Really? You eat that?” was my first thought. But, then again, I love kimchee and figured I’d give it a try. And of course, I’m a huge fan now. You can’t beat homemade sauerkraut and after trying store-bought kraut (which is “fermented” with vinegar) I was determined to make our own. So this was the year. Huge heads of organic cabbage were just $2 at the farmer’s market, so I went to town and bought 6. After chopping the heads, we added some canning salt, dumped it into Curt’s beer making bucket and waited for 4 weeks. Sure enough, after a month, the smell of fresh sauerkraut permeated our house and Curt canned them up. Yummy!!
Grandma chopping 6 heads of cabbage from the farmer's market
Our canning "crock"
The official taste tester
We also made it to the free day at the Portland Japanese Garden where my mom, Laird and I stood in awe at the beautiful fall colors of the Japanese maples.
Fall colors at the Japanese Garden
Grandma and Laird
Japanese maple on fire
Leaf printing
Lastly, we were unsure about whether we were going to get a Christmas tree this year, as we are going to be in Hawaii for 2 weeks. But, since Laird is older and beginning to understand more, we thought he would enjoy finding one and decorating it. So the day after thanksgiving we went to a farm just a minute down our road and found the perfect tree. Having a tree really does make everything seem Christmasy!
Finding our perfect Christmas tree
Laird esta loco
Laird getting instructions from picky Mommy:)
Curt's awesome apple pie with lattice crust top
Daddy's with wee ones at the Zoo lights
Laird's Garden 
Okay, are there any more sauerkraut left? You need to bring some home. Wow…the pictures at the grarden came out beautiful. I need to get a good camera. My cell phone pictures did not come out as pretty as yours. Yummy pie! Curt, I am putting my order for our Christmas dinner. Laird, do you want more decorations? I have too many of them. The tree looks pretty. Laird, you can teach me leaf printing since I picked up so many different types of leaves around your neightborhood and park. I wish I could have been there to see the decorations and lightings at the zoo. It must have been awesome. Yep, getting in the Christmas festive mood. The stockings are hung and the Christmas tree is already decorated here waiting for you, Laird. We are all anxiosly waiting to spend the holidays with you all.
Laird says he is excited to see everyone in Hawaii too for xmas!!