sometimes...life is just wonderful!

 ... It's a beautiful day, and I'm going out into it!  I've been to the pool, then to town with Paul to have our signature notarized on some documents, then came home and mixed up a triple batch of cookie dough.  (I got the dough all finished and in the fridge to chill, when I started putting things away and realized I hadn't added any vanilla!  oops.  Yeah, I got the dough back out, put the just-washed beaters back into the mixer, and mixed in three heaping teaspoons...the dough wasn't cold yet, thankfully.)

I ordered cookie scoops from Amazon, and they're coming today!  I am so unreasonably excited about this.  Since they're not here yet, I'm going with Char and Cam to meet Sonja and Oscar to take their new baby out for a walk at a park on a lake.  I was just going to stay home, but...?  I can bake later.  (Paul is leaving for Budapest tomorrow, and wants to bring some chocolate chip cookies with him to share with co-workers.)

Anyway.  The birthday party yesterday was wonderful.  I had gone to Aldi earlier to get hot sausage, and fruit:  watermelon, strawberries, raspberries, and green grapes are so delicious all together, watermelon cubed and strawberries sliced!.  I got cheese puffs for the grandkids, and cookies.  I made little prize bags for them with different kinds of cookies, Reeses' pumpkins, and little KitKat bars.

Let's see, Cam in the back,Oscar, Ruth in the pink, Grant in the front, Tenny with his new tool box, Grant, Achilles, Sam, Adrian in the front chair...

Happy birthday, dear Tennyson!

Blythe turned two years old!

Wulf and cousin Achilles

Sonja and baby Kaia, Jamie in the chair, Kathryn and Rhys in the kitchen...

Anya, Char with baby Ellis, Oscar, Camille

Declan, Blythe with her new dolls...

Emily still in her scrubs...(can we agree I am a terrible photographer?)

Sunny with her donut...she hates it, and we laughed ourselves silly.  But, she needs to stop chewing at the sore on her leg, it's for her own good.

Margaret made an amazing cake for Tennyson, a dirt bike trail with toy dirt bikes on it.  I had a pumpkin pie from Costco, so there was plenty of dessert.  Margaret and Adrian went out in the sprinkle rainy weather and grilled coneys, hot dogs, and hot sausage, and husked the sweet corn.  I manned the air fryer, making fries, corn dogs, and mini corn dogs.  

All 17 of the grandkids were here:  Anya, Elise, Declan.  Lydia, Ophelia, Denzel.  Achilles, Rhys, Jamison, Ellis.  Wulf, Tennyson, Blythe.  Grant, Ruth, Maeve.  Kaia.  (Did you know she's the tie-breaker?  8 grandsons, 8 granddaughters, then...9 granddaughters!  The girls are winning, and Grace and Sam's baby girl is due in December, so the girls are going to be in the lead, 10-8!)

It's one of those days that make you fall in love with autumn.  The sun is shining, the wind blowing, partly cloudy.  The trees are just starting to turn, just a few red or yellow leaves nestled among the green.  

The Owasco outlet, Owasco Lake...

It was windy!  Char, Oscar, Sonja (and Kaia!), Camille

It's evening now, all quiet in here.  The park was lovely, then a quick trip to Wegmans.  Home...ahh, home, time to bake those cookies with the new cookie scoops!

After filling my six cookie sheets, I scooped the rest onto parchment, to make it quicker to fill the pans.  Two pans in the oven, timer 6 minutes.  Then switch the bottom pan and top pan, six more minutes.  Remove from oven, put two more in, timer back on...this went on and on for hours, ha.  I didn't count the cookies, but around 120.  

And, no pictures of the finished cookies.  Paul has some packed up for his trip, and we have lots here too.

Tomorrow, it's to the airport, then to some garage sales with Evelyn, then to make chicken fajitas for whomever ends up coming here after the football game in Syracuse.  Kathryn will be coming with the kids, and probably Sonja and Oscar.  I'm thinking of stopping at my favorite bakery....what?!  It's near the airport!  It smells heavenly in there!    Oh I dream of having a bakery.  I'd like to bake and sell it, make some extra money.  But I'd like a countertop four rack 1/2 sheet convection oven, or as long as we're dreaming, a full sized whole sheet one, and an extra huge refrigerator with a freezer too.  :). As long as we're dreaming.    

Anyway.  It's been a busy enough day, I've enjoyed the heck out of it, and I'm tired.  Good and properly tired.  You all have a nice night!