Family Fall Session. Calming!

The words calm, kind, and gentle come to the tip of my tongue with this post.
Suzanne & Paul are all those wonderful words.
I love being around nice children. And these kiddos have a genuine niceness to them.
Zach and Hanna are easy to be around.

I've known Suzanne for a lot of years.  In fact I knew her long before she knew me.
I was a Lifeguard.  She was the smooth swimmer in the pool.  Very talented 15 year old at that time.

Out paths separated and have come back together in all kinds of ways.
This wonderful Mom has become such a huge support to me, a role model and a friend for life.  Being a nurse, she has been an amazing resource to me as a Mumma.  Paul comes by the nickname, DIESEL, honestly.  This man can ride a bike like no one I've ever known.

Wonderful folks.
And the wee sweet girl in these photos is one day older than my wee man and is truly as sweet as she looks.
The blonde boy, I could hang out with this lil dude for weeks.  He has spirit galore and is very tender hearted!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from an evening last week.
They introduced me to SHANNON TERRACE in Fish Creek Park.
It left me in awh!

Chocolate Chip AMAZING!

This is my MOM's recipe!
I posted another chocolate chip cookie recipe here...
I may have said it was the best... but I told a wee fib!
My Mom's recipe is the BEST!

I may have made this recipe TWICE this week.
I had to!
Friends are having babies!
Friends are having tea parties!
Friends are having cravings!
A girls gotta do...

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

Cream butter, oil, eggs, sugars & vanilla.
Add the remaining ingredients.
Drop on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake at 335 degrees for 12 mins.

Here is the most important rule.... DO NOT OVER BAKE THESE BEAUTIES!
If you do anything, undercook them.  No one likes a crusty, dry, chocolate chip snack.

AND
Be warned.
If you substitute butter for margarine (who the hell does that?!) or apple sauce for the sugars I am not responsible for the epic disappointment.
DO NOT ruin a perfectly good and fattening cookie by trying to make it healthy, that is LAME!  Where I'm from it is anyway.

SOOOOOOO GOOD!
Thanks to my friend Colleen for asking for this recipe.  It prompted me to post

All kinds of happy!

I'm so grateful to have had the chance to spend more time with this wonderful family.

They are so much fun... can't you hear the laughter.

Here are some of my favorite photos.

Isn't their wee man Joshua gorgeous.

You can see his ONE year old photos here... and here.

My favorite part of today so far...

Today in pictures.

Have a wonderful weekend!
We will be enjoying the amazing extended summer.
PEACE!

And after naps we enjoyed it all over again!

Fall!

Here is a little hint on how I spent the evening!

Breath-taking.

Beautiful.

Fall is full on in Fish Creek Park.

WOW!

This Mamma and I go way back.  Way way way back!

I am grateful for the time they spent with me tonight.

We had such a beautiful night to share.  I hope they had as much fun as I did.

Suzanne. Hanna. Zach. Paul.

Aren't these smiles so natural?! You should hear the giggles.

I have so many more wonderful photos of these friends.

Watch for them next week!

Sigh.  Fall is such a magical time of year.

I hope you can get out and enjoy it!