Pumpkin Roll

I made 3 of these for my sister's wedding. They are the perfect autumn treat! They are too good not to share the recipe! Have a good weekend! Hadley and I are off to the apple orchard this afternoon. I'm thinking we'll make apple crisp tonight. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE fall?!

Cake:
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 eggs
2/3 cup mashed (canned) pumpkin
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Filling:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 15 X 10-inch jelly roll pan. Cut wax paper to fit the bottom of the pan and leave an inch overhang on each of the short ends of the pan. Lightly grease the wax paper and sides of the jelly roll pan.

Mix the sugar, flour, salt, soda, cinnamon, eggs and pumpkin in a large bowl. Once mixed, pour mixture over the waxed paper. Sprinkle the walnuts, if using, on top of the mixture. Bake for 14-15 minutes until edges pull away from the sides of the pan and center is done.

Lay a large dishtowel on the counter top (it is best to use a dishtowel without any texture – a tea towel or similar towel works best). Spread a thick dusting of powdered sugar all over the towel. When the cake comes out of the oven, turn the pan upside down on the powdered sugar-laden towel so the wax paper is on the top. Gently peel off the wax paper, being careful not to tear the roll. Starting at one of the short ends, roll the pumpkin cake up with the towel to cool. While the roll is cooling, mix the cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and powdered sugar together until it is light and creamy. Once the roll is cool, unroll and with an offset spatula, carefully spread filling in an even layer over the cake. Roll it up without the towel and place in the refrigerator (covered with plastic wrap or wax paper) for about an hour before serving.

Smile!

Here is Hadley at my sister's wedding. He looked quite charming if I do say so myself!
I made the 3 amigos these adorable onsies. It was really hard to get a good picture of them. Hadley only wants to attack poor Trenton's face!


Here is my beautiful sis and new bro-in-law. Congratulations! May you have a lifetime of bliss! We love you so much!

Busy Bees

Why hello blogging world. It's been a quite a whirl wind for the Ekart's lately, so this might turn into a long post. Where to begin... I still have photos from Hadley's Birthday party to post. I've been having issues with photos on here. Loren needs to convert photos before I can post them apparently. I will try to stay interesting without photos.

We went to St. Louis
Loren got a call from Red Bull asking him to wake board through the jumping carpe in the Mississippi River. I know what you are thinking, "What in the world are jumping carpe?!" I had the same question until we watched a video on YouTube about it. Check it out. It is crazy. We get to St. Louis and get to the river. The guide told us it was too dangerous. Some of the fish get up to 100 pounds! No wake boarding happened, but we did go on an interesting boat ride with the jumping carpe. Now, I hate fish. I get freaked out at the lake about them. I don't want to see them, I don't want to smell them and I certainly don't want to touch them. I have never seen such a sight. Hundreds of fish flipping into the air, some which landed in our boat. I am glad I was not smacked in the face by one! It was unreal. Like I said, check out the videos, it is nuts! The whole "carpe" episode was a side shoot for the main Red Bull Event. The main event was The Mississippi Grind. 5 guys from Minnesota came up with an idea to build a skate park on a river barge and float down the Mississippi River. They Started in Minneapolis and end in New Orleans, with a few stops along the way to host local skateboard competitions. It was pretty sweet. Check out www.redbullusa.com. Even though the wake boarding didn't happen, it was a great getaway. Can't beat a free trip and 20 free cases of Red Bull!

We are in Des Moines
We are currently in Des Moines. Lake life is officially done for the year. Loren is working on a project in Colorado but we will not know anything until January. We will be in Des Moines at least until then. Now is the waiting game. It's a hard place to be but we know that God will direct our path. We have been enjoying lots of family time and nights out with free babysitters! Ah the luxury of living close to family...something we have not had our whole married life. It is not one bit overrated. We have also had fun rediscovering Des Moines. It seems like it has been so long since we have lived here and truthfully it has changed a lot in the past 5 years. I am actually going to work a little bit too. I am going to work at a stationery shop I worked at through high school and college, Letter Perfect. I will work just a few hours a week. It will be fun to have a little something else to do!

Hadley
I seriously need to get the photo issue figured out because Hadley is as cute as ever! He's walking!! He still likes to crawl but he can totally walk all over the place. He is busy, busy, busy and I'm sure he won't slow down. He is like his daddy I believe. He has that little promiscuous personality. Which brings me to a story. I put Hadley down for a nap like usual. He starts crying 1/2 hour into it. I leave him down there for another 1/2 hour. All of the sudden he is screaming. I go down stairs and first I notice it smells like he had a dirty diaper. I walk up to his bed and notice his diaper is off. The little stinker ripped his diaper off, played with his poo and threw it all over the place. Oh and there was a big pile of pee in his crib. I picked him up and brought him upstairs where the lighting was better and I realized he is covered in poo. I didn't know what to do, so I put him in the sink and washed him with dish soap. Yuck!I have learned a very valuable lesson-NEVER put him down for a nap without pants on! Good thing he is so cute! He also has learned how to say ball. It sounds more like ba, but I know that's what he is saying. He is obsessed with the stairs- up and down, up and down we go 100 times a day. He also loves fly swatters and the dogs water dish. Or slapping the swatter in the dog dish. He is 100% boy...messy, loud, busy!

That is all. Sorry, lots to catch up on. Enjoy the fall weather. I love this time of year so very much!

oh me, oh my

It's has been yet another month in between postings. My apologies. I must do better. I should be getting in a new routine here now that it is fall. We went to Vail for my dear friend Shadi's wedding. How can a wedding on the base of a mountain not be perfect? She was a beautiful bride! We are so happy for them as they start their new life together. It was a wonderful getaway for Lor and I. We left Master Hadley with Grandmas and Grandpas for 5 days! I was really dreading saying goodbye and as I walked away my heart was sad. But, it was the best thing for me. It was so fun to just "be free". Anyone who has kids totally knows how every once in awhile you need that time to re-energize. We had a wonderful time in Denver and Vail seeing friends and eating good food.
While in Denver, Loren ran into an opportunity. Boulder Parks and Rec want to hear the idea of a cable park. So, here we are in the first stages of him pitching the idea to Boulder. Hmmm... who knows?! It would be crazy if we moved back. We would love it for the fact of all our friends are there but, being closer to family has been so nice. God has a plan and we are seeking that daily. He will make it happen wherever it shall be.
For now, we are packing our bags and saying goodbye to the lake for now. We will be in Des Moines through the end of the year with our families. And we will wait to see where to go from there. We love not knowing the future...;) We are thankful for supportive friends and family!

Studio Birthday Photos

Oh my sweet, serious faced little man! I love you to pieces! Here is a sampling of photos, including the newest addition to our family Trenton! My sister had him July 31st!

Hadley's Birthday Cupcake from BNC on Vimeo.

Happy 1st Birthday Hadley!

Hadley, you are the joy of our lives. One year ago today I met you for the first time, and I fell in love with your sweet round face. There was such a sense of reality. You were real and you were ours to keep. You are such a wonderful blessing to our lives. Life has felt more complete since you made your entrance. I love that my job is to be with you. I wouldn't want it any other way. I love hearing your sweet voice babbling. I love your sober face 95% of the time. It makes it that much better when you smile. I love all your funny facial expressions. I love how you brush your hair with anything. I love how you pant like the dogs when we ask,"What do the puppies say?". I love your chubby legs that are still apprehensive to walk. I love your puffy feet and sausage toes. I love how excited you get when daddy comes home. I love, love , love that giggle of yours and the glimpses I get of your 4 teeth. The list could go on forever. I love you to the moon and back...it's that simple:)
Happy First Birthday Sweet Hadley!

a little "ha-ha"

Hadley has been sleeping in our closet the past few days because we have had house guests(my family. I just like using "house guests":)) Don't worry our closet is plenty big for Hads and his pack and play. Love that my child sleeps anywhere! Anywho, yesterday I went in to check on him and he was sleeping with a pair of my underwear! And today he was sleeping with a sports bra and tank! The little stinker- he opens my drawers and pulls items out and then falls asleep with them. Thought it was pretty funny. I wonder what he will have in the morning?! I love that silly boy!