More late summer

Summer is hanging on out here, and we're loving it. On Saturday we had fun just hanging out in the yard together. The girls got the idea to sit on the sides of these chairs and shout "Neigh!" Clearly, they were riding white steeds in their minds. Elena took Soft Dog along:

But Clara rode solo:

Until both sisters decided to share a single chair/set of horses. Here they are clapping at their antics:

Then they decided to be great helpers to Dad, who was washing his bike. They adore this bike stand, and love helping Steve do anything:

A helicopter!

On Sunday it cooled down a little bit. We were twisting bits of string into pretzels, and then Mom decided it would be fun to make REAL pretzels. So we did:

Our finished products, sprinkled with cinnamon sugar:

We've been cooking/baking up a storm here lately -the girls are so into it and ask to "cook, cook!" all the time. We made a spiced plum pie on Friday to share with friends, and although the bubbled-out juices might not look so pretty, the taste is PERFECT for end-of-summer beginning of fall:

The recipe is HERE if you want it (just double the cornstarch). Happy end of summer!