Canning to the Moon and Back: A Photo A Day: Week 34

Day 231

August 19: I know that every time it's late and I haven't taken a photo for the day, inevitably I take one of the moon. In my defense, isn't the moon spectacular?

Day 232

August 20: Today the boys and I went to the county fair with some friends. I have to say that I was a bit disappointed. Growing up in Wyoming the county fair was a big deal. The Utah County fair did not have nearly as many animals, displays, or exhibits as I expected. Oh well! At least the company was great and the old tractors were cool.

Day 233

August 21: Our peach tree outside is starting to drop fruit like crazy. So today I canned 14 quarts of peach pie filling. I can't wait to put this yummy stuff inside a flaky crust and cover it all with ice cream!

Day 234

August 22: Today's late night picture is of Jonah fast asleep. Good thing my boys are such sound sleepers. They don't even notice when the flash goes off!

Day 235

August 23: Today I picked tons of tomatoes and a whole pile of peaches. I thought this bushel of peaches was particularly lovely. I have already bottled so many peaches and given a bunch away. So these peaches would be more lovely if they could preserve themselves!

Day 236

August 24: Today we went to the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. It was $2 Tuesday, so we all went for a great price. Luckily we went later in the day and the museum wasn't too crowded. The boys had a great time with mommy and daddy, looking at the dinosaur bones.

Day 237

August 25: This week has been so busy with all the canning I've been doing while trying to continue to fix meals and keep the house relatively clean. Today was especially busy and this evening I was desperate for a bike ride. I didn't make it out until it was getting dark, but luckily I have really great headlights for my bike. The moon looked lovely, so I took another picture of it.

Day 238

August 26: While picking fruit earlier in the week we caught this little guy. Today we decided to let him go. Jonah had a great time watching the grasshopper crawl all over his hand... right up until it pinched his hand with it's mandibles. Then the fun was over! I was pretty sure Jonah was not mortally wounded, but he cried and howled and said "Mommy, I never want to catch another grasshopper ever again!". Somehow, probably because he is a boy, this statement just made me laugh.



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Hosted by Chris

Swimming in Sauce

I know that for many of you this time of year means "back to school". Since my boys are both under the age of four, that doesn't really apply to me yet.

Around here August is the start of home canning season! Just check out what I picked from my garden the other day:

Tons of tomatoes and more than a bushel of peaches. I already canned 14 quarts of peach pie filling over the weekend and can't believe I still have so many peaches!

So yesterday I decided that I'd better get busy. The boys love to help me use the strainer attachment for my Kitchen Aid to get rid of the tomato seeds and skins.

It took me a few hours to get through all those tomatoes. Then I had to add the onions and spices and cook the spaghetti sauce for a bit. I filled my 23 quart pot up to the top! Then I bottled the sauce. I was up until after 11 p.m. last night getting it done. Boy was I tired! But the spaghetti sauce sure is delicious... and beautiful!

Now if only all those peaches weren't still sitting there waiting for me! Oh the joys of home canning. At least my pantry will be full over the winter, right?

Apes, Moon Peaches and the Tepee: A Photo A Day: Week 33

Day 225

August 13: Spent a fun-filled day at the zoo with friends. Usually I don't take many pictures of the animals at the zoo because they generally don't turn out well. This particular visit I got this very nice shot of Acara, one of the orangutans, smiling at us.

Day 226

August 14: Isn't Eli just the cutest? I LOVE his bright blue eyes!

Day 227

August 15: Here is my late night shot for the week. Good thing the moon was out or I don't know what I would have taken a picture of!

Day 228

August 16: One of the limbs broke off our peach tree today. I guess we should have picked some of these yummy peaches a little bit sooner!

Day 229

August 17: One of our back fence neighbors put up a rather large tepee in their back yard. It was pretty noticeable because it is taller than my house! I really feel like I live in the wild west now!

Day 230

August 18: We have had some pretty exciting thunder storms roll through the past couple of days. The best part is that the rain doesn't last too long, it cools things down and makes everything smell nice and clean.

Can you believe I haven't taken a picture yet today? I guess we'll see what I end up with next week.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Hosted by Chris

Fun for You at the Zoo

What a fun and fantastic Friday! The weather was wonderful and the boys and I got to go the the local zoo with some friends. We had such a great time.

My boys love the zoo! We usually try to get there early in the day to avoid the heat and the crowds. There is always something fun to do at the zoo. On this trip we had a ball at the playground; rode on the zoo train; saw the penguins, giraffes, orangutans, tigers, etc; watched the elephant show, and of course took a ride on the carousel.

The zoo animals are awesome, but my boys' favorite activities are riding the train and the carousel. Really, can you blame them? This time Eli chose to ride the leopard and Jonah chose the elephant. Isn't this the most gorgeous carousel ever?

It was a great day at the zoo. We left before it got too hot and before the kids got too tired. Going to the zoo with friends is awesome! An added bonus is that I have proof that I was at the zoo with my boys!

Go check out the fun at Angie's. She's having a cow today!

CSNstores.com $60 Gift Card Winner

Random.org has spoken, and the winner of the Gift Card from CSNstores.com is comment #55, lmurley2000@yahoo.com. Congratulations! I have already contacted the winner and she is excited to spend her gift certificate.

Thanks to all who entered and be on the lookout for another great giveaway very soon!

Pool Days: A Picture a Day: Week 32

Day 217

August 5: We let our last two butterflies go today. The boys really loved them! I was right about these two being "busy" last week. They laid tons of little mint green eggs. We are going to see if we end up with more caterpillars.

Day 218

August 6: After swimming lessons today the boys and I went out gathered thistles because the infallible internet says that is what our painted lady larvae will eat. It was a hot and prickly job. The bad news is that even though I did my research, I don't think any of them are going to make it. It seems I do best with caterpillars you order online that come in a cup with their own food so I don't have to do anything!

Day 219

August 7: Papa sent Eli a Schwinn roadster trike just like Jonah's. Now I have two little tykes on trikes!

Day 220

August 8: Our garden is starting to show bits of color other than green. There are TONS of red tomatoes out there, including these yummy cherry tomatoes! I guess that means that canning season will soon be upon me!

Day 221

August 9: I often pass by these silos while I am riding my bike. Today I happened to pass them in the van on our way to one of the nearby Walmart stores. The silos are on a farmers field, so I think they are used to store grain, but I could definitely be wrong!

Day 222

August 10: We were slow leaving the pool today after swimming lessons. The empty pool made me think about how lonely the water will be after swimming lessons finish up this week.

Day 223

August 11: Here are the kids kicking it by the side of the pool again. Jonah has absolutely loved swimming lessons this summer! I am glad we signed up for a second session. I am also glad that our last day of lessons is tomorrow and I don't have to go to the pool every. single. day.

Day 224

August 12: My last swimming lesson picture! Can you believe this is the kid that didn't want to put his head under the water at the beginning of the summer? He passed his class and apparently has turned into a little fish!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Hosted by Chris

Tricycle Gang

A rather large box was delivered to our house this week. Guess what was inside?

Apparently while he was helping with the roof, Papa noticed that both of the boys preferred to ride Jonah's red Schwinn roadster trike over the other trikes we have. They sometimes argued over who got to ride it, and they often had to take turns. So Papa got Eli a blue Schwinn roaster tricycle of his very own! Hooray!

 I can tell you that there are two very excited little boys at my house.

So now it seems we have our own little tricycle gang! You'll know when they are coming when you hear the bbrrriing-rrriing! of their little bells as they pedal their roasters down the sidewalk. They are so stinking cute!

Just beware! It's when you see the bikes without the boys that you know you should really watch out for trouble from the tricycle gang.

A Photo A Day: Week 31

Day 211

July 30: Today we let some of our painted lady butterflies go. The butterfly kit we got was wonderful! All five caterpillars made their chrysalises and emerged as gorgeous butterflies. We have watched and fed them for a week now and decided to let them fly free. We actually only letting three of them go because two of them were definitely "busy" at the time.

Day 212

July 31: We have had the most awesome clouds this week! I have found myself looking at the sky on several occasions and saying, "Oh, wow!". On our way home from doing errands, Honey Daddy stopped in a parking lot so I could take this picture of the setting sun sending rays through the clouds.

Day 213

August 1: To say thank you to all those that helped out with our roof we decided to make little gift bags of lifesavers with a note saying "You are a lifesaver!". While I was putting the thank yous together, Jonah was helping me out by stacking up the lifesavers.

Day 214

August 2: Today we started our second session of swimming lessons. This time around I have some friends to hang out with poolside. Isn't it nice of my friend to bring her cute baby so I have something to take pictures of besides the kids in the pool?

Day 215

August 3: Speaking of kids in the pool, here is Jonah and his friends kicking their feet at the side of the pool. Doesn't that look like fun? Jonah's class consists entirely of himself and his two friends. He is loving it and doing incredibly well.

Day 216

August 4: We had the most incredible thunder and lightening storms this afternoon.  At one point the downpour was so incredible that I could see the water drops splashing on my driveway. So I lay down on my stomach in the carport and managed to get this cool picture. You can even see some little balls of hail in the water. The crashy thunder and the flashy lightening continued most of the evening and into the night. It was quite the storm!

Day 217: I didn't get a chance to upload my picture for today before I left for work. So now you'll have to wait for it!

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