Blackberry cinnamon peaches

Several years ago, while preggers with my fist child, my MIL introduced me to canning. I was immediately hooked. First it was peaches, then pears, and finally applesauce. I've missed canning with her since she and her husband are serving a religious mission in Malaysia. When they left, she passed on some old canning equipment to me but I was too apprehensive to process the goods by myself. Now that my two little ones are a bit more independent (and finally playing together nicely!), I decided to go for it with some flair. Peaches with a bit of blackberries and a light cinnamon syrup. Serve with vanilla icecream and graham crakcers. Soooooo yummy!

One of my goals is to have Husband build my own little canning room with endless sturdy shelves for canned good. Everyone would receive my creations for holidays and such. I'll be that crazy canning daughter/sister/friend.

Looking forward to canning thrice as much with you next year, Ellen!

Snotty Sunday

Calvin came down with a slight fever Saturday evening and was down all day Sunday. Nothing major that a little Tylenol couldn't relieve. Husband spoiled him with near constant snuggling all day. He's all perked up today and back to playing with sister.

Four's a crowd

I had the pleasure of hosting Amber's kiddos Friday morning.

Our backyard proved to be great fun. Riding trycles, jumping off the deck... learning new skills!


Slow down and wait for brother!


Future wedding slideshow picutre?


Both my children loved playing with their friends. Come back and see us again, soon!

Calvin's new do

The climbing obsession continues. (But so far, not out of the crib)

Hug Point

In an attempt to escape the heat, we drove our kidlets to the coast this weekend; just past Seaside, OR to Hug Point. I remember this beach fondly as my family frequented this spot when we were young children (before the divorce and all that).


Husband immediately started playing in the sand with the kids, building a huge mountain. Ok, so really he was trying to show them how to make sand castles but they're still into the destroying phase... so, yeah.


Look, mom's back from the bathroom! Go get her!


They were not very interested in the water (yay for my anxiety level!) and I loved seeing Ami beg brother to play with her.


Like most outings, we were only there for a couple of hours before the cranky tiredness set in. But I am now seriously considering camping. Next summer, of course.

And then there was Tabby

The following day after returning from Utah/Colorado, we got to see my sister Tabitha and her family. They had driven all the way from Illinois, stopping to see various friends and family along the way.

Madison, Dirk, Janelle, Tabitha... and you know the rest.


Grammy Norma and Aunt Deanaca hosted a BBQ Monday evening. Best teriyaki chicken I've ever had (and I am NOT a fan of chicken)!


Ami couldn't get enough of those stairs, or her cousins. She was starting to expect meeting new cousins everyday.


Tuesday evening, they came for dinner at our house. Tabby enjoyed spending some time in the house she grew up in and catching up. I wish we'd had more time together.


In the span of a little over a week, my kids got to see almost all their 19 earthly cousins from both sides of the family (except Jaden and Logan, but they're both semi-local), 16 aunts and uncles (except my oldest sister Mira) and two of their three sets of grandparents (we miss you, Bill and Ellen!). I (and neighbor girl Kendall) noticed a significant improvement in Amidala's social skills. Yay for summer road trips!

On the road again

On the way back to Washington, we stopped at Cami's again. But instead of heading out the next morning, we stayed and played all day Saturday.


Cousin Kelle, Cousin Kelle, come play with Ami!




Well, most of us played. Husband and Josh framed up the basement.


Cami was so accommodating and we were very comfortable. My kids had a blast with their cousins.


That evening, Anna and her family joined us for a yummy rib dinner. Husband and Josh did not stop for long and were back working in the basement before dessert. We were on the road again by 6am Sunday morning and finally made it home a little after 8pm. Ugh, all that driving was the worst. Next time we're flying.