JAM

We have ONE apricot tree in our yard. Unlike last year when we let them all go to waste, this year we picked them and picked them and are still picking them! The branches were so heavy with fruit, they layed on the ground. We gave so much away and ended up keeping a whole bunch!

We picked, washed, pitted, blended and froze them until I was ready to make jam. We ended up keeping over 150 cups of blended fruit! That was just a small portion of what we gave away.

So, the past several days, I entered the jam making world and I love it! I now have jams up to my eyeballs, but what a fun thing to do. I look forward to giving it as Christmas gifts. Here's the statistics:

2 1/2 days
125 lbs of sugar
1 1/2 cases of pectin
2 1/2 cubes of butter
3 bottles of lemon juice
17 cases of jam jars
150 + cups of fruit
1 burned oven mitt
1 good time

Emily even helped and I look forward to the day when my girls and I spend time making jam together! I will post pictures later.

SUMMER 2008

FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

Emily's first day of "school". She goes to the Toddler Lab 2 days each week for 1 1/2 hours each time. At first she was a bit shy, but warmed up right after snack time. She loves it!

FAIR
Grandma Sue and Papa took the children to the Twin Falls County Fair. Their cousins Tristan, Ethan and Maddison also joined them. They all had such a great time riding rides and eating all the junk food they wanted! Even Katie got to enjoy some rides.

HAWAII
We went to a Hawaiin themed birthday party for a friend of ours. We got all dressed up and had a fun time at the party.

Me and my belly at 7 1/2 months pregnant with #4!

YOGURT PAINTING
Emily and Jared were painting one afternoon. So, I put Katie in her highchair and let her "paint' with yogurt. She loved it, but definetly made a mess!

MISCELLANEOUS

Here are some miscellaneous pictures of the children just hanging out this summer.

We have ONE apricot tree in our yard. This year, we decided to do something with them. So, we have been very busy this summer picking apricots and throwing the bad ones over the fence for the horses next door. We spend many hours picking, pitting, blending and freezing. I recently made some jam and syrup. Eight dozen jars and still plenty of apricots left. Keep posted in your mailbox for a treat! (Really, send me your address and I will mail you some jam!)

Here is Jared working hard (heeheehee) at picking apricots...

4TH OF JULY
For 4th of July, we went to Murphy's Hot Springs to the cabin. Emily loved fishing and Jared even went floating down the river with his dad.