More Canning!

Well we have continued to be busy in the kitchen in the last couple of weeks! We have been canning like crazy and enjoying every moment of hard work (at least Cade is!)

We have made 6 quarts of salsa (some of it is a bit HOT, but really good)!



And we have canned 4 quarts of tomatoes!



And a few weeks ago we did applesauce from the apples found on Pop and Grandma Bev's tress! It is delicious!

Jessica had an eventful weekend at her Pampered Chef training in Chicago! I awoke at the Hilton (wonderful accomodations!) on Saturday morning and had a flat tire. My roommate said she knew how to change the tire, but when we proceeded with this action I did not have jack. So another Pampered Chef lady helped me out by calling AAA! One hour later the 21 oldish man came to help me. He proceeded to tell me that he was hung over and then changed my tire. Oh what fun! I found a Midas 1 mile away, so Theresa from The Pampered Chef Home Office went with me. Anil at Midas was very helpful. Things were going well (I had to replace my tire but I expected that as soon as I knew the tire went flat) until Anil told me that they could not get my tire off. Somehow one of the lug nuts was cross-threaded and the tire would not come off. So in order to get home and have my van back they proceeded to chisel off the lug nut and redo the bolt! Oh what fun!
Lesson learned: Make sure you have a jack in your car! And do not let a hung over man mess with your car!
But, I did have a great time at my Director's training at The Pampered Chef Home Office!

In God We Trust

I am not one to pass along forwards that I receive through email, but every once and while I receive something that I don't mind mentioning to others! So one of my friends sent me a link to respond to one of MSNBC's polls on their website. MSNBC is taking a poll on "In God We Trust" to stay on our American currency. I went and registered my vote for them NOT to take this statement off our currency. As far as I know this poll is still open so you can vote. When I voted it was 57% leave it on, 43% take it off. Visit http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10103521/ What an interesting deal our nation is turning into. Thank you Lord for "never forsaking us or leaving us."

Iowa State Fair!

We went on our summer vacation this last week to the Iowa State Fair to join my family for a few days! We enjoyed camping in a tent and eating in the great state fair campgrounds. Cade loved playing with his cousins Sage, Brody, Julia, and Corbin! He even got the luxury of bathing in Uncle Jeremy's RV.

We enjoyed the fair each day with many activities, walking, and yummy food! Cade was always asking for a corndog when we said that we were going down to the fair. We also were given free rides on the Giant Slide, Sky Glider, and Cade got two Midway Rides from Grandma Glenna. He loved the slide! The glider made Daddy and Mommy very nervous!

BubbleShare: Share photos - Play some Online Games.


Some of the highlights from the fair include the Corndog Kick-off, where over 10,000 people showed up to set the world-record for the most people eating a corndog at one time. Unfortunately they only made 8000 corndogs so we did not get one. A bit disappointing, but we did get an offical number from the event!

We also enjoyed the pull-horse competition. We happened upon this event and only got to watch it for a few minutes (you can not watch much when you have a 2 year old). They hooked up a team of horses (2) to a sled with close to 10,000 pounds on it to see if they could pull it 15 feet. Then they kept adding weight to the sled. It was pretty amazing to see these horses!

The primary enjoyment of the fair is our time with family! Camping at the fair is close to a 40 year tradition for my family. My mother's side of the family has enjoyed this tradition for years. It is a great time for all of the cousins to play and enjoy one another. I love my fair memories from my youth.

Happy 30th Curtis!

Curtis turned 30 today! Life is just beginning for MY MAN! Though we had a pretty uneventful day, hopefully he still felt special. I tried to make a few special events happen, but nothing seemed to work out. So we enjoyed a special lunch together at Master Stir-Fry (Mongolian Barbecue like place!), while a friend watched Cade. Curtis got to do a little fishing in the afternoon (though it felt like 107 degrees) And then we headed over to Curtis' parents for dinner! We had a delicious lasgana dinner with Bev, Tom, and Nana. And for Curtis' cake - I made my first Twinkie Cake! Now if you have known me through my growing up years, this is an important cake in my life. Every birthday, my Mom makes me a twinkie cake. I have never attempted one myself, and decided that this was the first occasion! It tasted just like I remembered - unbelievably delicious! You will have to come for a birthday some time and try it out!

Happy birthday Hubby!!

Child in the Corn Field and Garden!

This last week we were given the privilege of picking sweet corn at one of our friends' homes. They planted one acre of sweet corn for families in our church to pick! So we headed out on Monday and picked 70 ears. We fixed 35-40 ears for our men's church lunch on Tuesday, fixed a dozen for ourself, and gave away a few too! But that was not enough for us . . . so we headed back out on Wednesday evening. Cade got into the action this evening and LOVED the corn field. In fact, we had a little melt down when it was time to go. So I blanched and froze 4 dozen on Thursday. I am feeling corny these days!



Not only have we been working on corn, but we have been pickling too! Curtis' parents have an extravagant garden, and let us take part in it. Thank you. So we have been enjoying the cucumber pickle plant. My mom helped us out when she was here in July, and we have finished off the rest. I finished 12 jars yesterday, and I believe that we have a total of about 25. We will be able to eat them at the end of September . . . so we will let you know how are dill pickles taste! And if you would like to try for yourself, come on over!



Oh wait . . . we have green beans too! Bev has been working very hard on the beans. I got my grandmother's pressure cooker so we have been enjoying that luxury. We have at least 12 jars already, and more to come. We are looking forward to the tomatoes . . . at least we hope that they are coming. We are afraid that they may have gotten some sort of virus because after we had a really hard rain they started to die. But Tom sprayed them and we think that they are coming back. We are sooooooo excited to make salsa, so hopefully they will make their comeback!

Cade loves our gardening too! Pop and Grandma Bev have a large metal dump truck and a tractor/digger that he loves to play with. Pop made a special place for Cade to dig in the garden on top of the hill. And when we are not working up on the hill, he brings them down. He loves to go play in the garden with his diggers!

I love working on all of my vegetables! Thanks for teaching me so much Bev. And thank you for your contributions Mom and Grandma! Love you all!

A Little About Me!

I was tagged by my sister-in-law Kim, so here goes nothing:
1. Where is your cell phone? Next to me.
2. Your significant other? Next to me watching the Cubs!
4. Your mother? At her house.
5. Your father? In his house with my mom.
6. Your favorite thing? My husband.
7. Your dream last night? Camping with our new pop-up camper (maybe!)
8. Your favorite drink? Gatorade
9. Your dream/goal? To have children that follow the Lord!
10. The room you’re in? Living room
11. Your hobby? Watching the Cubs!
12. Your fear? Children that turn their heart toward evil.
13. Where do you want to be in 6 years? I want to have grown closer to the Lord.
14. What you’re not? The life of the party.
15. Muffins? Blueberry, fresh out of the oven!
16. One of your wish list items? A fence for our yard!
17. Where you grew up? Ames, Iowa
18. The last thing you did? Went swimming with Cade
19. What are you wearing? Khaki shorts and a t-shirt!
20. Favorite gadget? My computer
21. Your pets? None, love you Wrigley!
22. Your computer? A time-saver and waster!
23. Your mood? Melanchony . . . sick, sleepy, watching the Cubs!
24. Missing someone? the friends that I use to have
25. Your car? Nissan!
26. Something you’re not wearing? socks
27. Favorite store? Gap
28. Like someone? Yes
29. Your favorite color? blue
30. When is the last time you laughed? Five minutes ago when Curtis was playing with Cade's train (Cade is taking a nap!)
31. Last time you cried? I don't remember!