Three Steps to Heaven....mmmm!

Just in case any of you need a quick and highly fantastic pick me up for the week...may I recommend one of my foods of the gods....It is easy to prepare and very, very good! Step one: Get a bowl and fill it with raspberries (preferably fresh-picked from your own bushes...which does involve a little more work, but is very peaceful!)

Then you need to sprinkle those raspberries with "REAL SUGAR"...no fake imitations will do.

Finally you need to then pour on "CREAM"...notice I did not say milk...but cream. Yes the goey kind that sticks to the top of your mouth and coats the raspberries (and later your hips) like a fresh coat of paint!

I guess there is a fourth step and that is to eat! But that is where you will actually experience a little piece of heaven! My great-grandfather used to serve this as a treat when we would go to visit him...I still vaguely remember that. I believe maybe that is why I still like them. There is a little nostalgia involved in it. I've taught my little boy to say "These are to die for..." when he eats them...not literally of course, but figuratively speaking. Those of you who are worried about calories and fat, etc...only once a year won't hurt! I will not be revealing how many times I've participated in this sinfully, heavenly good treat!

Enjoy!

First Day of School...(a little late!)

Okay, so I've been very excited for Peyton to go school. He has also been excited. I'm a little late in posting, but it gave me some time to think about school and education in a different light...from the perspective of a parent. The first thought I had was that Peyton is the first of the third generation of our extended family (my mom and dad) to go to Hamer school. That means we need some cousins to move here quick! Second it made me think about my role as a teacher and how every parent hopes that the teacher will like their child. I hope the teacher will treat him well. I hope she will respect the things we have tried to encourage and overlook some of his faults. I think every parent thinks their child is smart, but I really do and I hope she will challenge him even if others are slower. And if he is slower, I hope she will spend the time to help him. I know also as a parent, you have to be involved which is very hard for me. High school and the kids have been our lives for so long. Even Peyton feels like he belongs here. Now to try to figure all of that out so he has a nice and enriched time at Hamer will be hard for me. I was excited to see him enter the school that I made many great memories and some not so great memories at. I hope he loves it and that he will make friends and be nice and do the things we have taught him...like flushing and washing and not getting in people's space and listening when he is supposed to. He kind of learned a hard lesson after the first day. I looked through his papers and they were supposed to write A's and little a's. He did like three big A's and four or five little a's and then began doodling and not writing his name they way he should and as I was looking through his papers, I got mad and I made him sit down and re-do his school work. I erased his name, I erased his doodles and I told him he could do it right at school or re-do it at home. She had put a sticker on it indicating it was done, and he was a little mad at me, but I told him, he knew how to do it and he was going to do it right. We erased and re-did it and since that time, he has completed his work and written his name much better! Kids will do what you expect and no more.

He acted so big on the first day. You can see how he is posing...acting like a rock star. It was fun to go in with him. I told my principal I would be late on the first day so I could stay a while with him. It was kind of funny, but he just seemed so ready. We had a bit of a hard time (and are still having) getting him out of bed. He is not a morning person...just like his mom, but we got there and he found his desk. He had to check out all of his stuff to make sure what was there. Unfortunately and (I was not very happy about this, but found out why) we didn't get to buy school supplies for them, the school does it. And even though it was one of my most favorite things to do when school came around, I will deal with it for the years he is at Hamer. The teacher had some quiet work for them to do until all of the kids got there. He was too excited and just wanted to look around and do things and see the kids. But he did try.

As you can see he sits by a cute little girl that many of you will know as Kirk and Fawn Robbins little girl. He also share a four space with Brian his little friend and Kaylee Dalling who he went to pre-school with at Laurel's house...so he is very comfortable with most of the kids. There are 11 kids in his class. 7 of them are from Hamer and 4 come from Terreton.

I was so proud of him because he raised his hand and asked if he could go and say hi to one of his friends and the teacher told him no...which I didn't think was that big of deal...school hadn't started yet, but he did mind. He was so cute. He kept saying "You can go now, Mom" and I would say, "I just want to watch a little bit more"...but I left shortly after this. I had thought about not having him ride the bus home because I thought it would be easier to pick him up and round up his stuff, but when Granny got there, he convinced her he wanted to ride the bus...so that is just what he did. He got on Johnny's bus and rode home and has been doing it ever since!

For the most part he loves school. As I look at his schedule, and saw reading, math, reading, math, reading and then art, science, social studies, and music (only one for each day of the week and only 30 minutes long) I was a little sad because that is where he has the most fun. I wonder if maybe we aren't getting our priorities mixed up and need to refocus back into those areas, but I told my mom when I was talking with her that I guess that is where parents have to pick up what is not focused on and do it with them at home. So we will be doing more art, science, music, and social studies....The first day was a little bit hectic for me and very, very hot, but it started great and Peyton had a great day!

It Was In My Eyes!

So I thought our child was finished with the scissor excitement that he was in last year when he cut his pants, his hair, his toys...etc...I thought we had managed to avoid the drastic. But for some reason...after coming home from a cooking class Saturday, I was met at the door by my sick looking husband and my smiling little boy who looked like this! He had taken the scissors and cut his hair...that yes was a little long and that yes I had an appointment to get cut in one week ( I was holding out for school!). He said it was bugging him and that it was in his eyes. Imagine the sinking feeling seeing his hair cut up to his scalp. I can't figure out why when little kids cut their hair like this, they actually think it is okay and looks good and why they have to go clear up to the scalp right in the front where it is so noticeable! I wasn't really happy with him and I told him when I was taking a picture because I might laugh in a few years, but I was very mad at him...(okay not really...but I had to make a point! I used to do this stuff too!) So I desparatley called Raquel who switched his appointment and managed to fit him. She worked wonders, but it is still a little TOO short for me. He likes the spike and thinks he is really grown-up. I keep hoping that maybe it will grow a little bit before school. It looks like someone set a bowl on his head and cut. Someone actually thought we got his hair cut like this on purpose. We didn't. He did this and I guess next time when he tells us to cut his hair and it is bugging him. I will call immediatley! Ha!

Oh What Do You Do In the Summer Time?

As I contemplate going back to school and wondering where summer went, I can't help but feel like I didn't get all that I wanted to do accomplished. There were many projects and goals that I had this summer that kind of went by the wayside. However, this summer was very relaxing, fun, and provided a much needed break from my hectic life. This summer seemed to be one of learning for Peyton and a lot of fun for both Andy and I. We did many activities with him that seemed to be some major stepping stones. He just learned and did so many fun things. We can't wait to see what he has in store this coming year with school starting, piano lessons, and starting clogging with Patty. We are excited to see him do things and be excited for things. It is kind of sad and scary to send your child out into the "mean world". You hope he is ready and the world will be kind to him. You hope you have given him the skills he needs to make a successful start. This summer showed me how much fun it is to watch him grow.

This was from a rafting trip our whole family did at our cabin. I will be posting more of those pictures in another post, but I know that Peyton loved this trip. We all had a lot of fun.

One thing that Peyton really loved doing this whole summer was taking four wheeler rides. He actually can run one of these by himself and does pretty well driving. It is a little scary turning the reins over to a five year old, but he does it well.

T-ball was pretty miserable for me and for him I think. He had really fun and nice coaches and lots of little kids as you can see, but his mom wants him to learn right and he doesn't really want to do much. I had a hard time not wanting to yell at him the whole time to do it right while I watched him roll around on the ground or run the wrong way...etc... It was not too much fun for either of us, but he finished and hopefully next year, when he gets into some games and sports maybe start making a little more sense, it will be more enjoyable for both of us. He did love swimming lessons and really seemed to be at the right age for these. I would have loved to have him take longer, but driving into Idaho Falls every day stinks. I don't know how Andy does it. For some reason this was the highlight of the summer for him...swimming lessons and swimming in general. I think maybe we will try to do some more this year, since the Apple offers swimming all year. He learned a lot but still takes after his mom a little with regards to water in his face and nose and eyes...we both do not like this.
These two pictures are at one of the many cooking contests that Andy and I entered this year. So far we have won 500$ (we have two more we are participating in). My winning recipe has been on the cover of the Idaho Falls magazine, we have cooked and experimented with some yummy stuff and hope to continue doing well. We have really enjoyed these cooking competitions. This particular competition had singers as you can see Peyton is enjoying the guitar player and drummer, they had all you could eat ice cream, and we came away with some awards. Andy finally got a medal and two of my entries won prizes. I however fell from first place and had to settle for a second and a third! Peyton mastered the art of riding a bike this summer. I will admit it was harder than I thought to teach a kid to ride without training wheels. It was awful sending him riding and to watch him fall...time after time...but we stayed strong, took off the training wheels...did not cave and put them back on, nursed a few scrapes, overcome a few crying fits, and now he is doing awesome and is wearing his parents out to go on countless bike rides. He rode clear up to Debbie Ball's house and back with his dad last night after running around in the gym at the school for 2 hours. Oh, to bottle that kind of energy! He can stop and start by himself, he is starting to practice tricks and he has discovered a little bit of freedom that riding a bike provides. His mother worries a little but loves to watch him accomplishing things that are hard! We drug out our pool and as you can see from his face, he prefers a pool that is heated. This little guy gets cold really quickly and did not really enjoy the pool in the yard! But we did have a fun day of water fighting that day.
These next two pictures show a precious little girl who came and visited this summer. We are hoping that she will become a member of our home. We are trying to adopt her, but we don't know what will happen. As you can see it was a wonderful, stressful, learning, growing, amazing three days for us...we hope that she will join our home soon. Please pray for us if you need something to pray about! ha!

Peyts will be a great older brother, but there will be some adjusting on his part. This whole place has been his kingdom and he will have to share it. I believe though, just like this picture shows that he will great with her.

We of course took the traditional trip to Tautphus park, however, we didn't do the zoo. We got there a little late, so we just did the airplanes and miniature golf. Peyton didn't like either. He told the operater of the airplanes that he wanted to get out right now....and he got bored after one hole of golf. Needless to say, Andy and I wanted to play, but he just wanted to smack the ball around...it was a quick 18 holes. I must also say that we were very disappointed with the condition of the golf course and Tautphus park in general. It is looking old and run down. They could use some of the money they used in the skate park there to fix it up!

We also made our annual trip to Jackson...we usually do it in June around our anniversary, but we were busy then I guess???. We thought Peyton would like the wild west shoot out that I thought would be great, but was a little cheesy. However he loved it and even got a bullet from one of the "real cowboys" that he fired in the show. Of course then we had to visit the shops and we found a real cowboy belt that Peyton had to buy. He purchased it with his money he won from the parade....so I guess his mom didn't really have a say in that one.

For some reason when we go in stores, we love to try on funny hats and take pictures. This is just a tradition that Andy and I have done when we travel. I thought this was a pretty funny one.

Peyton wasn't too sure for a second if this thing was real or not! When he discovered it wasn't going to attack him, he thought it was pretty cool.

Of course, the traditional Jackson picture. We then went to the Playhouse which was featuring Grease. I love the Jackson Hole Playhouse because they just do such a great job acting and singing. We didn't know how Peyts would like it, but he loved it. He watched entranced the whole night. I missed the slow-motion fight scene and thought that it is getting more expensive each time we go, but I'm glad we got to fit this trip in....

So this is what we did in the summer time...with a few other things. I read a whole bunch and really got hooked into books about the Holocaust. I've never really been interested, but I read four this summer and really am intriguied...all from very different points of view, all fiction, but all based upon actual things that happened. I would love anymore suggestions of good books about this. I'm sad summer is ending. It has been for the most part a very peaceful, needed break. We have a lot of fun memories....

The Fruits of Our Labors/A little of Last Year too!

So for some reason I have the gardening bug. I caught it last year. I guess this is something powerful and god-like about growing a garden. You take something you can barely see in the palm of your hand and your grow it into something like out here! I love my garden. I don't even eat everything in it, but I wanted to grow it. I started gardening last year and we had a lot of fun. You forget how much work it is and then you try it again. This year, for some reason and doing something I have no idea what, I hurt my back and haven't been able to do all I wanted to do in the garden. If you look close, you will see more weeds than I would like, but we did a garden, nonetheless. It is growing and it is producing. This is one of my favorite parts of the year...harvest and seeing what you have done pay off. For the most part, besides meat, I could eat every night something from my garden and I'm putting away stuff so that I can continue to do so. This is the whole thing in four sections. Everyone tells me it is huge, but I don't think it is that bad. Over in the corner is where our pumpkins and peppers are growing. I have some pumpkins on, but I don't think I'm going to get peppers...we'll see. I started this section for little seeds inside of my house. Some grew some didn't, I don't know which ones will take and what kind of pumpkins I have growing. I was a little sad because I did a bunch of melons this way too but none of them lived and I didn't plant more...so we didn't try melons this year! :-( Then I have three rows of beans. This year we decided to plant yellow and purple beans along with the normal green beans. I love color and really got into trying different colors of things this year. As you can see the purple and yellow ones are so pretty. I haven't cooked any of the colored ones up yet. They are new. So we will be trying them soon. Beans are kind of a funny thing because they are so plentiful. For six bucks, we grow enough green beans to feed us all year. I think I would become a bean farmer if I had to choose. This little suckers just keep coming. We have given away, frozen, and snapped so many beans and the funny thing is, we are just starting with them! I would hire pickers if I did own a bean farm...miserable!I'm not a few of canned beans, so most of mine I freeze. We love them that way and they taste like they are right out of the garden (for the most part!)After our beans we have peas...our peas took a hit this year maybe from all of the rain, but they have been producing fairly well in the last little while. I'm not a fan of peas except for fresh from the garden...and since I know grow my own, I can eat as many as I would like! I do freeze a few and use them a little throughout the year...but don't really care for them except for from the pod! We have have two rows of lettuce. I loved growing lettuce last year, so this year I tried a wide variety of kinds...I got kind of funky and had 21 different kinds to try. They didn't all grow, but I still went back to three favorites. The others taste bitter. I guess I haven't acquired a taste for arugala and other funky greens...yet! But they were fun and pretty to grow. I don't like the red lettuce, but it sure is pretty and gives some color so I planted a little bit this year! The green leaf is my favorite and I haven't done a very great job of harvesting it this year. I have given a bunch away, but we have only enjoyed it a few times. I need to do better before it goes bad...however, I'm thinking about growing some inside during the fall and winter! I still have a bunch of seeds...just need to find the right planter!

After our lettuce we have two and a half rows of carrots with about five different colors...We have the normal orange carrots which are very good this year, red carrots (not good), yellow carrots (not too good either, but I was told by someone who ate them, they are good cooked!), and purple carrots which are my favorite! I grew these last year and loved them. I grew white carrots last year and didn't care for them....so I didn't grow them this year.

This year I also tried four different kinds of beets. I don't even really like them, but they looked pretty. There were some yellow beats, the normal kind, a bulls-eye kind of white and red, and an elongated one that looked like a carrot! They were fun to grow and I need to figure out what to do with them! Then I have my onions and potatoes. We planted yellow and red onions (my favorite) and red potatoes and a few fingerling potatoes that I am looking forward to trying! We try to harvest these and save them into the fall and winter! It is nice to not have to buy them for a while! I'm hoping to keep them longer this year! Then we have our corn. We have 6 1/2 rows of corn. One whole row, though is decorating and popcorn corn..I hope they turn out. I have four different kinds of this growing. Then we have 5 1/2 rows of eating corn...if it turns out, we could be in for tons of corn! argh...I planted a variety of kinds this year. Last year my corn turned out, but it wasn't that great of a yield. Hopefully we can figure it out this year!

My next section is our rhubarb, strawberries, tomatoes, and ZUCCHINI! We got a whole bowl full of these! We also have some apple trees growing in this section, but I don't know if they are going to do much? We will see. I didn't pick our rhubarb soon enough, so I didn't get as much as I normally like, but I'm hoping to get a bit more from some of the younger ones. Our strawberries at first were a little rough. We did some transplanting and made some new rows and now have a whole bunch of strawberries. We have quite a few rows producing big nice berries. I've made strawberry jam, strawberry leather and will be freezing strawberries. These are not my favorite, but Andy loves them..and I'm slowly getting converted. My tomatoes look a little rough, but I have some coming on...hopefully we will be able to enjoy them...My mom though will be in tomota heaven..her plants are huge and beautiful! My favorite this year has been my ZUCCHINNI. My husband laughs because I always plant too much, but this year I did about seven different kinds of ZUCCHINNI. We laughed because at a fruit market we stopped at, you could buy 10 ZUCCHINI for 1 dollar! It is the fruitcake of the garden..you can't give it away! But I like it. I find a variety of ways to use it and I freeze it to make zucchini bread in the winter...we love that!
These are some of my different kinds of Zucchini...they are wonderful battered and fried! YUM!

Finally the last thing in my garden, but the one I love the most is my raspberry patch. They still haven't produced yet this year because they are late bloomers...They like to bloom in the fall. Last year they were so yummy! I'm holding out hope they produce like they did last year. We'll see! I haven't been able to weed and transplant as well I would have liked in my patch this year, but I see lots of buds...cross your fingers!

Finally this year I wanted to do an herb garden. It needs to be weeded which I'm going to try and do this afternoon! I grew dill for my mom..but because I wanted to also! I grew mint, peppermint, and chocolate mint which you can see below. I also grew spearamint. I just now have to figure out how to use it all! I will be drying some!

I have rosemary, thyme, pineapple sage, and lavendar! They smell so good and like above I need to learn how to use them.

Finally if you look in between the weeds you will see some fresh parsley! This was a fun new experiment! And they are perennials, so they are supposed to come back!

These are our little melons we grew last year. I was sad we didn't get any in the ground this year! These other pictures are of some of the fruits of our labors last year...I was going to post them last year and have had it saved since then, so I'm posting them now! I'm looking forward to doing all of the canning and peach season coming up.

We didn't grow cabbage last year because of worms and the smell! argh! We did grow sunflowers and I look forward to them coming out soon! They are bout 12-13 ft. tall right now, but we don't have flowers on them yet!