A Beautiful Sight

Remember this?

The grass all dug out by me

Daniel's part of the digging

Well it eventually turned into this...

Beautiful Tomatoes

And today it looks like this...

And from that we got all of this...

We brought in so many beautiful carrots. This is by far our best carrot year ever...which wasn't really a hard record to beat. Our first year we didn't get any...that might have had something to do with somebody digging up every last carrot in the middle of the night before they were even big enough to call baby carrots. The other years an elderly sister in our ward let us use her garden spot. She lived only a block away, but still it was hard to really care for a garden, so the carrots were never thinned when the should have been thinned. This year, I was really able to baby my garden to my hearts content. Our tomatoes, tho slow, also produced beautiful tomatoes, so perfectly round and a really good size. So far I have had enough ripe tomatoes to make one delicious batch of salsa, and soon, I'll have plenty more to do more salsa and stewed tomatoes. My only disappointment were my cucumbers and my cherry tomatoes. Neither of them produced much of anything. I got barely enough cucumbers to make two 2 quart jars of pickles, and a few nice big ones to enjoy eating.  All in all it was a good harvest year. I today as I dug up the rest of the carrots, I felt satisfied with the results and extremely blessed. I look forward to next year, mainly because I won't have to dig out my garden spot first, I can just go directly to planting. YEAH!

In addition to my gardening, I have also been having tonnes of fun and making huge messes canning various fruits. Take a look and my beautiful storage shelves.

Top shelf and half of the second shelf are pears
Third shelf and other half of second shelf are peaches
Forth shelf is red apple sauce made from my crab apples, apples from my sisters tree and Gala apples I bought for wicked cheap at my favorite local grocery store. My crab apples turned the apple sauce red.
Fifth shelf is apple pear sauce...so yummy!
Sixth shelf is whole crab apples(stems an all) canned in a thick syrup...it's like apple sauce on a stick.

Top shelf is jams from last year. I never did get around to making any jam this year.
Second shelf has some tomato sauce(last years), canned beets and apple pie in a jar.
Third shelf has the beginnings of my salsa and my small selection of pickles.

I love opening the door to my storage room and seeing my shelves all full of bright coloured jars filled with stuff I created. I feel like a genius. I feel amazingly grateful for my many blessing. For the blessing of a great harvest and for the blessing of my gifts and talents that allow me to fill these shelves with beautiful delicious food. Life indeed is great!

random answers

My friend has this posted on her blog. And since I haven’t blogged for a spell I thought I’d copy this.  
1. I've come to realize that my last kiss: was simple, brief but not with out passion.
2. Last night: I was sick...yuck.
3. I drink: when I am thirsty, or when I am craving something sweet
4. I eat: delicious food frequently
5. I love: my family, all of them. Brothers, sister, parents, cousins, aunts uncles, nieces, nephews, grandparents, In-laws in all varieties and of course, and most importantly, my own husband and children. I love them all. I don’t know what I would do with out any of them. Life is always a party when there is a family get together.
6. My bedroom is: a bit of a mess :(
7. My love life: more than I could ever have asked for.
8. I hate it when people: don’t do what they said they were going to do.
9. Love is: fabulous.
10. Marriage is: the biggest adventure of my life.
11. Somewhere, someone is thinking: “am I good enough? Strong enough? Smart enough?...” YES YOU ARE!
12. I always: laugh...at least I try too.
13. I have a secret crush on: it’s not a secret anymore...it was outed along time ago.
14. My cell phone: is non existent
15. When I wake up in the morning: I make breakfast and lunch.
16. Before I go to bed I: lay awake thinking for hours about nothing that is really that important to lay awake thinking about it.
17. Right now I am thinking about: these answers.
18. Babies are: cute and cuddly. Stinky and sticky. Lovable and funny. Grumpy and screamy. And possibly the most unpredictable creation ever...which makes them the best thing in the world.
19. My house: is sufficient for our needs, and I absolutely love it.
20. Today I: try to get through some of my to do list.
21. Tonight I will: lay awake thinking about nothing yet again.
22. Tomorrow I will: try to get a through some more of my to do list.
23. I really want to: be better at keeping an organized, tidy house.

Taking my name in vain.

Why is it that every sentence, partial sentence, or utterance must be preceded by "mom"? Every time my children open their mouths to speak the very fist word is always "mom". They may find that they use much less energy speaking if they would just say what they have to say with out pausing in between sentences to have me respond to them with a "yeah" or "is that right" or "really" etc. And then of course, there is the ever popular silence that follows. "Mom?" "yes honey?" "........I don't remember." Do they just need to hear my voice? Make sure I am still within hearing distance? Do they think I am just going to disappear? Not only that, but my three year old will keep repeating what she has
said until I repeat it back to her nearly word for word. Why does she
need to hear me say it to know that I've heard her? Even if I respond
with any other statement she'll say "no" and then repeat what she just
said.
A typical conversation goes something like this
Tansley: "Mom?"
Me: "yeah?"
Tansley: "Mom, do you want to play the grandma game?"
Me: "sure, I'll play the grandma game"
Tansley: "mom, what should I call you?"
Me: "I don't know, what do you want to call me?"
Tansley: "Mom, you can be Jay"
Me: "OK"
Tansley: "mom, you can be Jay"
Me: "OK, I'll be Jay."
Tansley: "Jay, look at this beautiful flower, Do you think it is beautiful?"
Me: "yes it's pretty"
Tansley: "No, do you think it is beautiful?"
Me: "Yes, it's beautiful"
Tansley: "Mom?"
Me: "what?"
Tansley: "Mom, what are you doing?"
Me: "I am hanging laundry"
Tansley: "Mom, I thought we were playing the grandma game."
Me: "I have to finish hanging the clothes."
Tansley: "mom, why are they dirty"
Me: "because people wore them and then got dirty, now they are clean and I am hanging them to dry."
Tansley: "mom?"
Me: "yes Tansley?"
Tansley:" Mom, when are you going to be done?"

There aught to be a limit on how many times a child can say the word "Mom", for the sanity of all Moms!

Kathryn's Birthday.

Kathryn's 6th birthday was on Monday. Daniel had the day off, so we decided to go up to Kathryn's school and surprise her with cupcakes to share with her friends at lunchtime. She was hilarious...she acted so silly. Daddy kept getting after her...I don't know why...she gets it from him.

For Kathryn's birthday dinner she requested sunshine toast (toast with a whole cut in the middle with an egg fried in it). An unusual request, but simple and easy to prepare. Kathryn was lucky enough to get two birthday cakes, one for her actual birthday and one for her birthday party.

Kathryn insisted in inviting her entire grade one class...all eight of them. We decided, and by "we" I mean "I", that we didn't need more toys to clutter up the play room, so we had a "toonie" party. To explain, each guest brings a card with a toonie(a $2 coin). Kathryn then gets to use that money to buy a birthday gift of her choosing. The birthday party was a hit. The weather was great, which was a good thing because all of the games and activities were outdoor games. Not that I needed to organize any games, the kids would have played in the enormous amount of leave for the entire two hours.

Tagged by Krista

Four things I love about my husband:
-he spoils me with amazing surprises
-he is incredibly sexy
-he vacuums
-the way he plays the piano

Four movies that I would watch more then once:

-The Princess Bride

-The Last of the Mohicans

-The Ghost and the Darkness

-Ferris Bueller's Day Off

Four TV shows I watch:
-Criminal Minds
-So you think you can dance
-Flashpoint (when I remember)
-CSI whatever (here and there)

Four Places I have been:
-Hawaii
-California
-Newfoundland
-Oklahoma

Four places I would like to go (that I haven't been yet):
-Egypt
-Australia
-Central America
-Boston

Four people who regularly email me:
-My husband
-My sister, Chrystal
-Aunt Jane
-

Four Things I would like to eat:
-Cheesecake, anywhere, anytime
-Nachos at Ricks Grill
-Ice Cream...RIGHT NOW
-A supremely grilled steak

Four things I look forward to in the next year:
-Christmas in my new house
-Income tax Refund time
-Sending Tansley to preschool
-Camping, camping and more camping next summer

Four People I Tag:
-Amy Hubbard
-Shannon Rolfe
-Denise Garner
-Jasmine Burton

What kind of a mom am I?....

I just yelled at my 3 year old. I mean, I held her shoulders and I really yelled at her. I scared her. I scared her older sister. I feel sick inside. I just want to curl up in a ball and cry. I was so angry. I just let it go. It was nasty. It was ugly. It was down right mean. What am I teaching her? I was angry because she just punched her older sister three times in a row...again....right after giving her a hug and saying sorry for just doing the same thing twice before. Why does she hit her older sister? Because she has made her angry. So, I lost it when I was angry....therefore it's OK for her to lose it. Good job mom! I sent her to her room and told her to get in her pj's and go to bed. She came up after she was in her pj's to give me a hug. I talked to her calmly but sternly that I didn't want her to ever hit anybody ever again, and if she did I was going to start taking her dresses away(she loves her dresses, that is all she wears). So they both go to their room to go to bed, and not even five minutes later the oldest is back up telling me that her sister punched her again. So I go down and open her closet and take out a dress, she cries. Will this get her to stop being so violent to her older sister? I don't know, but nothing else is working, especially my own fit of rage.

We are the Crazy Family

So we are sitting enjoying the natural, rocky,hot pools of Lussier Hotsprings and I hear Kathryn talking with the people sitting next to us but I am not really paying attention to what she is saying until I hear her say "so we are the Crazy Family. Everyone in our family is crazy." To this everyone in the pool(and there were many), chuckle, I turn and dutifuly wave to all those preseant "Hi, that's us, the crazy family.", the gentleman closest to her says "that's a good thing in my family". Someone else says, "wait untill you are 16 and then see what you think", to which the first gentlelman replies with a huge grin on his face "when you're 16 you'll think that everything your parents say is right". Now that entire pool(or really the people in it) are laughing, to which Kathryn takes as a sign to continue her commentary. "We are all Coocoo heads. Silly billy's, My mom is silly, my dad is silly, we are all silly." Now, honestly everyone in that pool believed everything that she said, and with good reason. When we first got to the hotsprings it was cool and looking like it was going to rain. It is quite a walk down to the hotsprings from the parking lot and there are no change rooms, the girls changed into their swim suits in the van and walked down with a towel around them. So given the conditions they were kinda whiney becuase they were cold. However, it took some convincing to get them to get into the pool because it smelled funny and Kathryn was sitting on the edge making funny faces and holding her nose at the smell of the sulfur(despite the fact that we have been to these hotsprings 4 times before and she was excited to come to the hotsprings just moments before reaching the waters edge). Kymberly was screaming at the top of her lungs and trying to get away from Daddy(she has never been very fond of swimming or water for the matter), while I tried to coaks the other girls into the pool. I got Tansley in but Kathryn refused my help so I went and took Kymberly from Daddy and sat down and tried to get Kymberly used to the water. As soon as I was comfortable and had Kymberly down to a whimper, Kathryn decided that she wanted my help, not daddy's. But she had to put up with Daddy. And then of course the kids couldn't just stay in the water, they were up and out and cold and hot and all over the place. So why wouldn't they believe Kathryn when she proudly declared our craziness?

So this crazy family had a fabulous time camping, as always. We enjoyed our favorite place, doing our favorite things with some pretty good weather. It only rained for a bit on Sunday evening, and then only for about an hour or so. The weather was perfect for spending a day at Fort Steele, not to hot, no wind or rain, just a really nice day to watch all that there is to see.

We were pleased with the new street plays, with a new twist. The actors were fabulous and very entertaining and interacted with the audience really well. The RCMP Sargent scared Tansley, we(about 30 people) were trying to follow his orders so we could become his new recruits.

He was telling us how to stand at attention and we were all a little sloppy at it so he yelled at us, Tansley was trying so hard and she thought that he was seriously mad and she started to cry. So we walked away and I explained to her that he was just playing pretend and that he really wasn't mad and of course I told her that I thought she did a very good job. Later Tansley and Daddy played old fashioned basketball with a bunch of the other kids. It was so cute to watch her run around following Dad every where he went, I thought she might get trampled but she never did. She even got a chance to pass the ball to Dad. Kathryn didn't want to play because she said that sports aren't her thing, so we sat and cheered with the others. Kathryn was more than willing to help make old fashioned ice cream and Tansley was content to sit on the grass and watch. However they all enjoyed eating the delicious ice cream.  We love Fort Steele. It is such a fun place to go, and this year they had really changed the street plays so it was a nice fresh change.

While at Fort Steele, we even ran into some old friends, the Curtis's, from when we lived in Saskatoon, we hadn't seen them since we moved from their almost six years ago, they were staying in the area too, but were looking for a new place to park their RV, so they came and camped at Norbury Lake for Saturday night and all the kids ran around and played untill it was too dark to run around and play and then they roasted marshmellows and got really sticky. When Tansley came to me and told me that she wanted to go to bed, we said good night and went over to our own campsite to put kids to bed. It was nice for the kids to then have familiar faces at church on Sunday and it was nice to visit with old friends.
All in all it was a great weekend of camping. Now it is back to school and back to routine. Which is good. Tansley need's a break from her big sister, and right now she need's her mom to go play the "grandma game", So I'll have to upload some pictures another time.