Summer Fun

This has been a summer full of adventure and bounteous harvest.

We kicked the boys out of their room to redo their beds.  Simon liked the easy access to them in the morning.  He is very motivational when it comes to getting out of bed in the morning.

We got a dog!  Jet is no small presence in our home, but he fits in nicely.  The littles love him most and fortunately he tolerates them pretty well.

I had a fun trip to graduation for APUS where I received a teacher of the year award.  It was a great trip and honor to be recognized.  (This is the school I teach full time in case you didn't know.)  It is nice to work hard and be recognized for your hard work.

In June we were presented with the opportunity to host an exchange student for the month of July.  We thought it would be fun and there was a great 14 yr old that we thought would get along well with our family and he was ok with living out on a farm for a month.  :) 

He got to experience the family reunion.  It was just one big party after another.  

He ended up collecting eggs almost every day which was fun.  He also learned quite a bit about corn.  That is definitely a unique midwestern experience!

We also thought it would be fun to take him on an adventure, so we loaded up the car and headed to St. Louis.  James stayed home with the littles and the animals.  They were missed, but we all didn't fit in the car.  :( 

Jon had wanted to do some shopping, so we did that while we were in St. Louis since there is no real shopping in Galesburg.  Oh, and Michael looks that way because he upset our bees while mowing and they chased him down.  Fortunately, they gave up once he got to the other side of the house, but not after doing some serious damage.  Medicine is great!  

Then, we went to a cardinals game.  I never really realized that they don't play much baseball in Europe.  It is definitely an American tradition! 

They look very excited.  There is a good chance it was 100 degrees.  Fortunately we were in the shade thanks to some great advice from a friend.  

The new Busch Stadium is beautiful.  I was very impressed.

The next day we headed to the arch.  It was under construction, so it was a mess, but we still made it to the top.  It was great fun and a fabulous view.  It was fun seeing Michael cram into the pod.  That boy is big!   It was a great trip!

Joshua loves building and bought this great bridge set.  He has been building bridges ever since! 

We took the boys to see Finding Dory.  It was great and everyone had a great time!  The littles don't get out much, but they love it when they do.  We also took them to the pool a couple of times.  They love the water, which is saying something because Hyrum was very tentative.  But now they are pros at the splash pool!

No update would be complete without talking about the great harvest of the year.  We have been blessed with what seems to be the perfect gardening conditions.  Our plants are thriving and we are getting tons of fruit and vegetables!

Our friends shared some corn and peaches with us.  This is just the first load.  We were diehards and did a lot of freezing!

We also got a vacuum sealer, so we could fit more in our freezer!

The cherry tomatoes are beautiful and out of control.  We now have over 75 quarts of sauce in the freezer, so we are set.  It is now time to share the harvest with others because we just can't use what we are growing.  It is a great feeling!

Our large tomatoes are beautiful and doing well.  We are canning like crazy people!  It will be a delicious year!  

I just love how pretty they are!

We have also had peaches from friends and from our own garden.  They taste amazing and will be wonderful frozen and canned!

We learned to do something new this year to help us preserve eggplant and zucchini.  We make Ratatouille and then puree it into sauce and freeze it.  It is delicious and I have never seen kids devour vegetables so quickly as when I pour this over sauce.  

We are busy but excited for all of our blessings this year.  The windows of heaven have definitely been opened to us.  We are grateful for our blessings and look forward to the rest of the harvest!  We are onto potatoes this week.  :)