This weekend was filled...

-with Zach working hard to finish my garden shed

-a church dinner that our family was able to enjoy

(along with the double fudge cake that I purchased at the bake sale)

-getting ready for school to start(clothes, nap things, Lysol wipes,etc.)

-Canning, canning, and more canning!

I know there was more, but I can't remember it now.

 

 Here is the love of my life painting the windows he made for my garden shed.

This is just Zach being Zach. 

And makes me laugh!

Something else that made me laugh:

The kids yelled something out to me before running into the house,

"Mom, we're going inside and coming out the three amigos!"

My response,"OK"

I had no idea what they were doing(except that I love the Three Amigo's movie)

They all came out in white shirts, pants, and belts,

shouting lines from the movies. 

I was doubled over!

We had a play date yesterday that brought with it,

-two walmart bags of green beans

-two dozen eggs

-four zucchinis

-a bushel and a half of tomatoes

Can you guess what I'm doing today?

Happy canning:)

A Wonderful Visit

My eldest and I went to Florida to visit my sister(Megan),

the new baby, my 3 year old niece, and my brother-in-law(Brian).

The plan: help with the baby, visit, and fill her freezer.

Well, I got most of the meals made I wanted to,

but who can resist these little feet?

 

Oh my, I can't help myself....

I just love babies!

Especially ones as cute as this.

My favorite is the sweaty head after napping on my chest.

 

 Here is my niece and my oldest. 

I was so happy he could come with me.

He was great help entertaining my niece.

They got along great and had loads of fun. 

 

They went lizard hunting almost everyday. 

The one day they caught three.

Here is my niece enjoying the catch.

She is such a great big sister already.

 

Here is my little man with his uncle in the pool, a daily sight.

Brian was such a great sport,

 taking the kids swimming at least once a day if not more!

 

I was asked a few times, "Why don't we have a pool at our house?"

My answer,"Because we don't live in Florida."

 

My beautiful sister and me. 

We had a wonderful time and a lot of laughs.

It was neat telling my niece what she has to look forward to

by having a sister.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself,

I had to include this picture.

I have never seen how a pineapple grows.

The last morning we were in Florida,

walking to a little Cuban restaurant for breakfast.

To get their Mickey mouse pancakes.

They gobbled them up.

Thanks for the wonderful visit and

letting me steal your baby/daughter for a couple of days.



The Ruffle Quilt

So I was secretly hoping my sister was having a girl

because of this pattern I found on Pinterest I just had to make. 

I couldn't help myself. 

Plus I fell in love with some adorable girl fabrics at my quilt shop and had to have them.

 What's a girl to do?

Buy the fabrics and hope:)

And guess what my wishes came true,

my sister had a beautiful baby girl.

 So I made one for the new baby and

 a mini one for my 3 year old niece for her baby too.

Some Husbands...

Some Husbands surprise their wives by

an unexpected date night or perhaps flowers or chocolate...

but not my husband.

My surprise usually comes in the form of lumber in the back of his truck.

(Hey ladies, I'm not complaining:)

Zach came home from work on Saturday at about 12:30

and said I have the lumber to build your garden shed.

"By the way, you didn't have any plans this weekend did you?"

As always, it's a family event and everyone helped.

Are you ready?

Because from start to finish it took less then 6 hours,

including potty and eating breaks.

Who needs flowers anyway?

I think I got the better deal!

He built and I ran around getting tools and lumber.

(And taking pictures)

There's the doorway.

Zach will be making the door and windows for it.

 Here comes my favorite part...

the roof.

 I just love that it starts out looking like an X.

Then turns into a flower.

Then it turns into snowflake.

(The difference between men and women...

Zach thinks dimensions and I think snowflakes;)



Isn't it cute?  I absolutely love it!

 I was taking pictures while Zach was on the roof.

 Here is my wonderful husband.

Here it is, not totally finished, but weatherproofed. 



Since I've taken this picture, I have moved all of my garden supplies into it.

Zach made me a couple of shelves and hung all my garden tools on the wall.

(I will make sure to post a picture of that soon!)



Harvesting...

Carrots, carrots, carrots.

In the years I've been gardening,

 I have never harvested enough carrots to store in my root cellar,

until this year. 

 Usually potato harvesting is my favorite

because you never know what your going to get.

Carrots are now on the top of my list.

The kids took turns pulling them out

and handing to me to clip the tops off.

My big girl had a hard time remembering to pull only one out at a time.

My little princess declared,

"Pulling Carrots as her favorite thing to do."

(I'm sure until we dig potatoes, pick apples, and harvest the beets) 

My favorite thing about my garden this year,

canning less pickles, beans, and tomatoes

because my little ones went around

eating them off the vines every time we went outside.

I'm Back...

And busy as ever!

So many things have happened since I've last posted.
-We took a trip to my aunts and had a wonderful time.
-Canned pickles and beans
-Worked in the garden
-Put up some potatoes(about 100lbs)
-Received news of a new niece who I can't wait to hold
-Quilting a baby blanket to take down with me when I visit her
-All the normal work that goes along with being a stay-at-home mom

Here are my latest pictures of my garden boxes:

My carrots have never done this good.

I'm so excited to pick them!

After I picked my radishes,

I planted cilantro and it's almost ready.

I LOVE how my cucumbers all draped over the edges of the box.

It makes it easier for the little ones to get in there to help pick.

Here is a pictures of my potatoes

and my towering tomato plants behind them.

All of my plants that were transplanted,

survived and are doing well. 

My sister-in-law is also splitting some of her flowers

and being so kind to share.

Here is my wonderful husband who graciously

built in some shelves for my canning addiction I have. 

It fits three rows deep of jars. 

And I couldn't be happier!

In my peach boxes underneath the shelves,

I've stored some of my potatoes that I'm hoping will last us through to next year.

That big gallon on top of the shelves is maple syrup that I purchased,

along with 2 quarts of our maple syrup.

This is a picture that makes me feel complete.

I know I'm crazy, but sometimes happiness can come in a jar:)