On Our Way to the Tunnel...

We took our annual trip to the tunnel with friends of ours.

As the kids grow up,

the faster they go.

 Once the tunnel is spotted,

everyone gets out there flashlights.

 The tunnel is quite long and very damp.

In fact, it is equivalent to raining in some spots. 

 I came out the other end looking like I had just run through the shower:)

 Here we are coming out the other end. 

It looks prehistoric in this picture.

 Everyone made it through and needed an energy boost

when they got to the other side...snack time:)

 They have a cute little museum that has information on the building of the tunnel.

We also ran into a man from the DNR and he told us a few stories. 

 The boys worked hard pumping out the water for a little drink.

We enjoyed the beautiful day.



Washing berries and thinking...

of my grandpa, who has been gone almost ten years now.

He had the most amazing raspberry patch(which my cousin Rob now tends)...

I remember as a kid going into the patch and coming out with a gallon

size bucket filled then eating a bowl of raspberries and milk as a treat.

 So many great memories are attached to that wonderful man.

Some people in this world just get you(I don't know how else to explain it)

and he is one of those people in my life.

 I have to smile and think how he would have loved

my raspberry jam...he had a sweet tooth!

Right now, I'm thinking of how blessed I am to have

all of the wonderful memories that I do of our time together.

He may not be on this earth anymore,

but his memory goes with me everywhere I go.

 

 

Millions of peaches and blueberries and cherries and....

What I put up this weekend

2- 1/2 bushels of free stone Georgia peaches

2- 10# boxes of blueberries

1- 15# box of Rainier Cherries

2- 30# box of Bing Cherries

The peaches getting ready to can.

Only a sample of the cherries I canned and ready for winter.

Blueberries ready to go into the freezer.

I do try freeze them so they freeze individual

and then put them in gallon bags.

The jars go three deep on this shelving unit...

I got 34 quarts of cherries(Bing and Rainier)

 

Everything on the bottom shelve is what I did this weekend.

The second shelve all the 'red jars' on the right and same with the top shelve.

Only fruit left to can is the pears,

 besides the pie fillings and maybe some more applesauce.

 

A little trip to Lake Wazee

My mother-in-law planned a fun trip to the beach

with all the cousins

to Lake Wazee. 

It ended up being on a day that was one of the hottest

so far this summer in Wisconsin.

Couldn't have been a better day to go to the beach.

I'm sure no one is surprised to see my kiddos eating:)

It did take about an hour before they started getting hungry though....

it was too much fun in the water.

 My adorable little nephew...he loved those tubes!

 The cousins loved My Big Girl's new raft.

 Here are the newlyweds:) 

It was cute to see the love gushing, as it usually does with newlyweds.

 My 2 year old niece who just wanted to swim by herself!

I don't know who had more fun,

the kiddos or grandma?

My sister-in-law and her daughter....what a cute picture!

We all had a blast and even got to end the trip with a rescue mission.

My other sister-in-law forgot how to get out of the national park so

we got to turn around and 'save' her...the kids were thrilled. 

All-in-all, it was a great day!



This weekend's craziness included...

 Soaking up the rays on our back deck.

 Shucking peas from our garden

along with a whole plastic bag I bought from the Amish...

a favorite pass time!

 Picking blueberries in our woods...

the wild blueberries are so tiny that it hardly seems worth it,

but it's too much fun to stop.

(We yielded about 1 cup)

 My berry picker insisted on hiking to find more.

 My little princess took it easy and enjoyed picking comfortably.

Getting out my Big Girl's raft for our pool:)