Ten Years Ago....

We had our 10yr class reunion recently and had a wonderful evening catching up on old memories. I can't believe it was ten years ago when we were planning our outfits for graduation, organizing open houses, writing scholarship letters, applying for colleges, attending our last prom, playing our last high school sporting events, saying goodbye to friends, and so much more! 

We had a great turnout with over 30 classmates and around 60 guests total. Not too bad for a graduating class of 73. Of the 73, 3 were exchange students (and Fran came back from Germany), we honored 4 who have sadly passed, 3 had just recently had new babies, 2 are serving overseas, and 2 are missionaries in Sudan! 

We definitely miss these four, and they hold special places in our hearts!

Candi

Casey

Brad

Jess

The decorations turned out great thanks to Pinterest ideas! 

We had a wonderful time with the photo area! 

What a great night of memories, laughter, and entertainment! Thanks to these guys and everyone else who helped to make this night happen!

An Apple A Day......for the Next Few Year!

The apples are wonderful this year. My neighbor has bushels and bushels of apples on all of his trees, and he loves giving them away as much as he loves eating them. He also enjoys telling me stories of where all of his plants and trees came from or were transplanted from. One of his largest apple trees is thriving so well because of his wife. She received a free apple from the bank one year (it's a small town kind of thing), and really enjoyed the taste. So.....she dried the few seeds from that apples, planted them in her flower bed, staked them out, and then transplanted the small tree. I love hearing his stories being that he is 94 and she is in her 90's! What a neat couple to look up to! 

Anyways, applesauce it was today!! Darin and I (well....Walter too) picked a couple of bushels of apples. For the first time I cored, cut, and peeled apples to freeze and to make applesauce. It was way easier than I had anticipated.  Here was the recipe:

   Mix and bring to a boil:

          4 lb apples (cut/cored/peeled)

          1 1/4 cup water

          1 tsp cinnamon

          1/4 cup of lemon juice 

    After it boils, let simmer 20-30min then 

    Mash it up.   Cool and serve or freeze.

Definitely a success and delicious; however, Clark decided he had to be part of the apple excitement as well. We left a bag of apples on the kitchen floor, and before no time, Clark was helping himself to the apples! 

    

You can't trust a sneaky little skunk!! 

365 more days to live out my 20's

Birthdays....... Here one day and gone the next, but for that one day it can be a quick reminder of love, friendship, and family. 

I had a fabulous day: slept in (which is one of my favorite things to do), sat outside on my bday present- new patio furniture:

and ate the best BLT for breakfast (yes.....  It is that time of year) all while watching the hummingbirds! For some, that may sound ridiculously boring but for me, extremely relaxing! I also love trying new things, so I decided to make pasta sauce and can it for the winter. Surprisingly, it turned out amazing and I'm not sure that it's going to last to winter!! 

I then had a wonderful dinner with family at my favorite Italian restaurant. We don't eat out much as a family, so this was special. It was all wonderful until they came around with a huge candelabra and sang to me. I'm really not a fan of being the center of attention, and I sort of wanted to crawl under the table and hide like I did as a kid at Shoney's when they sang to me. Never-the-less, I kept a smile and thanked those who had to embarrass themselves by singing in public! 

It dawned on me later in the day, that it has been two yrs since I have spent a bday in the States. Last year, I was in Kenya. It was a wonderful day there, but there is something about being with family and friends, getting phone calls, hugs, messages, and cards that make it special. 

I receive the best birthday card ever this year- complete with a pop out of a skunk! Nice job Darin! You found the perfect one!!! 

Thanks to all who are part of my life and who have helped to shape me into who I am today. You mean more to me than you could ever know!

And Then There Was the Smash Cake

                                       

                                                      Happy 1st Birthday Camden! 

    

My favorite "Little Guy"'celebrated his 1st bday recently. One already!! Wow- time flies!  He loves to listen to Barney, so a Barney themed party at the park it was. Barney- yes the singing purple dinosaur that my brother loved. I treasured the day when he decided to move on to Power Rangers and we could pack away "I Love you, you love me.....)   Looking back now though,  it was educational, and a lot more kid friendly than what's on tv these days! So to my little friend..... Keep enjoying Barney, your mom loves searching for Barney items since they are sooooooo easy to find these days :)

 

Lots of love = Lots of presents!!!!

"Big Guy" helping "Little Guy" unwrap presents.

        What a wonderful day at the park for a party though. We enjoyed family, friends, food, opening presents, and of course the smash cake. How cute it was to see him slowly tear into the cake- Definitely the highlight of my day! Happy First Birthday "Little Guy!" It sure was a great party! 

                              

                                  

      

Who Needs A Dog House?

    

We have had our picnic table on the back porch for most of the summer. Walter has decided that it is the perfect place to take a nap. 

Who knows..... He may even sleep there some nights too!  The hummingbirds buzz and fight around him......he sleeps straight through it! Sometimes he wakes up, sits up on the table, looks out over the woods (as if he were a real watch dog), stands up to stretch, and spins around a few times until he finds a new position to sleep the day away.

  

He wasn't very happy when I received a new patio table and chairs for my birthday. That meant his table/bed was moved to the grass. Sorry Walter!!! 

What a funny and amusing dog!!! 

Visitors

We love these phone calls:

"Can we come out and visit Clark?"

If Clark only knew how spoiled of a skunk he really is!!!! We don't like to tell Walter that Clark gets phone calls for visitors because we are afraid he may get jealous!! 

We always welcome visitors!! Here is Clark's most recent company. They even sent him a thank you card. (Yes, he gets mail too!!!)

Quarts, pints, and freezer bags

A few days off = lots of canning, freezing, and storing for the winter. In a way, kind of makes me sound like a squirrel! 

    It took Darin and I two evenings to finish bagging 66 quarts of sweet corn. I hadn't picked sweet corn in a long time. When we were kids, we picked all the time and sold it as a little summer project. Well, dad and I picked bucket after bucket, and thanks goodness for an electric knife or I would still be cutting corn off the cob!! Thanks Jamie for this tip: use the inside of an angel food pan to  set the corn on and then cut it off- the corn will fall straight into the pan. 

   

 

After corn last night, I ended up staying up late and making 4 batches of salsa. I ended up with way more than I thought- 4 quarts & 12 pints! Thank you gma for teaching me over the years how to make it! Biggest tip - thank the lids when they pop to signal they are sealed! 

     

Countless gallons of blackberries. Time consuming to pick but worth every second! Blackberry pie- my favorite! 

   

  Who could forget the green beans?!?! We still have blooms so I anticipate more picking days but 14 quarts already hold a spot in my pantry. 

     

White peaches- the newest fruit I've tried..... And delicious!!! Thanks Danny! A white peach pie they turned into. This was my first attempt at a peach pie and I'd have to say, I'll def do it again!! 

    

Despite a couple pesky critters ( 2 opossums to be exact) we have had a wonderful year for fruits and veggies. Clark the skunk loves it too because he eats all the scraps! 

Gardening and canning is a passion of mine. If you have tips or tricks that you would like to share, I'd love to hear them!