Monday, August 25, 2014

Our Last Week

I can't believe we're down to the last week of summer! We have a busy, busy week here, and I have to say, I'm still not ready for school to start. It might be partly because my baby will be going to school, and I will have 3 hours with no kids for the first time in almost 9 years. It's weird. I can't wrap my mind around it yet, but I am kinda regretting that we didn't do preschool for Arch. I think we both could've used it as prep for "real" school! So, I guess the busyness keeps my mind off of the impending start of school.

This weekend we finally finished a project that has been ongoing for about 9 months: the greenhouse! I'm beyond excited. We started it last fall, but then John had knee surgery, and we've only worked on it sporadically since then. Until now! We spent ALL day Saturday on it, and it's a huge relief to be done with it.


We also had a birthday party to go to this weekend, and it reminded me that I really need to get on planning a party for B! His birthday is the day after school starts this year, and we've already talked about doing it a week or 2 after his birthday, but even that is starting to creep up on me! I can't believe he's going to be 7! Last night he lost his first tooth. I think my boys are all growing up way too quickly!!

Otherwise, the garden is continuing to consume a TON of my time. I enjoy it, mostly, but it sometimes it feels like just one more thing I have to do. I have canned some salsa & tomato sauce, and dilly beans. I'm canning some more tomato sauce today. I've also frozen 11-12 gallons of green beans! We are going to be eating beans like crazy all winter, but I don't think I'm going to be able to can as many tomato things as I did last year. Oh well...
These grasshoppers have me on edge every time I pick beans! They hop right at me sometimes and it scares me!

And we have at least one more adventure to come before school starts...


Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Savoring the last few weeks

I'm not ready for summer to be over yet!

QOTD

Archer: Mom, do you still have a headache?
Me: Yes, it's a little better, but I don't know why it's still hurting.
Archer: Maybe because your brain's not right!

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Backyard camping

Last summer we decided we didn't want to go anywhere for the 4th of July weekend, so we had some friends over for a BBQ and backyard camp. It was a total hit, and we had requests for a repeat this year. I wasn't sure if we would be able to fit one in, given the craziness of the summer, but we made it happen! Year #2 was a hit as well, so there will most likely be a year #3 too! 

The weather was iffy. Thunderstorms off and on all day. It wasn't very warm. I was sad. And a bit panicked. We had quite a few people coming, and while our house COULD accommodate them, it would be pretty tight quarters. Thankfully it cleared up just as the party was getting started! We BBQed, the kids played, and the adults socialized. When it got dark, we put on a movie outside (we borrowed a friend's projector, and now it's on the "want" list!). It was FUN. (Sadly I didn't have time to take any pictures! The only 2 I have are from John's phone!)


The fun finally died down around 1:00 am (I'm getting way too old for that!), but it started again at about 7:00 am with pancakes and bacon (and bacon pancakes), plus lots of coffee for the adults. 
John's pride and joy: bacon pancakes!

John, the boys, and I managed to get the house cleaned up pretty quickly, so we headed out for a bike ride to downtown Coeur d'Alene. We are at one of our favorite downtown spots and played at the park.

Needless to say, the boys were EXHAUSTED this evening and as of 7:00, all 3 were in bed, and I'm hanging out with John and Ender in the backyard. It's a beautiful evening!

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Summer Days

Slipping away. I feel like summer is disappearing before my eyes! We have been busy busy busy and of course that makes it go even quicker. Not what I want happening when I want to be savoring the hot sunny days!

My parents and sister just came for a visit (they left today) and brought their tiny rescued kitten, Rocky, along. Needless to say, we now have 3 boys who want to kitty! Poor boys were shut down by their parents who couldn't handle any more craziness. But look at this cuteness! I can't blame the boys for being a bit love struck!
I may have spent a lot of time cuddling Rocky, and taking pictures of him because he's so photogenic!

We had another 4 legged visitor as well...

B also got to do a little birthday celebration while Momma & Poppa were here. He was super excited about his Star Wars lego set, but the crossbow was definitely the big hit. The boys have been target shooting!

We had a bit of excitement last weekend when John, my dad, and the boys went fishing at a little mountain lake - 10 miles up a little windy dirt road In the middle of nowhere. We just recently replaced our tiny Subaru with a diesel truck since John no longer has a commute (he bikes to work most days) and we are working towards being debt free. We bought a truck that was cheap. We knew it had some issues, but we took it to 2 shops and while there are things that need to be done, nothing that should immediately make it undriveable...well...you can probably guess where this is going. I got a call from John in the mid-afternoon that the truck wouldn't start. He and I both called around and basically accomplished nothing. We couldn't find any tow trucks willing or able to go up that road! Thank goodness we live in N. Idaho where every other person has a diesel truck. There were lots of people trying to diagnose the issue to no avail, BUT there was a guy up at the lake who had a flatbed trailer who was willing to tow the truck down! He ended up towing it all the way to the service department at a car dealer. I wish I had some pictures of how the whole thing went down, but I was too busy biting my nails at the way they had to load and unload the truck!

Other than that excitement, we've been swimming, going to the beach, 
bike riding,
 going to the park, gardening,
 canning,
 squirt gun fighting, 
and just generally go go going. John and I even snuck in a date night while my parents were here (never mind that it was a dinner put on by an investment company!). It was beautiful weather and the scenery was perfect. We got to sit outside and eat a yummy dinner while looking out at the lake. Not a bad date night!



Monday, August 4, 2014

Huckleberry Picking

We went huckleberry picking twice last weekend! John is a huge huckleberry fan, and the boys love them too. I'm more of a blueberry girl, but I have to admit, huckleberry pancakes are pretty delish...even more than blueberry pancakes. We try to go a couple of times per year, but usually we only end up with a quart or 2 to freeze, along with a few to eat fresh.

This year though! The bushes were LOADED! We could've easily picked twice as many if we weren't trying to keep it fun for the kids, and we still got probably about 1.5 gallons. Our freezer is now loaded, and we had yummy pancakes AND milkshakes! 

Ender LOVED the huckleberries. She was eating them off the bushes!
Slight mishap...this boy fell down that gigantic dirt hill in the first picture. Ouch!

Just Some Summer Fun

I'm trying to enjoy the summer and not think about the fact that it's almost August and my boys (all 3!!) will be heading to school soon. I wish it was June again (with July weather of course).

Just a few pics of the SUMMER from the last few days...

Our garden is producing a bounty of kohlrabi, peas (still!), kale, peppers, and green beans. Less bountiful are the tomatoes (we've only gotten a few), and the raspberries are slowing down sadly. We have a handful of blueberries here and there. We have a few baby sprouts on our Brussels sprouts that I'm pretty excited about! Possibly the most exciting thing about Fall will be our Fall garden that I'm working on right now.

Just beautiful. I love the sunsets from our backyard.

Oh yes, 108! Hot hot hot! We had escaped the heat for a trip to the movies with friends, but when we got out to the car, I burned my legs on the seats. Ouch. 

Friends visiting from Oregon

Coffee/OJ date with the littlest while the other 2 were at golf lessons

Apparently 100 degrees is too hot for most people around here, so we got to enjoy an afternoon at the splash pad ALONE. And to make it even quieter, Preston was at a friend's house!
See? Not too hot for us! I finally had to force him to come into the shade and drink some water.

These 2. Adorable.

Pool noodle cage fighting!