Food, Glorious Food

We planted strawberries a couple of years ago, and they are doing really well this year. I was so excited when I was able to pick this big, beautiful bowl of strawberries. I figured that if I froze this batch, I would probably have enough to make strawberry jam by the end of the summer. I carefully washed each strawberry and laid them out to dry on a dish towel. When they were dry, I placed them into a freezer bag. I noticed the next day that they looked a little freezer burnt. I checked to make sure the bag was sealed up tight, which it was. I thought maybe there was a chance they hadn't fully dried, so removed them from the freezer. My plan was to let them thaw and dry them thoroughly. I was so disappointed when they all turned to MUSH!!! So much for this year's jam :(

As long as we're on the subject, I thought I would include a few more pictures of food...

Travis went to the refrigerator to get some cheese to go with his crackers. This is what he found. I'll give you one guess who the culprit was.

Just curious if I'm the only one who burns the last waffle to a crisp? I ALWAYS do this. I put the last waffle on to cook and completely forget about it until I can smell it burning.

This was an extra cake left over from Tyler's birthday. I decided rather than letting it go to waste, I might as well frost it. I was having a difficult day, and was looking forward to putting the kids to bed, taking a bubble a bubble bath, and enjoying a piece of cake. I don't particularly even like sweets, but I was FURIOUS when I went to cut myself a big slice of cake, and found this. For sure madder than I should have been about a cake, for crying out loud. In fact, it almost brought me to tears. The kids were lucky that they were asleep that night. Once again, I'll let you decide who the culprit was.

Manti

This blog is a little late because I had such a hard time choosing the right pictures. I picked out my very favorites, and there were 51 of them. After much thought, I was able to narrow it down to just 19.

Manti is, quite honestly, one of my favorite times of the year. I look forward to leaving the distraction of phone calls, computer, television and other daily interruptions to go camping. I love the quality time spent with the family playing games, fishing, going on rides every night to see who can spot the most deer, which, I believe, I took a close second! Not to mention, I love soaking in the beauty! Every year I am amazed with the scenery. It's almost like I am seeing it for the first time. Absolutely amazing!

KATE

I was worried about how Kate would do. When we first got there, she wouldn't even put her hands in the dirt and was quite frustrated when they got dirty. I had nightmares of her being a girly girl. What in the world was I going to do? By the second day, she had a change of heart. She LOVED getting dirty and had plenty of friends to show her how. I also really worried about her sleeping habits. She loves her bed and WILL NOT sleep anywhere but her bed. She also loves her sleep, often sleeping for more than 15 hours a day. The first night was a little rough, but after that, she adjusted beautifully. She was even able to catch a few naps. She loved watching the kids fish and found the fish quite amusing. She would giggle with delight every time one was caught. She also discovered her love of pretzel M&Ms and had an aunt that was more than willing to share. She would suck all the chocolate off and feed me the pretzel. So funny!

Eating her pretzel M&Ms, or at least the chocolate

She's definitely got her dad's sweet tooth!

GAVIN

Gavin. Hmm. What can I say about Gavin? He is such a boy. Constantly running, climbing, jumping and getting into mischief with his cousin, Zack. He had no problem getting filthy, and actually enjoyed doing it. He fell into the pond on the first day, but that didn't slow him down a bit. I always thought that there wasn't a thing that he was afraid of... until this trip when we discovered his fear of gorillas. During our huge potluck dinner, someone dressed up as a gorilla and ran through the camp. He was TERRIFIED!!! I have never seen him scared before or run as fast as he did then. He loved fishing, shooting the BB gun, catching salamanders and tadpoles, and especially riding the four wheeler. Uncle Ben was such a good sport. He spent the majority of his days entertaining the kids.

Here he is with his salamander.

This picture cracked me up. He had caught a fish, and right when he got it to the bank, it got off the hook. He was very disappointed and this was his reaction.

EMILY

Emily's highlight of the camping trip was when Dustin took her rafting. Despite the fact that the river was freezing cold, the raft got a hole in it, and one of the paddles broke, she had the time of her life! *Note to self: Bring an extra pair of shoes next year. Hers got soaking wet, so she had to wear mine for most of the day. I ended up wearing Travis' size 13s. A little big and hard to walk in!* She was the only one of the kids that dared to pick up a fish. She even insisted on putting her fish on the stringer by herself. That's my girl!!!

Rafting with Dustin and Emma
The big catch!

TYLER
We hardly saw Tyler. He came around when he was hungry, tired or thirsty. He and Ryan spent their days shooting their guns, and scoping the pond for all sorts of creatures. He has become quite the fisherman this year, even bating his own hook. He also has quite an eye for spotting deer!

The famous Rolfson Creek. The images of the man bathing here the year before will never be erased from our memories!

Tyler and Robbie's frog

Zack, Emily, Gavin, Brooklyn and Kate

I loved this picture of Hailey and Kate. Hailey and Brooklyn spent lots of time taking care of Kate, and I dare say that Kate enjoyed every minute of it.

As for Travis and I, we enjoyed relaxing, playing games with the family, reading books, fishing, watching the kids, playing volleyball and horseshoes, and sitting by the campfire. We had such a great time, and I can't wait to go again next year :)

Travis kept busy keeping the kids poles baited and in the water.

This is the one and only picture of me from the trip. And I took it myself.

Upchucks

Gavin: Mom. I'm hungry. Can I have some upchucks?

Mom: Upchucks?

Gavin: Yes. Upchucks.

Mom: UPCHUCKS?

Gavin: YES. UPCHUCKS.

Hmmm... think, think, think.

Mom: Apple Jacks?

Gavin: Oh. Ya. Applejacks.

Sigh of relief!!!

Kate's first E.R. visit

I have a bad habit of tossing the kids stuff they leave upstairs by the top of the stairs. At the end of the day, I take one trip downstairs with all of their junk. Last Friday was no different. I tossed Emily's locket, among other things at the top of the stairs. I didn't think twice about it, because Kate has NEVER put anything in her mouth.

A few hours later, I was getting ready to make dinner. I heard Kate gagging a little and immediately knew what had happened. I rushed to her, but I was too late. I told Travis that I thought she had eaten a locket. He wondered if I had seen her eat it, which I hadn't, and he asked me how I knew. Mother's intuition is a crazy thing. How many times has she coughed and I haven't thought twice about it, or even heard it. This time was different. I knew something was wrong.

I called the doctor, and they said I needed to take her to the E.R. for X-rays to make sure it wasn't stuck in her esophagus. I felt so bad, because I knew that it was my fault. I cried and apologized all the way to the E.R. There were several doctors that asked me what had happened. I felt like I was hooked up to the lie detector test. I tried to tell the exact same story every time. I was sure that they were going to report me to DCFS. We were lucky, the X-rays showed that the locket had moved down into her bowels. The doctor thought it would pass the next day.

6 days and at least 10 dirty diapers later, we were able to retrieve the locket. What a relief! I was really starting to worry. I wiped the locket off enough just to take a picture of it, then immediately discarded it. Yes, I know how disgusting this picture is, but I thought one day she would like to see it.

Emily's First Sleepover

Emily invited her cousin over for her very first sleep over. I really think that I was as excited as she was. The girls had so many big plans for the night. We went to watch Emily play baseball and then had some dinner. After dinner, they took their sleeping bags out to the trampoline and started to watch a movie. We were going to light a fire and roast smores, but unfortunately it rained. We were able improvise and roasted our smores over the stove and set up a tent in the basement to watch the movie in. They stayed up until about 10:30 when they finally crashed. At 6:00, they came giggling up the stairs and asked me for breakfast. WHAT? Don't you know it's 6:00 a.m.? I got up a few minutes later and made French Toast. We went to see a movie and then they just enjoyed playing outside. Thanks, Bree, for coming. Emily had a great time!

Last Day of School

The kids both had a great school year. Emily had two teachers. Mrs. Kroeger in the morning, and Ms. Allred in the afternoon. She adored both of her teachers, and had another successful year. It's been amazing to watch her progress in her reading and math. She loved school lunch (especially the pasta) and making new friends. Her favorite subject is math and she is looking forward to being a second grader.

Emily and Mrs. Kroeger

Emily and Ms. Allred

Tyler wouldn't let me take a picture of him and his teacher, but Mrs. Barnhill did an excellent job. His report card showed that he is on an 8th grade reading level, and a 7th grade math level. His favorite thing about the 4th grade was the science experiments. He took third place in the spelling bee, and did a great job in the geography bee. He insisted on taking his lunch on the chicken pot pie and shrimp popper days, but like Emily, he loved the pasta.

I enjoy attending the lowering of the flag. It always makes me a bit emotional listening to 700+ students singing the national anthem. I am looking forward to summer vacation and an even better 2010-2011 school year!

GG's Funeral

My grandma's funeral was held May 20, 2010.

My grandma was a master gardener. She had the most incredible flower gardens. She would not have been disappointed in her flowers. They were amazing.

We decided to have a balloon release. I had never seen one, and it was pretty neat. Emily said, "I bet GG grabbed one of the balloons and took it to heaven with her." She also prays every night that GG will be safe in heaven.

It was so hard to say goodbye to my grandma. The hardest part for me was leaving the mortuary the night of the viewing. It was also very difficult for me to see the hearse waiting for her the next morning. There are days that it is still hard for me to believe she's gone. She was such an incredible woman and will not be forgotten. I love you, Grandma.