August photos

Out of reach

Triangles

Wet

Night shot (which I didn't get, so here's a little blue bird instead)

Nature

Statue

Heat

Back to school

Music

Favorite shot

I can can!

I used my very own canning stuff this week to can tomatoes and sweet pickles, all on my own! It was a little stressful at times, but I really think the trick is practice--you know, getting into a routine with all the steps and parts to the process.

I used the Ball recipe for the tomatoes, and a pickle recipe from my dear friend, Sherry. Every jar popped but one, and we threw those tomatoes right into a soup.

The pickles look a little too green, you say? Why yes, they are. I decided green pickles might be more appealing to little eaters than yellow ones. So I squirted the cucs with food coloring... and now they are neon, florescent, nuclear green! They taste good, however, and I know what not to do next time.

neck tie bibs

While these bibs are not perfect, they are fun nonetheless, don't you think? It almost makes me wish my (big) little guy could wear one.

june photos

Okay, so I'm a little late for last month's pics. It's been a busy summer! Every one of these is from our trip to South Haven, Michigan, in all its delightfulness:

water

trip

summer food #1

summer food #2

endings (end of the pier at the end of the day)

bonus (no accidents in Michigan!)

shapes (heart rock collection at the rental house)

sport/game

blue

flag

clouds

strawberries

U-pick season is here! It's my favorite time of summer. This year we made freezer jam, chocolate-covered, and froze two tray-fuls for smoothies later. Did you know you can freeze them like you do blueberries? Cut, lay on tray, freeze for 2 - 3 hours. Once frozen, transfer to freezer bags. Use as needed! And no sugar added!

may photos

Continuing on my quest to learn how to take good pictures, here is the May roundup of photos from Shannie's challenge.

1. Four Legs

2. Comfort

3. Sunrise

4. self portrait

5. BBQ

6. Mother's Day

7. Black

8a. Close-up

8b. Close-up

9. Smile

10. Shadow

little hearts

army men water slide

E and I saw a pin from this article, where you make a waterway out of foil in which to float and race your boats. We headed out to the backyard this afternoon, made a couple styrofoam boats, rolled out the foil, and started the water hose. E decided that his new Army men might want to ride in the boats. It wasn't long before we found out it worked a lot better to just slide the army men, and not mess with the boats at all. What a fun activity! And, he'll be playing with it again and again throughout the next couple days.