suncatchers

Is it really the end of July?!  Gracious.  S went to the craft store with me (needed yarn for Baby4's blanket) and picked out a craft.  Remember these?!  They're plastic now (pretty sure the one I made was glass back in the day) and their little fingers did a splendid job.

I like pictures of fruit.

 Small A is getting in on puzzle time.

S is into taking my picture and telling me that I look tired.  Thanks, son!

And P is sticking pretty close to me these days.  She woke up late one night to tell me she was so hungry.  I said she could have Cheerios.  She climbed over me, stretched out and fell back asleep.  I don't think she was really hungry.  Dustin must have tossed her back into bed, 'cause I fell asleep too.

brothers

Hard to believe that Baby A is our chubbiest yet.  They're all so slim.

campy mccamperson

It started out so well.  We got to Sylvan Lake, set up shop, had dinner, went for a hike around the lake (deer!  beavers!!).

But poor Little A did not have a good evening or night.  He was sloppy on his feet after the hike and threw up a few times.  We think the altitude + teething drainage = sad A.

But then he woke up the next morning and seemed much, much better.  Ate a huge breakfast and we set off on another hike.

While S&P practiced their air guns (watch out, NRA!), I kissed A, fed him cranberries and explored.

S shot a pinecone clear off a log!

And then A got tired.

P is very into self portraiture. 

We went back to camp, had lunch and settled A in for a snooze.  Dustin played with his new scope.

It rained a little & I took a nap.

But then Little A woke up and was so very sad (the tent is red, he wasn't really that pink).  So we decided we couldn't keep him up in the hills another night.

So we spent the rest of the day playing in the creek.  Totally reminded me of childhood in Tennessee.

And A really wanted in on the action, so we let him play too.

And then I showered the kids while Dustin packed up and we headed home late.  Not *quite* the best trip ever, but it really was fun.  The kids were sad to come home early but had a wonderful time the whole time they were there.  I consider it a success.  A is much better a mile closer to sea level.

the kitchen gets hot

With the expectation that our house will shortly be a bit [more] crazy, I am trying to make it through a few things before I'm a) too tired to do anything other than parent or b) too hot to do anything other than eat popsicles.  So far I've been neither, but you never know when that will change!

Peaches have been on sale.  All in all, we wound up with 45lb.  The LG helped make jam and I canned 20 quarts for the basement.  It was perfect timing, their skins practically fell off, and everything sealed.  That should free me up for putting some pears away later, before applesauce.  I got better about stuffing them into jars this year, but there must be an actual method in order to really maximize quantity.  I'm not overly impressed with the peach freezer jam - just it's consistency.  It's beautiful.  Sometimes I want to line my south-facing kitchen window sill with all our jars of jam and just watch the sun shine through.  I've had other people's freezer jams that didn't set very well, but ours have set just like canned jam until this time.  We've never tried straight peach before.  Oh well!  Bet it's still terrific.  The kids also made some strawberry jam - it set wonderfully.  I wanted to try apricot (love the color! love the taste!) but Dustin told me it was one of his least favorites (anyone want a 1/2 batch of apricot jam?!) so I hesitated.

S manned the pickle-making table. We got our first cucumber from the garden yesterday and added it to the mix. Little A is starting to 'help' in the kitchen and couldn't be more pleased with himself. My soaker hose is starting to fail (to be dealt with shortly) but the garden is thriving. I planted a morning glory seed right next to each sunflower and it's lovely to see them twining up. We went camping this past weekend. Summer is in full swing. I'm going to miss the state fair this year (much more rewarding prior engagement, you know), but if I can sweet talk Dustin into a county fair or two, I'll be golden.

As for other projects, I keep looking at storage solutions. But I want to actually own fewer things. So why would I need more storage? Conundrum.

have teeth, will eat

I love popsicles

I love oatmeal

I hate teething

but I sure love Daddy