Fishin' in the dark

Well, it wasn't actually dark. But, it was becoming that way quickly.
We took the kids fishing to my dad's pond last night. When we got there it was still pretty light but the sun was going down. Blaine got the kids' poles ready and cast them out. Garrett's line kept trying to tangle every time we cast. I guess thats because its a new line and not stretched out yet.

Here's the pond. It looks a lot darker in this picture than it actually was.

Here we are, just before we left to go home. It was pretty dark by then.

Hannah was so excited to go. She's been asking to go fishing every day. (Either that or swimming). She kept calling the pond "the fishing pool."

Here's the great fisher-boy, Garrett. He had a great time even though we didn't catch anything. The fish weren't biting last night. They weren't even jumping. Oh well. We'll be back!

Here's the fish my dad caught this weekend. We cooked it up and ate it right away. My kids LOVE fish and couldn't get enough.

First Haircut

Ryan got his first haircut on Saturday. He did good but doesn't like having to hold still-or being made to hold still! Ryan has great hair, though. No cowlicks. Poor Garrett has 3 of them.

My awesome friend and hairdresser-Renee- cut his hair.

Here is a before picture. Look at that happy, shaggy-haired baby!

Getting ready! Blaine held him for the whole thing.

Ryan is still doing good...doesn't know whats coming yet.

Now we've gotten to the point where he has to hold still.

As you can see, he hates it. Oh well, just gotta keep going.



But look at the finished product! Such a little man.

I didn't think he could get any cuter but just look at him!

Oooh! I just love this face!

Jam

This summer in Idaho has been a good for rasberries...mine anyway. We have had more rasberries than we knew what to do with. So, what do you do with lots and lots of rasberries? Make jam, of course! Last year I just froze a bunch of rasberries and gave away the rest, but this year, I wanted to be a little more productive. As an added bonus, I would be adding to my food storage without spending any more money, Hooray! (Well, I had to buy the pectin but I had everything else).


I did not want to make freezer jam, I wanted the stuff that will sit on the shelf for a long time. I called my mom to ask her what recipe she used but she wasn't home. So, I called the next best thing...Grandma. I called my Grandma Purcell and asked what recipe she used. "The one on the box of pectin," was her reply. Silly me...who would of thought to look on the box?


So, Blaine and I jumped right in and followed the instructions. After the first batch, we definitly needed a bigger pot to cook it in. Once the jam came to a rolling boil, it became molten rasberry. Very hot and was popping all over the place. Oh well, burns heal, right? Hehe!


The rasberries before I washed them. Click on the
picture and notice the little friend on the left hand side
of the picture.



Garrett was such a great helper! But what
7 year old doesn't jump at the chance to mash a whole
bowl of berries?







The finished product. Tasty. Set up just right.
Not too soft, not too gelatenous.


Overall, we were very successful. I have given some away and got great reviews. We even tried some ourselves. Garrett seemed amazed.


Garrett: "Wow Mom! This is really good!"

Me: "Thanks bud!" *contented sigh*



Now on to the beans...

I got a chuckle out of this!

Ever wonder what happens when you leave your
camera alone with 7 & 8 year old boys?

You get pictures like this:




And this:





And a video like this:

And this:

Bear Lake

We went to a Blaine's family reunion at Bear Lake a couple of weeks ago. I had never been there and was amazed at how pretty it is. I was surprised to see that the water is blue...blue like the Caribbean. I had been told that it was a great place for kids because it was so shallow for a long ways out but I just didn't know what to expect. We situated ourselves on a little sandbar in front of the lake and got ready to play. Usually there is a huge beach that you walk through to get to the lake but the water is really high this year. My kids pretty much lived in their life jackets and in the shallow part of the water but Garrett rode the tubes and the water wienie too.

Hannah wasn't too sure about the water at first and would only play in the sand. But after a "talk" with Aunt Jenn, she was right in there with the rest of the kids.

Grant and the kids made a sand sculpture...a sea turtle. It looked just like Crush from "Finding Nemo." The kids thought this was the coolest thing! You can see our sandbar...to the far left is the parking lot, then some marshy overflow water that we had to wade through to get to the sandbar, then the lake.

Ryan and Taylor...taking a much needed nap.

Ryan loved the water and the waves lapping against his legs. Right after I took this picture a big wave splashed against his chest. He just laughed!


Here they are getting ready to go for a ride. Garrett is next to the last on the banana.

I took this picture from the scenic overlook, just down the road from our campsite. It doesn't do the lake justice. It was really overcast this day so you can't tell how blue the water really is. Bummer....


The day before we went to the lake, we went to Minnetonka Cave. They take you on a guided tour. It is huge inside. Parts have been enlarged so you can walk through. They have stairs and a handrail throughout and it is dimly lit throughout. Very cool. The kids loved it. It stays a constant 40 degrees inside (Blaine and I thought it felt good). There are 440 steps in and of course, that many back out. Hannah was such a trooper. She walked every single step!

This is called the touching rock. It is smooth and shiny from so many people touching it. Here is Garrett...touching it.

This formation is called the 7 dwarfs.

It was an awesome trip...very fun! Looking forward to returning there, hopefully next summer!