Perserving the Harvest

This summer we had it easy.. we canned  things Daddy bartered or bought at farmers market. Dan took Xander every week to farmer's market to squeeze and sell Lemonade. Xander made change and took money. There was lots for Xander to learn and he came out of this season with a good deal of experience. Dan would catch his mistakes and they both had a good time on Thurs... well all except the getting up at 5:30 in the morning. :)  Josie wanted to go badly but was allowed to go only twice.  

We canned peaches and tomatoes, froze some apple sauce, sour cherries, and peaches too. We made some meat relish and the applesauce is still yet to come (Lord willing)! In the picture Xander is holding 2 quarts of peaches and Josie and Aliza are peeling tomatoes after I blanched them. If you look closely you can see not only the tomatoes (2 T of lemon juice with them) in the jars ready for the canner but also the coffee filters with the heirloom tomato seeds.. that is a huge experiment this year and I am not sure at all I have done it successfully. But we tried and will see!  Booboo can walk and keep up with his little, walk-behind toy... he is such a big boy and has learned not only to come up the stairs with ease but to turn around and come backwards down the stairs! I am scared to let him come down on the big run of wooden steps but he handles the 6 stairs into the apartment fine now! :) He has already taken his first steps too! What a boy! He stands frequently now and will even pick up a toy on the floor and stand back up without sitting down. Soon nothing will be stopping him.

Josie's First Big Ride ----Briggs, Joliet- New Lenox -Mokena -Frankfort, IL

Well we decided to do it! The bike ride we have hoped to do all summer. The cooler weather was here and the wind was not to bad. Dan brought us in the Box Truck to "Somewhere around Briggs St" in Joliet. This was exciting because we were sitting in the box truck "BOX" on the floor with babies on our laps and the bikes in front of us. We could see the shadows of all the leaves and branches above us on the wooded drive. We were quiet because we could picture Dan having to come along side a police car with his windows rolled down and him hearing various kids talking and laughing knowing that there were no children in the cab of the truck. :) I  nursed Cooper quick and changed a diaper on the short ride and took off maybe around 9am. We peddled hard and mommy ended up with the backpack full of water and the bike cart which seems to get heavier every year. (or is that with the addition of every baby?) Anyway- we made it all the way to Frankfort for ice cream.  I seriously considered calling Grandma Betty to come and get the little ones but I dropped my phone and it needed to be re booted before I could make a call. We arrived back into her yard a little after lunch and if you can see in the pictures I ended up giving the two babies suckers to pacify them. I could smell grape sucker all the way home as I kept reassuring the crankiness I heard behind me: "We are almost home" . We cut through the high school parking lot where we had to unload the bike cart and take it off the bike to get it through the narrow man gate. When I got off the bike I saw where Aliza's sucker ended up... and some of the reason for the crankiness.  It was in Booboos hair! and poor cooper was slipped as far off his seat as he could go but rewarded my efforts with a hug grin.  I pulled the purple, sticky offender out and though I got a hairy sucker back he didn't cry. They were happy to be home. So were we all I but I am glad we went. We hope to go further this year yet. We will see. :)