Canning and First Day of School

This summer has been so busy that I am grateful to be back into our routine. I love having the kids home for the summer but it is always nice as well to stick with our schedule. The kids have been so excited about school starting we went and met the teachers a week before school started and Madison got the teacher she wanted, Mr. Mank, and Zachary got a new teacher to the school, Miss Wills. So far school seems to be good, we have only been in for two days but the kids are liking and there are a couple of first for me and I don't know if I am quite ready for them. The first are really with Madison being in the 4th grade now. Well when she was a 3rd grader she got a calendar and notes from the teacher telling us what they expected from the homework so that I fully understood what they wanted, well Madison has only been in school for 2 days and she has had homework both those days. I don't know if it is because she just is distracted and not getting it done at school or if it is truly homework. Well today she had to write a poem (this is what I have to get used to because there was no note from the teacher) and she told me that it was a Biography Poem and it was about her, they had facts that they had to put in there about themselves. Well I asked her if the teacher sent anything home to tell me anything about the homework, she said no he doesn't do that. So basically I have to depend on Madison this year to remember what her teacher tells her and know that she will tell me the right thing. I don't know if I am quite ready for this yet. I still kind of wish that the teacher would send something home but I know what he is trying to do. So Madison got her poem done with the help of her dad.

Now there is Zachary and his teacher, I got frustrated today because I was reading the papers yesterday when the kids got home and I was reading about Zach's teacher and some of her expectations and the one big thing is that she expects the kids to be responsible to get there folders and any paper work that needs to come home and put it in there folders and take them home and then when they get to school to take papers out put them in the places that they need to be, well yesterday Zach never brought home his folder and in the folder is a calander that I have sign and it tells me how he did that day. So he didn't bring it home and I told him that he needs to bring it home today and I told him that at the bus stop and he gets home today and I look in his back pack and what does he bring home, his three ring binder, I asked him why he brought it home and he said that he thought I said his binder not his folder. Oh my what am I going to do. So I talked to Larry and thankfully my very smart husband suggested that I go to the school tomorrow and tell the teacher he hasn't brought his folder home and then show Zach where his folder is and what he needs to do. So that is what I am doing for Zach. I still think that the teacher can help out a little bit with the kids in that aspect.

So that is the first couple of days of school. I just want to share with you Madison's poem she wrote.

Madison Elizabeth Brown

My name is Madison, I am as sweet as a bowl of sugar, I have a smile as bright as the morning sun, and I have the heart of a lion. I love my family, friends and books, I have a strong positive feelings about my heavenly father, having a home and a family. My middle name is Elizabeth and I am someone who needs a hug in the morning, a smile in the afternoon,and a kiss before bed. I give laughter to my brothers, colored drawings to my Bishop, help to my daddy's store. I fear bugs, scary movies and some dark places. I would like to write my own children's book, be a great pianist, and an elementry school teacher. I live in Everett Washington, and I am the daughter of Larry and Beth and my last name is Brown.

So I hope that you can see what things she had to put in her poem but she came up with her own ideas with a little bit of help from her dad, he helped word I think. I hope the teacher likes it.

I decided to try and be a nice mom and make a hot breakfast for the kids. I don't do this everyday just on special days and the first day of school is a special day. So they requested waffles and bacon.

Here they are before they catch the bus. I just wish that one time all of them could look at the camera at the same time.

The happy first grader

Happy fourth grader

Our cheesy two year old. He kept on asking if he could ride the bus too.

Waiting for the bus. I don't think they were thrilled with the rain.

In his classroom ready to learn.Madison in her classroom.

This picture I took was on Monday because Madison had been going to work with Larry one day out of the week and helping him at the store. She wants an ipod and she wants to earn money herself and so Larry said that she could come to store and help out. Don't worry to those who think this is a bad idea, she doesn't do any heavy labor kind of stuff. She wants to earn the money herself so we thought this would be a good idea and she loves it.

A while back I blogged about canning apple pie filling well I made a pie with it. I made my own crust and used the apple pie filling. This is the before picture of my pie before I put it in the oven. I forgot to take an after picture but Larry said that it was really good. I don't like apple pie so I really make it for him and other people.

A couple of weeks ago I went to my sister's (Carlee) along with Anna and Carlee's friend Nichole and we canned pickles. I only wanted the pickle chips because we like to put them on sandwhiches so that is what we do. I always do pickles with my sister because I think that doing pickles is complicated and I can't ever remember how to do it. You have to make the brine which is vinegar, water pickling salt and alum and then you have to put garlic in the jars and the dill and anyway it takes a while. Carlee seems to have it down on how to do so that is always good.

Here are some of the pickles that are cleaned and ready to be put into jars or sliced up for pickle chips.

The steamer you put your jars in when they are all filled and ready to be steamed.

Ready to be filled with the brine and put in the steamer.

We also did pickled carrots. They are actually really good.

Here is one of my done jars of the pickle chips.

Good Times

It has been a while since I have blogged. We have been busy the last couple of months with traveling for vacations and just being gone really. So for my blog this time I started with the pictures that were the most recent trip we went on. We didn't go far for this last trip we just went up to Bellingham and we took the trailer and camped out on the compound in bewtween my grandma and grandpa's house and my sisters house. It was the perfect camp ground because for one we didn't have to pay for the camp ground and we had the beach and a pool and the kids just got to roam which was really nice. The kids really enjoyed themselves and we always enjoy going up there.

My grandparents got a golf cart to drive around on the compound so that my grandpa could get out side because he can't just go and walk around the property anymore. So the kids discovered the golf cart and Carson loved going for rides in it.

My uncle and cousin went crabbing out in the bay and they got some crab so guess what we did with them?
Here are some more crab.

And this is what we did to them so we could eat them. You can't really see them but all 9 of them are in the pot. We usually good it on the beach and then clean them on the beach as well but for some reason we just did it here.

Madison learned to drive the golf cart and once she got the hang of it she was off all the time in the golf cart.

Something else I like to do up at the compound is pick fresh green beans. They are the best right off the vine. We used these to can. It wasn't alot but enough to make some little jars. We didn't can them for me we canned them for someone else.

My grandma packing the jars with green beans.

Here are our jars.

The next day we had my cousins out and we went on the beach and played and just visited really.

This is Carson not really liking being on the beach because, he got used to it though.

We went and looked under the rocks on the beach and found crabs and this was one of the bigger crabs that we saw.

This is what we see when we are sitting on the beach.

See I told you that he would be o.k later on.

Zach is looking for shells and things on the beach.

Here is what Zach found on the beach.

Here is our camp ground. I think we should camp there all the time.

This is my grandpa getting ready to sit and eat some crab. I wish I would have gotten a front shot of him but I never thought too. I always wait to long, I need to get the picture when I think about it.

Here is the view that we get to see. This is zoomed it but you can still see Mt Baker pretty good and Bellingham is underneath it.

I tried to get a shot of the moon and how it was shining on the water. It isn't the best but you can see it. It looked really cool in person.

One of the nights that we were there we decided to have a beach fire it was cloudy but still fun.

Bellingham.

Zach and Madison throwing rocks in the water.

Our fire.

We left on Sunday the 1st of August, which was my mom's birthday so before we left town we went by the cemetary and put flours there for my mom and clean it up a bit. During the time that we were there at the cemetary my grandpa passed away. It was sad but it was kind of neat too because he died on my mom's birthday. My grandpa had been sick for a long time and had kind of been expected but it also happened kind of suddenly. So we said happy birthday to my mom and said good bye to my grandpa but we will see them both again.

After we left on the 1st the kids and I came back on Tuesday the 3rd to hang out with the family some more and the funeral for my grandpa was on Thursday so we got to camp out some more. One of the things we did while I was up there was can apple pie filling. I had never done that before so my aunt and grandma helped me.

These are fresh apples from the tree, who could ask for more then a bunch of fruit trees to pick off of.

Getting the jars ready.

This is the finishing look of the apple pie filling.

My cousin Holly washing her goat. She does 4H and she has a bunch of goats and this goat that she is getting ready is a meat goat. Then she has goats that she shows at the fair and she breeds them as well.

Carson trying to pet one of the other goats.

On one of the last days we were up in Bellingham we made cookies because the kids wanted to and I think secretly my grandma wanted us to as well.

So now we are onto another little trip that we did. Well it is't really a trip, we just went to Olympia and stayed the night at Larry's mom's house. Madison and Zach stayed with Larry's mom and step dad for a couple of days which was kind of odd to have only one child at home. So while Madison and Zach were staying with Larry's mom Madison got to learn how to ride a horse. These pictures are from when Larry and I were still there and Don't worry she didn't learn to ride without a saddle, during that week she rode with a saddle. Madison loved it and Zach actually rode too.

Here she is just getting started.

Here she is learning how to balance on the horse.

Now she is learning how to get off the horse.

Larry got on the horse gave Carson and Zach a ride.

We are done with the horse and the kids are petting her.

Well back in June Colleen came and visited and helped Jen out with her kids while Jen and Dave had their third baby. The kids were so excited for them to. Zack Conlin and Madison have been great friends from the moment we became friends with the Conlins. It is so great to see how much they have grown.

They are just to cute.

Zach and Josh.

So far our summer has been great, this summer is going by way to fast but I won't lie, I am kind of looking forward to getting back into school just to get back into the routine of things.