As Corny as Kansas in August

--

We shucked, cleaned, and prepped the corn and ended up with 35 ears and a bunch of creamed corn. However, I thought this photo best depicted the magnitude of the job. My helpers did all the shucking (and jiving?) while I washed, trimmed, blanched and bagged. Although I had more individual tasks our workload was about even. I'm proud of my little workers.

Here's to hoping your summer is corny, too!

Much Love,
--J

Even more pickin'

Thanks to some kind family friends with an awesome garden we're enjoying a sweet bounty.  The kids and I picked corn, squash, zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cantaloupe yesterday morning.  45 minutes of picking yielded this...

It is literally more than we could carry! Holdyn is proving to be a very good farmer-boy. He loves the hunt for ripe veggies/fruits. Also, he love the various creatures he finds while picking! Evie and Kallie seem to be able to find any ants within a 50 mile radius, become promptly bitten, and then find the closest shady spot to "rest" and "take a water break". However, they love to help me prepare the bounty once we get it home. I love it all! I so wish that we would have planted a garden this year. It is high on my list of goals for next year, though. Especially since the kiddos are so enthusiastic. In the past any garden we had was a solo effort on my part.

So, how does your garden grow? What do you love to plant? What never turns out?

Much Love,
--J 

Blueberry Picking

We made a trip to a local blueberry farm today and did a little picking.  I tried to get us there early but by 9am it was already close to 95degrees out.  The place was beautiful and the bushes were loaded!  We picked 5 quarts in just under an hour. 

Since the farm is only open on Fridays and Saturdays I plan to get out there at least once more this summer.  The kids loved it but started to flag near the end.  In an effort to push them on to full our bucket I suggested we sing while we picked.

We only had to sing a couple verses of "Found a Peanut" and "She'll be Comin' Round the Mountain" before we had the bucket filled and were ready to go home.  Of course, our renditions had blueberry picking appropriate lyrics -- "Found a blueberry" and "She'll be pickin blueberries when she comes." 

Apparently we had an audience to our performance because as soon as I told the kids we could pack up a lady picking across from us, whom I didn't see before I suggested singing, said she'd enjoyed our entertainment and was sorry we were leaving. Maybe the farm should hire us and pay us in blueberries?! ;)

Hope you're having a sweet summer!

Much Love,

-J

Walk Like an Egyptian

The kids have been going to vacation Bible school at a nearby church this week.  They've had a great time learning about the Israelites in Egypt.  I've enjoyed the three hour study sessions (comps are today).  I've always wondered why we LDS folks don't have VBS, but I'm not asking for another calling or assignment, so I've kept my wondering to myself. ;) Today is the last day of VBS and the kids were told to dress like any Egyptian or Bible figure they've studied.  Here's what I dropped off this morning --

Yikes! (That's a mummy, Miriam hold baby Moses, and Pharaoh in case you can't tell.)

Much Love,
--J

Collages