Clam Party

I had so much fun clamming at the sibling reunion that I took the kids over the weekend. Crystal was smart and stayed home and rested. The clamming was not as prolific as when we were there and the water didn't go down as far. There were not very many people out either. We ended up getting hit by a couple of sneaker waves. Chas was filling up our bucket with water and a wave hit him and he lost the clam! I waded back out and found it . We quit shortly thereafter. We ended up getting enough clams for a nice clam fry before the kids decided they were too cold! We all had pretty wet feet and the kids were very excited to have a fire. We roasted marshmellows on the beach and enjoyed the night . I think the highlight for the kids was roasting marshmallows and staying warm around the fire. It wasn't terribly cold but once our feet were wet it got miserable in a hurry. They are excited to go back when we have warmer shoes!!

Washington gives back

When we were talking about moving to Washington we lamented giving up our wonderful garden and all the food it provided our family. All year we ate the tomatoes we canned. We loved the fresh food that we grew. We knew a home in Washington would come with a much smaller yard and a very small garden. I wasn't sure if we would have a chance to can our food.

Well it turns out I was wrong. In the two months since we moved here we have picked blackberries, dug clams and then picked apples. The best part is that we didn't pay anything for any of this stuff except for the gase to get there. The last 2 weeks the kids and I have been pretty busy turning apples into applesauce. We ended up with 52 quarts of applesauce. At the rate the kids are eating it I'm not sure it will last until next year.

I love home canned food. It tastes so much better than what you get at the store. I'm sure glad that mom gave me a pressure cooker for my birthday last year. I have goetten a lot of use out of that puppy.

Great great grandma

I spoke to grandma tonight and she told me that she had been in an accident about a week ago, she was rear ended. She is fine, but a little sore and no plans to have that happen again anytime soon. I am sure she would like to hear from all of us again, she is having a good visit with Kelly who is on his way to CA next week.

"Bountiful Recycles"!!!!

We just received our recycle bin =) It is as big as our garbage cans!!!! I can't wait to use it.

Quilting

I just thought that I would share my latest project with you all. I recently got the quilting bug and I found a pattern online for a strip quilt that works well with scraps. It is a really cool method where you sew the fabric together on top of paper (hard to explain but it makes for a really slick process).The progress thus far. I have four more blocks to make and then whatever border I decide to make.

A Senior Moment... this one's for mom.

mom has a friend in Florida...

Jack-O-Lanterns

When we were in Washington we carved pumpkins. As I was taking pictures the kids got the idea to animate the pumpkins with sound effects. I thought that it was quite clever. Here is the video clip.

We are so lucky to have MOM!

The Swing

How do you like to go up in a swing,
Up in the air so blue?
Oh, I do think it the pleasantest thing
Ever a child can do!

Up in the air and over the wall,
Till I can see so wide,
Rivers and trees and cattle and all
Over the countryside---

Till I look down on the garden green,
Down on the roof so brown—
Up in the air I go flying again,
Up in the air and down!

I remember----being a little girl sitting by my mother’s side and listening to her read me the poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson from the book A Child’s Garden of Verse. It was my favorite book and I can still repeat many of the poems from heart. Not only do they bring images of my childhood to mind they recall the legacy of learning my parents gave up as I grew and matured in their home. Books were an important part of our lives. Both of my parents loved to read and to learn out of the best books. We read history, geography, poetry, classic literature and spiritual books. This legacy of the love of learning and the quest for knowledge is one of the gifts my parents gave me that I am most grateful for.

I remember----my father walking around the house and quoting passages from Shakespeare from memory. I remember him poring over maps and “The National Geographic” magazine, learning of far-away places where he could only dream of going. I remember how, when he read something that pleased him, he would share it with his family. He was always reading us some quote or passage from a book he was reading. I remember how much he loved the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Sadly, I can also remember a teacher in high school teaching us that Longfellow was not considered one of the “great” American poets. I shared this new “wisdom” with my father and tormented him about how he should spend his time reading literature that was “better.” Before my new-found wisdom we had both enjoyed memorizing Longfellow’s poems. I can remember hearing him reading parts of “The Song of Hiawatha” and “Evangeline” out loud. And what better way to spark an interest in American history than through Longfellow’s words: “Listen, my children, and you shall hear of the midnight right of Paul Revere. . . “? Years later Doug and I were in Minnesota at Lake Minnehaha (Hiawatha) and I thought, “I really like Longfellow and it’s alright if I enjoy his works!” I bought a book of his poetry again; I only wish I could tell my Papa that it was okay if he liked Longfellow, Shakespeare, Edgar A. Guest or his mother’s poetry or anyone whose words touched his soul. After all, who was I to be his reading critic!

I remember----a mother who was very busy trying to feed and clothe her many children with little money. I remember that she made time to read to me during the day when my older siblings were at school. When I checked the book, Anne of Green Gables out of the library she was excited to share her memories of reading the same book when she was a girl. I loved the story so much that I read the whole series and we had fun sharing our thoughts about Anne. I remember that when she had a little time to herself she would usually choose a church book to read. From her I learned to prioritize the use of time. Feeding her spirit was as important as feeding her body. Only after her child-rearing days were behind her can I remember her reading “for fun.” She had a five volume set of books called Out of the Best Books. They contained an anthology of short stories, essays and poetry that she loved to read and re-read. I can remember her reading to her grandchildren out of the same books I had loved as a child. My little children used to look forward to The Little Golden Book she would choose each year and mail to them for their birthdays.

I remember----that we hardly had money for the necessities of life, let alone luxuries, but I remember that there were always books and good magazines to read at home. I remember always getting a new book of my very own each Christmas. When I was little I remember following DeOn as she walked around the house with a book in her hand reading as she did her chores. I wanted to be able to read books like she did. I can still remember the moment when the mystery of the written word became clear in my mind and I could read! That led me to the wonders of the library where I could check out two books at a time, return them and get two more. I was in book heaven! My library card was number “24” and I kept that same number until I married Doug and moved to Pocatello. I was taken to the library many times by DeOn and Janelle until I was old enough to go by myself. I remember spending a lot of time in the summer, going to the library, coming home, reading the books and going back to the library, sometimes all in the same day. One Christmas DeOn and Derlin gave me a Nancy Drew book and it started a life time of loving good mysteries.

I remember----reading Scripture stories with both my parents and I knew early in my life that they believed them to be true and patterned their lives after the precepts they found in them. In my mind’s eye I can see a picture of Father with one hand on the doorknob and the other hand holding a book called, Know Your Bible. He is dressed in his overcoat and is on his way to teach others the Gospel. I can recall Mother telling us how when she was a teenager she read a book, Ancient Apostles, by David O. McKay, and how much love and respect she had for those men of long-ago who testified of the Savior.. After their kids were raised, Mother and Father were able to afford to buy more books; they joined the Deseret Book Club and bought many good Church books that they willingly shared with us. I have a pleasant memory of my brothers and sisters and myself sitting in the living room taking turns choosing books from their library after Mother’s death. I still treasure those gifts they left behind because they speak to me of the legacy of learning they gave to all their children and grandchildren.

I have a quote on my bulletin board by the author Anna Quindlen that I think puts into words the love of reading my parents instilled into their family:
I would be most content if my children grew up to
be the kind of people who think decorating consists
mostly of building enough bookshelves.


I am most grateful that in the world I grew up in I was read to as a small child, that as I grew I was encouraged to read and to not only read but to read the best of literature and balance that learning by embracing the Scriptures.

I remember----this as a greater legacy than designer clothes, exotic vacations or a large home. I am rich because my parents created a home filled with the love of learning.

Project 365 11-3-08

11-3-08 I'm trying to get the last of the pre-winter yard work done before the snow falls. I ordered 165 bulbs. Today I planted 90 of them in this space. Before I could plant however I had to pull out 4-5 invasive bushes. I have always thought that this was a nice area of the yard but it was hard too see because it was shrouded by the invasive bushes. I'm really excited to see what it looks like in the spring when all of the bulbs come up!!!

Harris Family Weekend

We had a great weekend with our Harris family in Washington.  Since we live in the apple state (not sure if that is official but I like it) we drove over to Yakima to get some Apples.  We called Aunt Carol and told her we were coming over to get apples and that we would like to drop by and see her.  She immediately got busy and found a place for us to pick apples.  We took the scenic route over white pass and it was so pretty.  We were in a hurry to get there and I didn't have a chance to take pictures but I can't wait to go camping in that area next summer.  We did stop at white pass and throw our first snowballs of the year.

We ended up gleaning apples and getting four bushels!  There will be a lot of applesauce being made in the next week.  The kids all took turns climbing the ladders and dropping apples down to put in the bucket.  The kids also had a ball riding in the orchard owners golf cart.

It had been years since I had seen Aunt Carol but she treated us like long lost family.  Our kids had a ball with her Granddaughter Becca and even got to ride the go cart.  Becca had a basketball game and we had fun cheering for her team.  They ended up winning by two points!  We had a good visit with Uncle Lee whose health is on the mend right now but his spirits are good.

On Sunday we invited Ben and Amelia Harris over for dinner.  I knew that Ben lived in Puyallup but we found out that they only live about two miles away from us!  The kids oohed and ahhed over their little Harris cousins.  They have two daughters age 3 and 10 months.  Chas entertained the 3 year old better and I would have ever thought possible.  Katie and Emma had so much fun holding the baby.  They are excited to be big helpers when the baby comes.

One of the plusses of moving to WA has been being close to family.  Since we have been here we have had fun with David and Lana, Stacey, All the beach Pigs and now the Harris cousins.  It is great to have family close by.  It was so great when we had y'all at the house.  There is an instant closeness in family.  All of us pigs were lucky to come from two great extended families.

Happy Halloween

 

Here is a look at the kids costumes on Halloween. 

We had a great time.  Crystal invented Chas' costume and he loved it.  The girls dresses are authentic Chinese dresses on loan from Stacey.  This year the kids did a first and went out on their own in our neighborhood.  They were a little shocked when we sent them out on their own.

The funniest moment of the night is when the kids came back to our house.  By this point they had pooled together with several other kids in the neighborhood.  When they came to our door to trick or treat us the kids gave me the Hot Tamales that our neighbors had given out and I gave them some candy.  My kids know I love hot tamales and they don't care for them.  The other neighbor kids proceeded to give me their hot tamales in exchange for candy.  I'm still not sure if they didn't like hot tamales or if they thought they had to make a trade to get something from me.

After the show was over the kids have a tradition of trading candy with each other so they all get what they want.  They stayed downstairs for an hour trading candy.  I'm glad they all get along so well.  (most of the time!!)