Apples

Tuesday, October 25, 2011


We have two apple trees in our new back yard. I had decided when we moved in that I wouldn't let the apples go to waste - I was up to the challenge of processing the apples. I had never juiced or canned, and I was a little overwhelmed. I relied on my Mom to share her juicing and jelly-making skills and her equipment to get the job done. With the apples I made: juice used to make about 24 12oz jars and 12 8oz of jelly, apple sauce, apple pie, and apple turnovers. Everything turned out really well which is a dang good thing. Processing big quantities of food is a lot of work!

A few tips for first time apple juicer:
1. Be prepared to be patient - it takes some time
2. Do not let the water in the juicer run out or let the water boil over - messy
3. Do not put whole apples in the juicer - cut them up first

Yes, I made all the above mistakes. I hope all my family, friends, and neighbors like apple jelly because they may be receiving it as a gift in the near feature. I anticipate becoming an apple processing pro each fall now that I'm a apple tree owner. I'm not sure I'm exactly excited about that or not.  

Changes

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Our family has experienced a great deal of change since this past May. Much to our surprise a Spanish/ESL teaching job at the Lovell schools came open at the end of May. With great anticipation, Bob applied, and we were lucky enough for Bob to get the job and make plans to move home. The biggest stress of moving was selling our house in Lingle. Again, much to our surprise and relief, we were under contract on our house after only four days on the market. We then moved our focus on to finding a house in Lovell. Renting wasn't really an option and we were actually able to buy for just about the same monthly cost of renting. Luck shined on us again during this transition, and we got the house we were hoping for. We closed on the Lingle house on July 22nd and drove away that same day.

We took early possession of the house on the 26th of July and started working on it. We painted the entire interior, replaced the kitchen flooring, and cleaned up the yard before we moved in. We finally moved in on the 9th of August and officially closed on the house on the 17th of August. We like our new house even though it's a little less than half the size of our house in Lingle. It's cozy! And now after 2 1/2 months I'm feeling settled and back into our routine.  
Bob started football practice the 15th, meetings the 24nd, and students the 29th of August. After his first full week of class, he was amazed at the positive difference in student behavior and attitude. Bob's a little overwhelmed with the adjustment of a new school and such but is very glad for the change. Bob has loved coaching football, and the team is doing very well. Addie loves football, too. She says, "Dad coaches football", "Go Bulldogs!", "Touchdown", and "I love football games". She really looks forward to going to the games. The team is hoping for a state championship. Go Bulldogs! 


Saying "Goodbye" to our Lingle House

Our New Lovell House


 Coach Weber

To add more changes to the mix, Bob and I are expecting child number two at the beginning of March. We are very excited and happy for the opportunity. I'm about 19 weeks along, and we will be having our next ultrasound on November 7th. We're really looking forward to finding out the sex and making sure the baby is strong and healthy. The pregnancy has gone well thus far. I wasn't as sick during the 1st trimester as I was with Addie. Also, another difference from my pregnancy with Addie is that this baby is in my right uterus. So the past few months have really been crazy and a blur, but we are grateful for all the wonderful things that have come our way.   

19 Weeks

Addie Turns Two!

Monday, October 17, 2011

On October 14th Addie turned two. We celebrated her birthday Saturday evening with a fun "Elmo" themed party. Addie, like many other toddlers, is a big Elmo fan. We partied with our families, Skypeing with the Weber's. We "surprised" Addie with her party, by having Aunt Katie pick her up about an hour before the final set up of the party. Addie's reaction was great! She immediately was thrilled with all the balloons, party hats, and horns. Addie loves being the center of attention (she's not a shy girl), so she had a wonderful time during the celebration. The activities included: dinner, a slide show, gifts, and cake and ice cream. Addie was spoiled by all our family and got a lot of great gifts. She was entertaining to watch while she opened her presents. She squealed and gasped when she opened her gifts and quickly threw all the clothes aside to look for more books and toys. We're so glad that we were able to share Addie's big day with our families!
At two years old, Addie is a ball of energy and a real character. She is pretend playing more and more. She pretends to be a frog, a kangaroo, and an airplane. She loves to jump up and down and run fast. She talks very well, combining up to four words. She knows her colors, counts to 10 (working on counting to 20), knows her basic shapes, and she is starting to recognize individual letters and numbers. Addie loves to color, and she still loves books. We love our Addie girl!

Yum! Chocolate Cake!



Surprise!
Party Food

The Party Place


Aunt Lindi's Creation
(I'm not a cake decorator)