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Sunday, July 14, 2013

Fishing

 
We took the girls fishing one nice Sunday afternoon.  It has been either raining or cloudy with a chance of rain for weeks on end, so this summer has allowed for a few moments of "play."  We went up to my parent's pond, which is secluded up in a field at the top of their farm.  The pond has bass in it, some large and a lot of them small.
 
Anna caught a fish or two.  See the little one she caught?
 
 
 
She was dressed in bib overalls like her daddy, so the pictures were super cute.  I pretty much took pictures the whole time.

 
Clara also observed all of the action.  And snacked.  Snacks are an essential item in her diaper bag.
 
 
Anna had a play fishing pole that she ran around with when she didn't have the patience to sit still.

 
My favorite picture was of them sitting together just quietly waiting for a bite.  Timeless. 

 
What a wonderful life!


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

First Sweet Corn

 
Sweet corn just came into season in Western New York and oh how sweet the first bite of local sweet corn is.  We wait all year for a corn on the cob.  It really makes you appreciate it all the more. 
 
 
I love watching little ones eat sweet corn.

 
Now it is truly summer!


Monday, July 8, 2013

Garden 2013... My Husband's Addiction

Yes, those two parts of this title belong together.


He is addicted to his garden, I swear!  Every moment he is not consumed with farm work he is consumed with garden work.  He loves it.  And I have to admit, by the end of the summer I am glad it is done!  But I am glad that this vice of his is a good one.  He's the happiest of happy hilling his potatoes (his favorite veggie) and weeding/rototilling with his mantis tiller.  My job?  To do something with the produce.  And we're just on the cusp of full-on harvest.
 
Some pictures of our 2013 garden follow, taken one evening as the sun started to go down. 

 
Peas and Beans.  Just flowering now, so no harvest yet.
 
 
Broccoli, mostly consumed fresh.
 
 
Squash.  Zucchini and Yellow Summer Squash.  We are very tired of these prolific vegetables (or fruits?) by the end of the summer.
 
 
Cabbage.  This was our first try at growing cabbage so we only planted four of them.  Now to find out how we like to eat them.  I think this may be a problem, as to my knowledge neither of us are coleslaw or sauerkraut fans.  But we try something that stretches our vegetable horizons every year, just because it's fun to see if we can grow it.  Radishes were not a hit.
 
 
 Potatoes.  Six long rows of it!
 
 
And more Potatoes.

 
 
 And more potatoes.  You get the idea.
 
 
Some other vegetables not pictured include tomatoes (mostly romas with some big boy hybrids), jalapeno peppers, green and red bell peppers, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and cauliflower.  Also two rows of sweet corn and a row of popcorn.  Many of these crops can be preserved for use throughout the year.  I will can some salsa, spaghetti sauce, pickles, relish, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes.  Stay tuned!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thursday, June 20, 2013

Anna's Third Birthday Party

Anna turned three on June 15th.  It was a beautiful day.
 

She got a bicycle for her birthday.


I went overboard with the fish-themed food.  I made fish in nets (click for recipe).
 
 
We had a goldfish "bar" with five different kinds of goldfish.
 
 
I made blue punch (or my sister Julia did), and blue jello with gummy fish in it.  Couldn't resist the swedish fish and gummy worms.  Have you guessed what the them was yet?
 
 
For favors for the girls, I put together dollar store sand buckets with chalk, sunglasses, and bubbles.

 
Her cake was an m&m cake (white with chocolate frosting and m&m's on top with cookie sticks around the outside) surrounded by cupcake fish. 


 
The next morning, she had a great time playing with all of her new dolls and toys. 
 
Happy Birthday Anna!


Little Red Wagon

I love how nostalgic a little red wagon is.  I had one growing up.  Maybe you did too.  Anna and Clara have been taking quite a few rides around the farm in their little red wagon.  This ride culminated in a stop at the garden, where Eric was rototilling.
 


Rolling a dandelion in her hands, the wind in her hair... this photo is too beautiful!
 
Nap time anyone?
 


Monday, June 3, 2013

Photo Bomb!

A photo bomb, if you have never heard of one, is where you drop a bunch of photos with minimal text.  Here are several photos from one of the first nice days this spring, where the girls were able to play with their new outdoor toys, including their little play house.  Enjoy!
 








Sunday, June 2, 2013

Planting the Garden

 
Our 2013 garden is our fifth garden.  This year seemed later than others due to the weather and general busy-ness.  Anna was a great helper this year!
 
 
Clara mostly watched, either from the little red wagon, or from a nice blanket at the edge.  I admit that I did more watching and picture taking than helping.  In fact, let's be honest.  Eric does everything with the garden.  I just watch and later, during harvest, I cook and preserve.
 
 
Anna helped to plant green beans this evening.  The sky kept threatening to storm, but it held off.
 
 
She's very hard at work!
 

 
Yes, watching is quite nice.
 
 
I love this picture of Anna holding a big old handful of bean seeds. 
And I love this farm girl t-shirt.  "Anything Boys Can Do I Can Do Better."
 
 
Just by observing daddy, she learned how to line the bean seeds up in a row.  And poke them into the ground.  We may have beans coming up in the spinach row...

 
Clara decides to venture off of the blanket to the garden edge.  Not too sure of the grass/dirt textures yet, but she'll get there!
 
 
When our two black barn kitties came to visit, Anna was overjoyed.
Bye, Bye, and Good Night Garden!


 
What a wonderful May evening!

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Clara's First Birthday!

 

Clara turned one on May 8th.  Thinking back to this day in 2012 and some momentous occasions throughout her first year, a few memories come to mind. 
 
I cried during delivery, something I didn't do when Anna was born because I was only vaguely aware of what was happening to me during my first delivery.  The emotions in general were much stronger with her, maybe because I felt like I'd had taken my mommy training wheels off and was learning how to cruise along in the newborn department. 

Holding Clara and cuddling with her alone during the two nights at the hospital were beautiful.  Trying to juggle two little ones that first summer, I remember Anna falling asleep on my feet as I was nursing Clara because she wanted some mommy cuddle time.  All of a sudden, time flashed and she learned how to scoot on her bottom to get places.  And she's still scooting today.
 
Clara's first birthday party was a lot of fun. We did a ladybug theme.  We invited 50 people to our house.  I was counting on being able to enjoy the outdoors, but it was 40 degree weather for most of May, so we were packed into our house.  Despite this, I wouldn't have changed a thing. 


I found really cute ladybug ideas on pinterest.  I made a ladybug cake.  It was a round cake with red frosting.  Purchased tube black frosting outlined the body of the ladybug, and mint candies made the spots.  For the eyes I pushed mini marshmallows into the frosting and put a dot of the black frosting on it.  I frosted cupcakes with green frosting and put little flower candies on them to dress them up.  We barely had enough cake and cupcakes to feed everyone, but it turned out really cute.




For favors I made oreo ladybugs.  I also found this idea on pinterest.  You dip oreos in melting chocolate.  First in the regular brown chocolate and apply the candy eyes while it is wet, then after it dries (hardens) you dip the sides into the red melting chocolate. 


I found that if you pop them in the fridge on a cookie sheet for a few minutes you can speed the process up.  After the red chocolate dried, I used toothpicks to put the dots on the bugs.  By the way, I'd had my gallbladder out the Monday prior to her birthday, so I was home to do all of the party prep.  And I had help from my mom!
 

 
 
My brother-in-law Travis had access to an inflatable bouncy house, so we had that running despite the cold weather.  The girls loved it!




Clara was pretty tired out by the time it was time to do the cake, so she didn't enjoy the process as much as I'd hoped.  She poked it a little and ate maybe a bite or two. 



She perked up when it came to the presents, but Anna probably had more fun opening presents than she did.  And Anna continues to have challenges sharing Clara's toys, but that is another story.

A big thank you to all of our family who came, helped, and shared with us little Clara Bug's first birthday!