9/30/14

Apple Picking

We finally got up to Greenbluff this year! It might have taken a whole family outing while the grands were in town, but we made it! We picked apples for applesauce and then some pears for canning, although we definitely picked the wrong kind of pears so we'll see how this goes. Not the best start for our first time canning pears. The kids enjoyed themselves by getting rides in the wagon, climbing the ladder, and eating all of the apples. I'm hoping that we make it up in October to possibly get some pumpkins next month, but we'll see.
 The older kids super enjoyed climbing up high and picking the apples from up there
25 weeks and much bigger this time around 


9/22/14

Grandparents Visit

For the last week or so we've had grandparents in town from England and it has been so nice to see them. The kids absolutely adore them, especially when they bring bubbles and hedgehogs (who wouldn't?). These photos are from a get together we had where the bubbles appeared, and these aren't your regular ol' bubbles, these are hardcore. They didn't pop! Well, that easily anyways, the kids ended up having bubbles all over themselves when they were done, specifically in their hair. Needless to say they had a blast.
 Daniel having his turn at blowing the bubbles


9/19/14

Friends Visit

Last week one of Andy's good friends from high school was in town and we were able to get together and finally have our boys meet. Liam was born in June (compared to Charlie's January birthday) so the boys are still a bit far apart, it's amazing how much can happen in a matter of months. Liam also spent the first few weeks of his life in the hospital due to a heart condition he was born with, you can find out more info and support him here.
Anyways, the boys were adorable, the food was amazing, and the conversation brought everyone back to high school. It was very enjoyable to say the least.
The bucket was a popular toy to put on your head. And Liam really enjoys being flipped over.

9/17/14

Oven Pancake

I think I've talked about it before but I am a huge fan of breakfast. It is definitely my favorite meal of the day and I cannot skip it. Our go to for breakfast is scrambled eggs but we mix it up every once in a while. One of my favorites to make is oven pancakes, my mom made it for us growing up and it was always a very special treat. It can also be referred to as dutch babies or dutch pancakes. Charlie loves to help out in the kitchen and this time I decided to snap a few shots of him helping beat the eggs. He was quite pleased with himself, he definitely did not want to give up control of the whisk.

Oven Pancakes
3 Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Milk


  1. Preheat oven to 400. 
  2. Beat eggs in blender or by hand for a few minutes until light and fluffy.
  3. Slowly add flour, then salt and milk.
  4. Pour into well greased 10-inch skillet or baking pan.
  5. Bake for 15 minutes or until light brown and puffy. 
  6. Top with butter, powdered sugar, and lemon juice.


9/15/14

County Fair 2014

Last weekend was the county fair and it was pretty fantastic. Charlie was in heaven. He LOVED all the rides and the lights and the food. Specifically the sour cream off of my nachos. We never go on rides because we're cheap-os and fair rides never seem very safe to us. We get some delicious fair food and then walk around and pet all the animals that we can. Charlie was not super into the animals until his cousins got there and really showed him how it's done. All in all it was a great fair trip.
 See what I mean about the sour cream?
 Got to feed Dollie the camel
Charlie got to the top of that cage pretty quickly
 Charlie was not so much into feeding the horses, but I can't blame him because it took all of my guts to feed this horse
Happiest little cousins

9/10/14

Nelson, B.C.


On the second day of our camping trip we decided to make a little trek up to Nelson, B.C. since none of us had been before. The camp ground was only about 20 minutes from the border so it's kind of sad that we never just drove up before. I had never been to this side of Canada, I've been to Nova Scotia and Winnipeg, but never the west coast so I was pretty stoked about it. It turned out that today was their Pride Parade and so either businesses were closed down for that or it was just Sunday, but most of the shops seemed to be closed, which wasn't too big a deal because we couldn't really go into any shops with all the kiddos. It would have been a massacre. But we did enjoy ourselves and walked through the main street and then down to the wharf. We were only there for a few hours but it was a nice excursion from camping.
Line loves a good statue and a good pose to go with it
Charlie is doing his good ol' cheers here
Not everyone went with us but all the kiddos did
We found a nice koi pond for the kids to marvel at
That belly button never stood a chance