Goodbye June!

Last week I was LOVING the fact that I was feeling better.  I even took a day to clean out my Yukon, which is never something I like to do.  I really needed to de-fur all of Sadie's lovely hair in there and I am so happy that I did. I broke a sweat trying to get those darn little pieces out of the back!  Definitely counts as a workout.

Ta-da!

I even broke out that juicer, like I wanted to and made some delicious apple, beet, carrot w/ lemon!

I wanted to fill up on some healthy goodness before we headed over to my in-laws for dinner.  I got my Chicken French wahoo!!

Daddy and Brooke playing on the steps he used to when he was a kid.



Ok, so maybe the extra energy is mixed with a little bit of 'nesting' because Friday came and I just had to make jam.

The strawberries were so sweet!

This darn thing took forever to boil and I have to say that is the "hardest part" haha.

I just made a small batch, 5 jars.  Not really enough to give away, sorry everyone!

Shortly after our jam making sesh, little miss took a tumble and had her first bloody lip.  We felt so bad! Thank goodness Joe was sitting next to her and kind of caught her with his foot, otherwise her whole face would have landed on the driveway.  She's a trooper!

Saturday she was full of it, running around, singing, dancing, and playing with Daddy's shoes.

Sunday we went to my dad's and hung out with everyone since our step brother is in town, and my sister will be gone for the fourth. It was a laid back pool day!

We had to take our pic since we were all rocking the 'ray ban' look.

My loves!

This pic cracks me up!! We are shoving our faces and Joe made sure to snap pictures.

She LOVES to feed people. Gets all excited and claps, "yay!"

Brooke just loved the pool-- she's in the "sunshade float" in the orange.

Love her little suit.

The only "downer" of the week is my poor husband and his poison ivy! We have tried everything and it just keeps popping up in more spots.  He was so uncomfortable Saturday night [after trying Apple cider vinegar] I grabbed a bowl of cold water, ice, and dumped a packet of baby bath --Aveeno's colloidal oatmeal and soaked some washcloths and wrapped him up.

Ugh! The worst.  Luckily neither Brooke nor I have it, but Joe has it pretty bad.  Go away stupid poison ivy!!  We have too much Summer fun to enjoy without you ruining it!

So here we are Monday, and I have lots to do to close out June, get ready for July and all its festivities! It's my faaaaaaavorite month for many reasons, and I can't wait to get this party started. 

To kick of the first day tomorrow, we get to see baby #2 again!! First trimester screening already! Yay!

We Be Jammin'

Last Sunday my friend Alison and I got together to pick strawberries & to make jam.  We did it last year with my mother-in-law and she got us hooked on this awesome [Pomona] pectin that is waaaaay better than the regular stuff.

People always ask me for my jam recipes.

You can find information/recipes about that [here:]
 

We had so much fun! We went to a place that really tries not to spray/use pesticides unless it's really necessary.  They're not certified organic, but you can hear the hawk call machines they have set up all over the place. 

Of course we brought our little ones along...

The twins were pretty helpful with the picking for the first bit, then they were awesome keeping miss Brooke company when she began to fuss.

Grace had the quote of the day.  She looks down at her fingertips and says, "Ugh. I really need to re-do my nails."  Her pale pink polished had chipped a bit, and I about died.  I don't know where this girl comes up with these things!

After picking enough strawberries, we went and picked a few Juneberries.  They are very similar to a blueberry, but definitely carry a different flavor.  They're so pretty!

We headed back to Alison's house and started the jam process. It's by no means difficult, but can make a bit of a mess and takes a little time.

My friend Ann told us to try the straw trick...

It worked wonderfully!! You waste way less berry and no knife wounds!

We made about 3 batches, or 15 jars.  We had some leftover to enjoy right away!  We even taste-tested last year's jam to this year's.  We thought this year was even better!

Supplies needed:
Jars/lids/caps
Large pot to boil water & sterilize those in
Pot to boil berries
Calcium water, pectin, organic sugar
Tools to remove jars/lids from boiling hot water.

Even Brooke Lynn tried some!

I think it's safe to say she really liked it.

I loved enjoying fresh hand-picked berries every morning this week.  We froze the extras to stick in our smoothies.

What have you canned this year?  I need to break out my "You Can Can" book my MIL bought me for Christmas.  Like I said, it's fairly simple, just a little messy and time consuming.