Summer Days...

The other day we brought the kids to the farmers market. We parked right next to the kettle corn stand so they smelled it right when we got out of the car. I told them if they were good through the whole market, we would buy a bag of popcorn for an after dinner snack. They were good and they ate all their dinner so we went outside and enjoyed the last of the daylight.

Fourth of July

This July 4th was pretty rainy. We stayed inside and did family activities until the Hills parade at 5. Our kids were in the parade with Grandma and Grandpa Miller. Ryker was able to watch the parade and be in the parade. We watched the parade towards the beginning of the route and Grandpa and Grandma Miller were towards the end of the line. Ryker stood with us and watched everything go through the parade and as the grandparents were driving by we put him on the 'float.' He was so excited to be able to throw candy to the kids. Justys rode on the truck the whole time, he was also in the Kalona parade earlier this summer. He is turning into a truly professional candy tosser.

Strawberry Jam

Since so many people in the USA took July 3rd off of work so did we. Well, the ladies in my husbands family anyway. My three sister-in-laws, mother-in-law and I made strawberry freezer jam. It's handy to have around throughout the year. And it's a lot of fun to just sit around and talk and catch up with the family. It is almost that easy, with all the help it's really no work at all. I didn't get my camera out in time to get pictures of the entire process but you can use  your imagination for the first steps. So, close your eyes here we go. Imagine: You get a bunch of strawberries and take the stems off, then you chop up the fruit. No more imagination necessary, I have a pictorial for you from here.

Jodi was slaving over the hot stove (and talking to her husband on the phone)

My mother-in-law, Jan, poured the finished product into the jars.

I had the job of moving the jars around. I gave Jan empty jars as she needed them and took the full jars out of the way. Let me tell ya... it's HARD work. HAHA!

Our finished product 50+ pints of strawberry jam!

This is part of the work crew and part of the distraction crew.