Apple Saucin'

 Today we woke to a chill in the air. I can smell Autumn coming, and I'm so excited! It's one of my favorite seasons for many reasons. I love pumpkin spiced everything, warm sweaters, apple sauce, hot chocolate nights, and the beautiful colored trees. 

 It's been a rather productive week at the Acreage! In between picking a gazillion apples, juicing, canning jams and jellies, podding peas and picking berries, I managed to whip up a few "farm house" dish cloths. 

 The bright colors make me happy, and crocheting them reminded me of my Gramma. It won't be long before I'll be making these to replenish my own stash instead of selling.

We spent the afternoon in a kitchen scented with apple sauce and fresh rain.Each of the littles got a special job to do and it made it go so much quicker than the night before.

A thunderstorm blew in early in the afternoon and we welcomed the fresh, cool air as we worked in the hot kitchen.

 Ollie crawled around at our feet eating apples and playing with kitchen utensils to his hearts content.

Each of the kids took a turn with the squeezo and soon found a job they liked best. Fin's favorite thing to do was scoop the steamed apples into the squeezo. I imagined how tired his arm was after lifting it above his head a hundred times, but he was determined to keep going until the end.

Everytime we filled a pan with sauce the boys would switch jobs. 

I loved watching the big boys scoop and turn by themselves. When Hyrum was finished he flexed his muscles and checked out how big they were. It was hard work!

We opened the front and back doors and let the breeze run through the house. The smell of fresh rain, on the brink of Autumn, coupled with the cooked apples was heavenly!

Reese did a lot of sleeping, right at Grampa's feet...

We steamed and sauced 6 boxes of apples today and calculated that we had done about 250lbs total! It was neat for the kids to pick the apples, steam them and see them turned into fresh apple sauce. I mixed some with cinnamon and sugar and they devoured it (though Camilla likes hers plane jane).

Once it cooled we put it into bags 4 cups at a time. We ended up with around 65 bags of apple sauce in the freezer! The sense of accomplishment was felt all around! It was so great to be offered apples to pick from neighbors and then turn it into something wonderful to use later. It's going to taste especially yummy in the Winter months. I drove home with a flutter of joy in my chest and a smile on my face. It will probably be the last huge chunk of time we spend at the Acreage for a while with school starting, so going home was kind of bitter sweet. Thanks for the fun Mom & Dad!

Garden Bounty

 This morning we woke bright and early and watched some cartoons. I used the early morning light to make a few crochet dishcloths while the children played quietly. After breakfast Grampa went out to water the greenhouse, like he does each morning, and we joined him! We have been out there a few times this Summer and each time I am amazed at how much it grows in such a short time. 

 The children spent the day playing all over the acreage with their walky-talkies. As they ran through the house I would hear things like, "Goldilocks to brother bear. Come in brother bear!" and lots of "Do you read me?" and "Over and out!"

 The afternoon was filled with strawberry picking and baking. Joe started using a made up phrase "Holy canaveral!" and he used it for everything. "Holy canaveral! That's a lot of strawberries!" "Holy canaveral! Look at the black sky?" It made me laugh.

 The sky grew dark around 8:30pm as a storm blew through. The air became crisp and cool and we threw open all of the windows to let the air run through after a day of canning and baking. It was so refreshing! I sat between the open windows on the recliner and watched the lightning as the clouds rolled through to the North. Finley wandered up stairs shortly after 10:00pm and we tucked him in on the couch in the livingroom where the breeze was just right and the fan whirled around above.

We then steamed and sauced about 175lbs of apples with the squeezo. We finished around 1:00am and ended up with 26 bags in the freezer (4 cups a piece). It was a super productive day!

Fresh Produce

Last night after apple picking we juiced majority of the 40lbs of apples and made three batches of apple jelly! My mom whipped up another batch of jelly before breakfast bringing our total up to 35 pint jars. They looked so pretty sitting on my mom's counter all lined up. 

The children requested Gramma's pancakes for breakfast and Camilla pulled up a chair to help flip.

Gramma spoiled them and made each of their names with batter. They were so excited they didn't want to eat them.

Once their bellies were full we drove down the road and picked apples at a neighbors place. They had more than they needed and offered my parents any that were left. The boys were tickled to climb the ladder and pick! The trees were loaded with beautiful apples and we spent a few hours picking boxes full. 

It was such a wonderful bright, sunny day for apple picking! It ended up being much warmer than I thought it would be!

They always make sure to bring their hats to "catch" the apples from whoever is up on top of the ladder picking.

I even caught these two snacking as they worked! I love that they were able to enjoy fresh, organic apples right off the tree. They were so yummy!

He ate, and ate, and ate....

I discovered that this little guy is quite the climber! I've never had a climber this young before, so it's fun (and slightly terrifying).

It was a great way to spend the morning.

More jelly was made in the afternoon...

Seriously, such pretty apples!

I loved looking out and seeing the giant picnic table covered in fresh produce to be made into something yummy!

In the late afternoon I loaded up the littles and drove across the highway to visit with my childhood bestie and her Mamma. I haven't seen her for a long time, so it was nice to catch up and meet each others kids! I miss hanging out with this lady. We had such fun growing up across the road from each other.

Gramma whipped up a yummy chicken stew for dinner with the canned chicken and garden veggies tucked away in the basement.  It was so full of flavor! The kids ate it all gone with the promise of ice cream if they licked their bowls clean. Joe hugged me tight after dinner and promptly said, "Your hair smells good, Mom!" He quickly took his sweet little hands and gently grabbed a few strands to smell again. It was the best part of my entire day!

Total Eclipse

With Mr. Stannix away this week, we have found ourselves at the Acreage. We began our morning with a batch of raspberry jam. I've made jam with my Mamma at least a dozen times, but I learn something each time. 

With the greenhouse, the berries, and the garden, my parents keep themselves pretty busy at this time of year. I was looking forward to working along side them and learning a thing or two.

My mom picked a basket of cucumbers from the greenhouse as well as a few beans for dinner. Having all of this food right in your own backyard is magical!

My Dad's tomatoes are pretty impressive this year (and so is the care and diligence he took in growing them). Where else could you find a giant 3lb tomato the size of Ollie's head?!

 Another fascinating thing about today was the solar eclipse! Although we weren't in a direct path to view it, it was still pretty awesome to watch the way things changed. 

 Our view was more like this!

The afternoon brought a drive to the lake for a wiener roast and swim with friends.

Steph and I grew up together and roomed together while I went to College in Red Deer. We got married a month apart and had our first babies 8 days apart. 

Our kids are all pretty close in age and they always enjoy getting together to play!

We were so grateful to Grampa for organizing it all. It was a delightful afternoon.

Mom and Dad took the older three apple picking after dinner, so I got to hang out with Fin and Ollie. We enjoyed a nice little walk as the sun began to dip into the horizon.

Sweet Brothers

Saturdays are made for sleeping in, that is if you don't have small children, or a husband who needs to catch an early morning flight. Bright and early this morning I carried two sleeping boys to the car so that we could drop Daddy at the airport. As I drove back I admired the rays of sun poking through the rain clouds. It was a beautiful sight. 

This afternoon I took the little boys to the park. Finley is missing his older siblings like crazy, but he is also enjoying being the oldest. As we sat on top of the playground and played I couldn't help but snap a picture of the two of them. There was a lot of brotherly love going on and it melted my heart watching them giggle together. We flew down the slide in turn and ran back to the house for a snack.

Evening Stroll

 This evening we threw our plans for bedtime out the window. Instead, we enjoyed an evening stroll and basked in the golden hour as the sun dipped slowly into the horizon. The pace was slow and welcomed after a bustling Friday. With the older children away visiting family for the weekend Mr. Stannix and I enjoyed conversing and sharing our thoughts along the way. I took note of the few yellow leaves playing peek-a-boo among the green leaves. It was the perfect evening for a walk. We returned home just as the last of the suns rays kissed the fields goodnight. My heart was full of gratitude for my family and the beauty that surrounded us.

Sweet Dreams

 Tonight I walked into Ollie's room shortly after tucking in the other two boys. He was still crying and fighting off sleep. I gently lied him back down and snuggled his moose next to him. He looked up at me, gave a soft smile and then I watched as his eyes slowly closed. All he needed was a little help and his mamma close by. I tip-toed out of the room and grabbed my camera because he looked so sweet. Good-night little one!