Harvest Time

We have been busy harvesting things from the greenhouse. This time of year is always so wonderful as we get to use and preserve the things that we grow! Grampa's greenhouse always provides us with an abundance of yummy things. I can't count how many batches of salsa I've done already this year! We are so blessed with tomatoes and have shared quite a few with friends. I think we get around 1200lbs of tomatoes each year. This year we made space for more peppers and tried growing more paste tomato varieties. My Mum and I have been busy in the kitchen making things like tomato paste, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce and the like. The shelves are slowly filling up and so are our hearts. Oliver loves working in the greenhouse with Grampa and helped him snip the tomatoes from the vine and clear things out. Slowly but surely, one row at a time, we are getting the produce into crates and preparing to bring it inside to finish ripening. We managed to grow four decent sized pumpkins this year and even got a few zucchini from the garden!

 

 

 

 

Welcome Autumn

This afternoon Sawyer and I wandered down to the birch tree to check out the colorful leaves! Autumn is one of my very favorite seasons! The smells, the sights, the colors...It was glorious. I pushed him around in his little car and then we sat under the tree and watched the leaves swirl to the ground. He let out a few of his contagious giggles and we enjoyed a little snuggle! I also snagged a bump picture. Baby is twenty-eight weeks now and time is flying by! I'm cherishing the time I have left with Sawyer as the "baby" of the family and soaking him and all of his adorable toddler-ness up! I am so glad that Autumn has come!

 

 

 

Quiet Times

 

Naptime...

 

Bedtime...

 

Peaches for Days

Today my Mum and I processed another few cases of peaches! We had snagged a few cases from a local grocery store and also bought a few extra from a friend of a friend who drives out to B.C every year to pick up a huge load for people. Camilla was home from school and asked if she could help. She happily threw her hair up, tied on a apron and helped us scoop and fill jars. Since I've done this once before I knew what I was doing this time around! We got both pressure canners going and did a double batch because while you have everything out, why not? When Camilla had finished her part, she took my camera outside and snapped some creative pictures of the fresh eggs and sunflowers from the garden. She is such a creative girl!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ready for Autumn

The chilly mornings have been a welcomed treat. I leave a few windows cracked each night before bed and wake to the smell of fresh Fall air. Our house is torn apart right now as we wait on some flooring to be installed and sometimes it can be overwhelming to have things out of their place and toys scattered all through the house. 

Lately, I've enjoyed watching Ollie and Sawyers relationship grow with the big kids away at school. For the first week of school, Sawyer would cry every morning and bring me his shoes and coat when the kids got ready. Now he just waves at them and shouts "BYE!" Today the little boys played catch with the velcro paddles and ball. Ollie also made his own water table with a cooler, metal bowls and the kids chairs. He spent most of the morning stirring potions and singing to himself. 

With the big kids off to school and harvesting picking up, I haven't felt like I've quite caught my breath yet. I have a new book on my shelf waiting to be read, but I need to wait another week or so until I'm all caught up and the house is back in order. I love this season and time of year! Foggy mornings and warm drinks, the leaves changing, harvesting veggies, chilly nights, clear skies. 

My mamma and I were able to whip up six apple pies this morning. She is the pastry chef and I am just the peeler/slicer of the operation. No one makes apple pies quite like my mom! They are my favorite thing and I have eaten a slice for breakfast the last few mornings. The kids have also been lucky enough to have warm pie after school.  We are slowly working our way through a few cases of apples and freezing pies for Winter. 

After family prayer tonight the littles all grabbed an apple as they walked by the new case of Mac's. They cozied up in the bunk room for our read-aloud and all I heard was the quiet crunching of apples while I read to them by candle light. Ollie crawled up on my lap half way through, rested his back against my baby bump and his head in the perfect place on my shoulder. Tonights story was particularly funny, leaving us all giggling together. Oliver's belly laugh is one of the best sounds. It makes you want to laugh right along with him. Joe wiggled his tooth all evening and still didn't get it out yet. I'm sure the toothfairy will be making a visit tomorrow night though!
 

Processing Peaches

This morning started early, like most mornings. The one thing I love about the Autumn months is that the sun comes up a little bit later and I am able to enjoy the sunrise each morning. After purchasing a few cases of peaches this week, today was dubbed a canning day. My Mum and I spent the morning together peeling, slicing, jarring, and pressure canning. My gas stove has enough room to put both canners on at the same time, so we were able to do two or three batches today and get rid of a case or two of peaches. I'm grateful to my Mum for teaching me this skill! Near the end, I was feeling more confident with the pressure canner and the process. It was nice to be able to work together and get so many jars filled for the shelf this Winter!

 

 

 

Oliver Turns Four

Today our Oliver turned four years old. He had his sister make him a calendar to hang on his wall and every night he would cross off the days until his birthday. He has been looking forward to this special day for quite some time and his siblings were so great about making homemade cards and wrapping little gifts for him a few days before the big day.

We started the day with pancakes at the birthday boys request, and just for fun I added a candle because this guy loves blowing out candles!

In the afternoon we headed up to the apple orchard and picked a few of the trees that were ready. We picked an apple-crab tree and the Sunnybrooks. Ollie loves being outside and helping with whatever we've got going on.

We picked all of the ones we could reach from the ground and then Grampa climbed the ladder and used his long arms to reach all of the apples that were too high for us.

 

We finished off the night with homemade pizza, angel food cake and ice cream. Oliver brings so much laughter and love to our family. He's always giving back rubs and hugs and has a smile that will light up your world. He has been wearing the same outfit for four days and often wears mismatched shoes outside to play. He is easy going and fun loving and we are so glad he's a part of our family!

 

Apple Jelly Time

  It sure feels like Autumn these days and I'm so excited about that! The boys and I went for a brisk walk this morning after the big kids left for school. The air is crisp and the leaves are slowly changing colors. I've been enjoying learning more about canning and preserving and today I got brave and made three separate batches of apple jelly. We found a bunch of frozen apple juice in the deep freeze that needed to be used up and I ended up making around twenty jars total. I did two batches of apple jelly and one batch of apple/cherry jelly. Both turned out delicious and all of the jars sealed! I call that a success. The kitchen smelled so great and the littles were so patient with me while I pulled hot jars out of the oven and filled them. After dinner we went through the bedtime routine and I tucked a very tired Sawyer into bed. Downstairs I gathered the rest of the children in the bunk room, lit a candle, and began a new read-aloud. They took a bit to settle in, but eventually the room grew silent as Ollie melted into my lap and the rest of the children snuggled under their blankets. The candle flickered and danced, capturing their gaze as they listened. It was a great way to end the night!

 

 

With Love

Dear Mr. Stannix,

After you all left this morning in Big Red for your four day hike, I sat down on the couch for the breather. The house definitely needed some work and it is my plan to have it organized and clean by the time you arrive home. The little boys played quietly in their room while Sawyer wandered around the house all morning. It was eerily quiet, but I wasn't about to complain! 

 

I wandered out to the greenhouse with Sawyer and picked the ripe tomatoes and peppers for a batch of salsa!

 

When I ran out of room in my bowl, I put the last few almost-ripe tomatoes in my shirt so that I could stick them on the counter for the next batch.

 

 The greenhouse looks like a jungle now! Once inside I got to work on chopping peppers and tomatoes and onions and whatever else.

 

 While I made dinner, the salsa simmered away on the stove. The house smelled amazing! All three little boys including Sawyer were playing hide n' seek in the basement. Every few minutes I would hear Sawyer's adorable voice exclaim, "Re-ady!" when he found a hiding spot that was good. It made me smile while I stirred the salsa pot.

 

I know your pack is heavy, please take lots of breaks! Take care of our littles and don't get eaten by bears please. I love you and hope you are warm! 

With love,

Your wife

(who wishes she was there with you)

Toddler Shenanigans

 This morning when I was in the middle of making bread, my naked toddler brought me a wet shirt. On my way to put it in the laundry basket, I stepped in drips of water and noticed they led all the way to the bathroom. The toilet seat was covered in water and sure enough, someone forgot to flush. It turns out he decided to drop his shirt in the toilet and then bring it to me! Ew. After waking up to screaming and fighting, I was just wishing I could have a normal day. 

 

Once the bread was out, I ran a gift to a friend, picked up some groceries and things for the hiking trip the littles are going on with their Dad, and came home to the sunshine. 

 

Sawyer helped himself to a few low hanging apples in the orchard while we picked peas and weeds in the top garden.

 

On my way back, I snagged a tomato for a sandwich! They are getting pretty big! I love the way they taste in comparison to store bought and feel prettty spoiled.

 

In the afternoon I made up three chicken pot pies. One for dinner and two for the freezer.

Then Sawyer spoon fed Ollie his dinner because Ollie refused to eat. It was magical. They were giggling and having fun and Oliver finished his plate for the first time in a long time! Sawyer did it without any prodding from me which made it extra funny. He just climbed up on that chair in his diapered bottom and picked up Ollie's fork. At least my toddler has some good sense to help his brother eat his dinner!

We spent the evening packing for the hiking trip commencing the following morning.  We tried to pack the minimal amount for everyone. One pair of warm jammies, fresh undies, extra socks, a sleeping bag, and dry food. Mr. Stannix took most of the food and the little burner and gas to cook. He couldn't fit the entire tent in his pack (and honestly it was already far too heavy for one man) so it was decided that they would split it up. Camilla put the poles in her pack and Hyrum took the fly. After we had everything all packed up, we sent the kids on a walk to the end of the lane and back. As I watched Hyrum walk away I was busting a gut at his pack size. The poor kid was carrying far more weight than he should be given his body size, and the pack was a little too big to begin with. Camilla turned and said, "I don't see how this is funny. You're torturing a child to carry a zillion pounds up a mountain!" I love her wit and sense of humor. They all went to sleep a little bit worried about what tomorrow will bring!!