Time with some of the cousins

This last weekend Jake and I went to the Gila Valley to see some family. My family is rarely ever all together at once and since living in Tucson I don't get to see my sisters that still live in the Gilbert area very often. Well Liz was there with 3 of her boys and my sister Kim lives in Pima. It was fun to see them and I know Katie and Zach had fun with their cousins.

This is not the first time this has happened to one of my parents trampolines. In fact I think they are more fun when they have obstacles.

This is Katie with two of her cousins, Aubrie and Ashlie. I think Katie is only 3 weeks older. Katie can't tell them part until they tell her who is who. It is funny to hear her say, "which one are you?" They are nice about it but sometimes they get tired of reminding her.
I think Zach was really glad that Liz and her boys were there because usually he is the only boy in his age group. Hyrum and Harley are so fun to have around and Zach loved it. Usually it is his cousins on the Lee side that he plays with but they were not there this last time. So I'm glad the Kelly boys were around.

The tall one is Jessica and she is so good at keeping the little one entertained. They absolutely love her.

This is just a few of my parents grandkids. They currently have 30 grandkids and at the end of October they will have 31. Hurray!!! I think a new family picture will be in order.

Prickly Pears

I really love putting food in jars and then putting it on my shelf and using through the year. It is very satisfying.

A few weeks ago I finally made prickly pear jelly. Ever since we moved to Tucson I have wanted to make it and last week I finally did. It was not easy. Those things are covered in small fur like stickers that you can't really see. I did already know this so I picked them with metal tongs and then dropped them into a small plastic bucket. I'm glad that I didn't use one of Katie's baskets because my bucket was lined with stickers and thorns when I dumped them into my pot. The bucket just washed right out, but I think I would have had to throw away a basket.

I thought that if I soaked them for a bit in some warmish water then they might peel a little easier. I don't know if it worked because with all the stickers they were not easy to peel at all. I had to hold them firmly with the tongs, slice down with a small knife then cut the whole thing off. I had my pot full of pears, a bowl for skins and then a bowl for fruit. I think I had 40 to 50 of those nasty things.
Apparently if you cut them in half you can scoop out the seeds and throw them away. I didn't know this until I had mashed them all up and realized there were too many seeds to let them just stay in the jam. They are not like a strawberry seed. Wish I took a picture of all the seeds. Oh well. I ended up having to put all of it through a fine wire strainer and I was left with this beautiful juice. The color was so lovely.
It did take a few days to set and then it didn't totally set until I stuck a jar of it in the fridge. It is a very different tasting fruit. It does not taste like a berry at all or anything that I am familiar with. I read that some people think they taste like kiwi but I didn't think so. I doubt I'll make it again. Glad I did it, but it was too much work for something that I don't think anyone else will really eat. I have to give it away.

Pretend Play

Zach has been so bored since Katie went to school. I miss being close to my sisters and Zach being able to play with his cousins.

Since he's had nothing to do except follow me around I made him an eye patch and a super hero mask. He was really excited and they have kept him playing for a good amount of time. I am glad he likes them. It is so funny how differently girls and boys play. I just Don't think Katie would care about an eye patch.

I had him sit in this chair for both pictures because it is about the only clean place in the house right now. I guess I need to quite making things and start doing some house work. I'm sure I'm not the only one who would rather work on a project then clean.

Am I mean?

I set Marshall down on the couch the other day and Next thing I knew he was screaming. When I went to see what the problem was I found him like this. I had to take a picture before I rescued him because I couldn't stop laughing.

School starts

Katie started school last Monday and she absolutely loves it. On the first day Jacob and I took her to school with the boys, so the whole family was there. On the second day she asked if only one of us could take her. On the third day we get to school and walk in the doors and she says to me "ok mom, you can go now". She didn't even want me to walk her into her class room like all the rest of the parents. She really has not had a problem leaving me. And she loves to wear he uniform.

Zach has not been so excited that she is in school. He is having a hard time with it. I think it was Wed. when he asked if Katie had to go to school again. He gets really bored. I think it is going to be a long year for him. He will start kindergarten next year so at least it is only one year. Yes, my kids are that close in age. What?

Happy Baby

Marshall has gotten to be so much fun in the last week or so. He is so happy most of the time and smiles a lot. He has started to make a slobbery spitting noise with his tongue and it makes all of us laugh every time. He is also fascinated with his toes and is always grabbing them.

I usually just take him in the shower with me because that is a lot easier but he does like to sit in the water in the sink for a bath. It always starts a giggle fit.

Blessing

Jacob gave Marshall his baby blessing today at church. It was really nice to have friends and family come. I should have taken at least one picture but it was so hot the whole time that I completely forgot. The A/C was out in the Chapel, then we all got together at the nearest park for lunch. It wasn't so bad in the shade, and we had plenty of cold water bottles. It is still the beginning of August in Tucson, AZ so I guess the extreme heat was to be expected. I knew it wasn't the best idea, but it was the only idea, seeing as our apartment is to small to accommodate for our super large family. It was a good time and I'm glad we got together even though it was really hot.

My domestic skills

This morning we woke up at 5:30 to go pick peaches in a "pick your own" orchard just north of Tucson. This place was so pretty. I think it was only two acres and this guy had a ton of trees. I wish I had taken a picture of it. I loved the way he planted his tomatoes on a fence line. If anyone knows me well then they know that I really like tomato plants. Well, I just like gardens in-general. Anyhow, when we got home I got right to work on the peaches and canned 14 pints. I still have a bunch of peaches left and so I will make jam on Monday. Hopefully it will set right and not just be thick syrup. Wish me luck.

I have also canned beans, chicken, zucchini relish, and grape jelly. It has been a productive summer. There is something about canning that is so satisfying.

Camping on Mt. Lemmon

Last Friday we loaded up the car to the breaking point to spend the weekend with some friends of ours on Mt. Lemmon. Jacob packed the car and between the camp stove, ice chest, chairs, and sleeping bags, there was no room to spare. Jacob and Marshall were the only ones that didn't have something surrounding their feet. I told Jacob that I wanted to drive on the way home and he just laughed at me.

I think we got there around 5:00 pm and right after we got the kids tent and the canopy that we put over the table up, it started to hail like crazy. Our friends took some pictures of the road on their way up and it looked like it had snowed. This is a piece of it in Jacob's ring just so you can see the size of the hail that was coming down hard on us in the middle of July. Crazy.

Soon after it stopped coming down, this fog showed up. Almost all the hail had melted by the time I got around to taking this picture.

The second day our kids were so tired and cranky. We told them to go lay in the tent and talk to each other and within 5 min the were out. I think they slept for about 2 hours and It gave us a good chunk of time to play cards with our friends.

They were much happier when they woke up and played really well together until it was time to eat. Cooking was nice and easy because we used Jacob's two burner camp stove. One of those big ones that uses a full size propane tank. It was really nice and was so glad that we had it. I highly recommend one.

The last night we had smores and the kids were SO happy to finally get one. We all only had one because they were way to sweet.

We had a fun time and I think we will make camping a yearly event. We were there two nights and we got super dirty and the laundry was ridiculous when we got back. I think it took me like 5 days to finally get the last load all folded and put away.