Vegetable Stand

Nate has wanted to do a lemonade stand, a limeade stand, a boat building stand and it goes on. Today we compromised on a veggie stand. I let him have all the produce he wanted as long as he picked it. After two hours of picking and sign making he was ready. Here are some pics of the fun. He had two customers, (thank you for coming!) and was quite pleased with the entire process. Perhaps we will do it again sometime.

He decided to pick beans. For some reason he just sat down in the middle of them. I can tell I have picked enough this year - I shrugged that his bum was on my plants and went to get the camera.

His amphibian assistant.

The sign. It took a lot of work to keep that in place with the wind.

1st Day of 1st Grade!

Our little boy is not so little any more. He is going to a "big" school. Here are some pics before and after.

All packed up and ready to go!

Here is one picture without the thumbs up.

Pretty cool guy.
Are you sure he has to go mom?

Let's go E.

Nate gives a "thumbs up" after his first day in his new school. What's up with the pose?

Too many tomatoes

After giving away as many as we could, we made some salsa with all our tomatoes this year. We forgot to take any pictures, probably because we had gloves on from the jalapenos and crying from the onions. I wouldn't have gotten it done if it weren't for my friend Andrea coming and chopping! I found a great blog with food storage etc. tips. Here is the link to their salsa recipe.

You Know

Elin is at a pretty funny stage. She is giving out lots of advice. I have no idea where she got that from . . . ;) Her newest vernacular is "you know." Here are some examples.

Sebastian likes those treats, you know.

You know mom that was not nice.

'Cause I like those, you know.

The car is green mom, you know.

I like soup, you know.

and on and on and on you know.

More Zoo!

We had a fun family outing at the zoo the other day. It was rather hot as you might be able to tell from the pics. Here are some pics of all the fun.

Here are Nate and Elin feeding the animals.

Some rather large tortises.

Penguins - above water.

Penguins below water.

This is totally cool - you get to feed the giraffes and pet them if they are in a good mood.

While the kids loved the zoo - they were totally enamored by the train. They had to tolerate a few boring things - like the wolves and big cats before we they got to go on the train.

Here are the happy train-riding faces.

Elin's Zoo Trip

Elin got to go on a field trip to a zoo recently. I just got some of the pics of her - here are my two favorites. Miracle of miracles she even agreed to wear shorts (read not a dress) because there is a climbing park at the zoo.

Elin is an animal lover just like Jason. The mean cat in my mom's neighborhood followed her around and she said, "Oh hi, nice kitty . . ." and proceeded to pet it like nothing else. She just is quite natural with animals and the animals like her. Maybe she can really talk to them . . .

This is really the zenith of the trip for Elin. She missed the first field trip because she was sick and was so disappointed she didn't get to ride the bus. Well, second time around she finally made it on a school bus. She was thrilled for days - what a smile, huh?

Nate turns 6!

Nate turned six this past month. I can hardly believe he is actually six years old. Time really does move so fast. Nate is headed to first grade in a big kid school and I will have to say it scares me a bit. We had a rocket themed party and it was lots of fun!

Popcorn refreshments by request.

Two of the little guys were involved in an intense frisbee match!

Here is the throw moments before the frisbee nailed Jase and the camera - too bad we didn't have video camera going!

In line for the pinata.

Elin meant business as far as candy was concerned.

Love those smiles!

Nate trying out his skates.

The berries!

We love berries this year with the rain we have quite a few large blackberries coming in!

Nate and his friend getting lost in the bushes. They go out there and eat cupfuls.

We love blackberries, but after picking them you can understand why the stores charge for them. They can be wicked!

Fish Tacos with Mango Salsa

I had to share this recipe with you because it was soooooo tasty. The perfect summer-time dinner! I've had several fish tacos in the past, but this was definitely one of the best. If you like fish and melon, try it!

Recipe:

Grilled Salmon- season however you like. we use olive oil and a salmon seasoning or just salt and pepper. (about 1 lb fish is plenty for our family of four. also you may use tilapia if you don't like salmon. but who doesn't like salmon?)

Salsa-

3 cups of 1/4 in. diced melon (whatever melon you like, we used mango and watermelon)

1 Tbs lemon juice

1 Tbs honey

1 tsp fresh ground pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs fresh cut-up cilantro

Mix together. Make this fresh as it will turn soupy over time.

Tortilla- we like wheat flour tortillas. Spray each side with a little vegetable spray and cook in a pan on stove 1 min. each side. (This is a must as the toasted/soft texture of the tortilla adds a lot to the taco)

Put it all together in the tortilla, top with some fresh greens, and bon appetite! Very tasty and full of healthy bits (and, Janet, lots of colors just for you!)

4th of July Cabin Trip

Over the 4th of July weekend we took a trip up to Mimi's cabin for a few days. We only have a few pics since we actually forgot our camera. It was a fun weekend- rowboats and paddleboats, fishing, biking, lots of good food and ice cream, mini-golf and pony-riding, and even some dutch-oven cooking. And of course LOTS of fireworks- we actually brought our own and Nate had a blast. Just wish we had more time!

Our car loaded up and ready to go...

It was an interesting game of mini-golf with these two. Elin looked like she was playing a game of curling more than put-put, but they both had fun.

One evening Aunt Kathy gave Elin a treat- nail polish on hands and feet, and even some little girly decals- she loved it, of course. Apparently she even showed them off to her teachers at school.

And, of course, fishing. We had a lot of good luck on Kathy and Mick's lake.

Here's Nate's big catch- he was very proud! I think Nate's patience level for fishing will develop over time (I had the same problem, just ask my Dad), but overall I think he did great! Good job, Nate!

Anyone for some strawberry jam?

One of our annual summer activities is making strawberry jam. The process isn't necessarily fun, but the product is great and lasts all year long! There were so many strawberries to cut, I thought my fingers were going to shrivel up and fall off. These pics are just a part of them. We even tried a few strawberry-kiwi jars when we didn't have enough strawberries in our last batch.

Nate got in on the action as well. "You mean I get to eat them, cut them, and smash them up???" What could be more appealing?

And the final product... lots of jam. In fact, 72 cups of jam. Yum!

Day at the Amusement Park

We recently spent a really fun day at a nearby amusement park. This is a place we try to get to a couple times a year... it's great, only costs a quarter per ride, usually short lines, and the kids love it. There are a lot of kids rides, a swimming pool, small train, and parks to play on.

Hand-in-hand... what a team!

Elin excited for her first ride.

The little swings (as opposed to the big swings later).

Awesome slide! I think I liked this more than the kids.

Here's the crew on a train that circles the park... Nate giving his thumbs-up approval.

And the big swings... I was surprised Nate did this one, they go really high and you feel sideways on it. He loved it, of course, wanted to do it again. I had to wait for my head to stop spinning.

One of my favorite parts- a twist cone!

By the end everyone was pretty worn out, especially Elin. Perfect time for a nap!