New Family Picures

I have been really slacking again on the blogging...these pictures were taken by my talented sister-in-law Cathy Goss when were in Colorado in the summer

The Zoo

We took our annual trek to the Zoo on Labor Day this year. We were all excited until we got there and realized that everyone else and their dog had the same idea! The parking lot was packed and the streets were lined with parked cars. Since we had already promised to go we decided to brave the crowds. Our first stop was the Zoofari express train...the girls loved it.

This is what Beckett did most of the time we were there!

Shhh, don't tell Taylor...Callie got to ride on the carousel while she was watching the Bird Show!

We had a good time until Callie fell out of the stroller about halfway through our trip. She never fully recovered so there was a lot of crying...oh well, maybe next year we will have more fun!

Kensington Bed & Night Stand

Brandon made this bed and nightstand in a little over a week even with his broken finger!

Fruits of the Harvest

So at our new home we have quite a lot of harvesting to do this time of year and it has been keeping us very busy! It started about 3 weeks ago when I realized our green grapes needed to be picked soon since some of them were falling off the vine. So I borrowed a neighbor's stream juicer and we got 11 quarts of grape juice (which we still have lots of grapes left on the vine that won't be ready for a few more weeks.)

Then last week I went out and tried a nectarine from our backyard...they we so good! I started picking them and before I knew I had filled up an entire Laundry basket, and I hadn't even picked half of the fruit off! Needless to say I had a lot of canning to do! I went to the D. I. and found a boiling water canner for $3 and began a process that spanned many days and many phone calls to my Mom. Brandon thinks the canned nectarines look like pickled pig ears from Louisiana ....thankfully they are not and they taste delicious.

Then on Tuesday we picked all our pears and wrapped them and put them in a box to ripen.

We've also had fun making salsa from the the tomatoes, chilies and onions from our garden...yummy! As well as trying to come up with as many creative ways to use zucchini!

So the harvest isn't over yet...I still have a peach tree with tons of fruit that hasn't ripened yet
and two apple trees. Wish us luck with those adventures!