Canning count

After many days slaving over a hot stove, our canning count is up to:
72 jars of applesauce
13 jars of blackberry jam

And our apple tree is finally almost empty of apples. Just in time for our plum tree to be picked!

RIP Bodhi Rungus

Yesterday we put Rungus to sleep. He was old and his condition had really deteriorated as of late. It was time, but it was still very sad. He has been my loyal companion for 12 years. We buried him in the backyard under a plum tree. He is sorely missed.



This is him in his last moments of life.
RIP Bodhi Rungus
June 1996~September 15 2008

Haven the photographer

Haven, with a little instruction from mama, has taken her first photograph! We have high hopes that her abilities will only increase from here!

In this picture I am picking blackberries, which will later be made into jam. We have been having a beautiful September in western Washington so far.....

Sleepy head

Haven did this to herself on a long car ride. We tried not to wake her up with our laughing!

Sad face

Haven has perfected her sad look face, when she can keep from smiling!

Applesauce

Our house came with a sweet old apple tree in the backyard. This year it was literally dripping with apples, which have gotten all over my lawn.
So today I made my ancestors proud and took my first foray into the world of canning. My friend Hannah came over to help me peel and offer a few pointers. In all it was a great success and now I have 264 oz. of sweet applesauce to last us through the winter.

Potty training success!

It all started with the outhouse at Twin Meadows. Haven loved it.

Then back at home, potty training just sort of happened! We are lucky parents.

Well, except for one thing, though she pee pees on the potty with regularity, the number two is still happening in the undies. But besides the one little glitch, we are happy to be free of diapering! And Haven loves wearing 'unnies.'

Summer Update

Whew! We are finally home from many travels with pictures downloaded! So here is the rundown of our last few weeks:















Haven's Nana came to visit and we went to the zoo. Haven got to feed a giraffe (with some help from papa.)

Then our friends Amber and Steven got married in beautiful Neah Bay. We camped in the rain.


Next we headed to Montana for a few weeks of hot sun and family fun. My cousin Julie got married and we all lived up at Twin Meadows for a few weeks. Fences and rock walls were built, a barn was torn down (what barn?), guns were shot (RIP gophers) and much boisterous conversation was consumated around many campfires.



I hiked to the top of Elk mountain and back with my cousins Jenny and Luke and uncle Robin. We saw the FS trail crew and lots of bear signs- including a pile of grizzly doo with a deer hoof in it!



We also had a chance to visit with our dear friends Mary, Matthew and young Ramona. Haven and Ramona hit it off right away.



We were sad to leave Twin Meadows but it was nice to be home. Except for the rain. There is too much rain this August! We keep busy with tea parties.

Our sprout

Haven looks so good in our official logo (abbreviated version)
She looks a lot like her momma in this picture!

Summer travels

At the beginning of July we took a road trip to Montana! We stayed in four places over a week and a half and got to visit lots of friends and family. After an overnight with the Stephens in Missoula we spent the fourth of July at the Connors cabin. No one had brought any fireworks, but the lightning all day was more than enough of a light show.

From here we drove through Glacier National Park on our way to Twin Meadows. We saw a mountain goat family and a big horn sheep!