apple saucen 2011

Another item checked off my summer to-do list...can applesauce!

Michaela and I added into the applesauce equation this year the task of picking our own apples. On Wednesday we made the 2 hour trek up to Santa Rosa, hand picked several pounds of Sonoma County elite Gravenstein apples and trekked on home. On Thursday and Friday we readied the needed supplies. On Saturday we canned applesauce from 10:00AM to 5:00PM. On Sunday we cleaned up. A success story from start to finish!

Farmers for a day!

Our crop

Sneaky

2 pots cooking apples, 1 pot to seal the jars, 1 pot to sterilize lids. 2 kitchen aides humming, countless bowls filled and refilled with cut apples, several minor burns, 1 major and 1 minor cut finger. All in a days work!

Can't beat a fresh apple for snack time.

This year we had hoped to get 12 jars for me, 12 for Michaela and 4 or 5 for Michaela's mom for a total of 28 to 29 jars of applesauce. Well, our harvest was plentiful and we ended up canning 59 jars!

We even got an apple crisp out of the deal.

Paul loves when I make him take food pictures!

It was great to spend the day hard at work, it was great to spend that evening relaxing and enjoying some of our yield with friends, it will be great to be able to cook with, eat, and share the great applesauce harvest of 2011!

The Boys are Back in Town

A couple of weeks ago Michaela and I started our kid swap again.

Week 1...everyone's happy to see and be with each other again!

The Netherlands

At the end of August I had the pleasure of leading a team of 6 ladies to the Netherlands. We went there with the purpose of running a VBS program for 61 kids, ages 2 - 12, for a week. The work was hard with long hours and little sleep but the kids were great. Their energy and enthusiasm for the program made it all worth it. By the end, our team was a well oiled machine, we all got along and we all came home still liking each other (or they did a really good job pretending to like each other)!

Here is a photo highlight of the trip.

Setting up the room.

The room went from an ordinary meeting hall to Cosmic City!

Craft area.

Snack area. We also had space outside to do outdoor games.

And the kids arrive. Many of the kids could not have their pictures published on the Internet so unfortunately the back of heads is all I can show.

Our daily skit was usually showed via previously taped video but at the end Captain Cathryn and Space Ranger Suzie made an in person appearance, the kids were stoked!

On our last day they let us out of the conference center we had been held up in for 7 days and we explored the near-by town.

Our fabulous team!One of my goals in going to the Netherlands was to see tulips, and a windmill, and buy a cow bell. Tulip season was over :(, cow bells are no where to be found in this country, but we did see a few beautiful windmills.

We had a day at the end of the trip to see Amsterdam. We were impressed by the architecture, the plethora of bikes, and the beauty of the canals!

Coming home we had 9 huge suitcases, as you can see we were up to our eyeballs in luggage in the cab going to the airport.

First Day of School

Nora's preschool isn't a year round preschool, she was off for the summer which means we get to hype up another first day of school! So she got a new outfit, she got her hair cut and she got to go for ice cream after it was all said and done! We love the first day of school!

All ready to go to school with her "pack-pack".

Saying "cheese" for the camera, instead of getting a smile out of her I get a face that actually looks like she is saying cheese!!!

I look to include ice cream into any occasion!

A Country Weekend

A friend that Paul has made through his missions trips to Italy was in town for a couple of weeks. One thing that Paul is proud to do is show off where he grew up. So we took a weekend, went to Mariposa, ate at the Pizza Factory, went into the Park (Mariposa talk for Yosemite), went skeet shooting and quad riding. A true country weekend!

After our country weekend, Paul and I came home to work and Nora stayed for a few days with her Nani & Papa. Thank you Nani & Papa, Aunt Michelle and Aunt Kathy for giving so much love to our girl and for giving us such great childcare at such a great price!

A Nora-less Day

Nora went to spend a couple days with her Grammy & Pappy in Santa Rosa and what did we do (besides work work work)? We hit the town, we saw a movie, we stayed out past 7:30PM! Thank you mom and dad for allowing us a few days to feel like adults again!

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Last month we celebrated with the Shulls Aaron's 1st Birthday! Michaela did a great job organizing this event with tons of fun things to do for both young and old.

Happy Birthday Aaron!

Summer Watch

Last night marked the end of my summer. Even though the calendar still says it is summer; a big part of my job resumes next week, we have no more holidays until Thanksgiving and school has started for Nora. So all-in-all I have said good-bye to summer. Now I must reconcile with my summer wish list.

1. Make my t-shirt quilt.

What is this you ask? This is success!!! This is the four components to a finished quilt! Backing, batting, binding and quilt top! My quilt is, as we speak, at the quilters being quilted...I can't wait for the call to come in telling me that it is done. Then I can show you the true finished product!

2. Can applesauce.

This is on the books for later this month, my trip to The Netherlands took out a big chunk of August.

3. Swim a lot!

Success!

4. Go to Safari West with the fam.

Didn't happen but we did take Nora to Yosemite for her first visit which was fun and we have a trip to Disneyland is in the works...Safari West may have to be a summer 2012 excursion.

5. Decorate Nora's bedside stool.

Nora's Papa is in charge of making the bedside stool, he hasn't completed it yet, thus I haven't gotten to decorate it yet. :(

6. Go on lots of bike rides.

Success!

7. Walk to Baskin Robbins and have a scoop of ice cream as many times as Paul allows!

Success!