JAM!!

Yesterday my mother and I spent the whole afternoon/evening together! It was great, I rarely see her anymore and now she is moving even farther away from me!  She came over to my house (after doing some shopping for our supplies) and we started the long process process of making jam! Strawberry jam to be exact!


I am so thankful to have a mother who spent her childhood in the kitchen with her grandma (my great-grandma) learning to bake bread, make meals for a full house, can fruits, and make jam! These are things I will pass on to my daughters for sure. 


We took about 30lbs of yummy local strawberries and turned it into 8 batches of jam, four for each of us! It was very important for me to make jam this year because my husband eats sooo much of it! I decided this soon after we got married! Every time I grocery shopped I was buying jam!!! So this was cost efficient and so much better because it is local fruit with no added preservatives. Just strawberries, sugar, and pectin. There is indeed ridiculous amounts of sugar, even when using the "light" more fruity recipe but my husbands body can handle it at this point and I consume it only on special occasions! 


I did promise to take pictures so here are a few off my phone :D 

Empty jars on one side, bucket of strawberries in the sink, and the full jars one the far side! Yes, this jam operation took up all my counter space! We didn't use all these jars, they were all given to me by my sister who had used them as wedding decor when she got married. 

MMMMM Skimming the foam off the top! That stuff tastes sooo good! 

My beautiful mommy wearing my apron! 

The foamy part is her favorite too!! 

These 11 jars are mine, so 4 batches of jam made this much! 

It might be hard to tell but I made 4 small jars, 6 regular size mason jars, and one gigantic jar which was almost a whole batch in itself! Josh called that one his "2 week jam jar"....I hope it will last longer than that!!! 

So there you have it. My jam. Yum Yum Yum! We have plans of canning pears and maybe making another kind of jam later this season! 

A Weekend of Fun and Adventures!!

This past weekend was stuffed full of family, driving, ferries, food, laughter, and quality time with my hubby! I tried to take pictures to share with you but I usually forget about taking pictures in the moment (or let other people take them!)! But Here we go!

My hubby had Thursday and Friday off work and I only had to work on Thursday until mid afternoon so after rapid packing, we headed out for a mini roadtrip/overnighter to a place we had never gone before! I managed to fix an awesome BBQ/tinfoil dinner and breakfast with all the things we had in the house already (woot for NOT grocery shopping). 

Yummmmm! 

We are slowly building our camping supplies this summer! I think our next big purchase will be a tent...sleeping in the back of our Tahoe was uncomfortable and way too warm!! 

Yay for campfires at free camping spots on the side of a gravel roads! This particular spot we found had a fire pit, a picnic table and two outhouses across the road! There were some other sites farther down the road but we couldn't hear or see them so it was just us and the loons! 

There were many mosquitoes that night...I had to cover up! 

The little train town of Ashcroft where we found our campsite! At this point we were at the gas station filling up before our trip home! This gas station (the only one we could find in town) also offered to take family, passport, and baby pictures; sold helium balloons and homemade sushi; and also did piercings and sold the necessary jewelry to occupancy the new holes! BTW, I read all of this and more on signs outside the store...I can only imagine what it was like inside!! 

After a long drive home from Ashcroft, we relaxed at home until it was time to go out for dinner and a movie! This was my husband's idea! So we went to our favorite restaurant, Montana's, right beside the movie theater and we were able to buy our tickets for $4 off each in the restaurant! Woot Woot for not paying full price for anything! We went and saw Madagascar 3, it was funny, crazy and random, but definitely funny! 

The next morning (at 4:30am to be exact) we woke up for another adventure! My sisters, one of their husbands, and both their babies picked us up outside our condo at 6 am and we headed to Vancouver Island for my dad's 50th surprise birthday party! I don't think all three of us sisters have been over to the island together since we lived there 11 years ago but we definitely hadn't seen my dad's side of the family together since then! It was a great reunion. The above image is of the stormy skies in the strait as we traveled on the ferry. 

While on the ferry, Joshua and I walked around and spent a lot of nice time together. we went outside into the stormy weather and found a sundeck (protecting us from the wind and rain!) and there was a man with a fantastically calming voice singing and playing his guitar! It was such a special time! I almost got up and danced!! 

We returned home late Saturday night and passed out right away! The next morning we woke up and went to the Chilliwack CityWide church service at the big arena! It was great! I love worshiping in a huge crowed, all the voices singing and cheering for Jesus together gets me really pumped!  

We then went to a car show in downtown Chilliwack which was huge! We finished off Sunday at my mom's campsite (where she is currently living before moving into her new house!). We swam in the pool and hot tubs and then had a great hot dog roast. It was so nice to have almost the whole family together outdoors! 

And now to the last picture! This is a view from part of a hike up Sumas mountain my sisters and I went on! (this was actually our first dead end/wrong turn but it was pretty!) Yes, my sisters strapped their babies into their hiking backpack things (weighing 30 lbs with baby and water bottle attached !!!) They are warriors!!! I was exhausted but so thankful they pushed me to go hiking with them! It was a great adventure!! And a great way to start off the week!!

That is all for today!! I have figured out how to take my pictures from my phone and put them in my computer so expect many more picture posts!! 

TTYL <3 <3 <3 

Ps. Shania Twain just came on the radio, like 90's Shania! "Whose bed have your boots been under...!"  Only my own bed Shania  ; D

Mennonite Girls Certainly Can Cook!!

I have know about the Mennonite Girls for a couple years now. But today was the first day I tried one of their recipes! Dinner tonight was Greek veggies and chicken! Yuuuummmm!!  I should have taken a picture of it but I didn't know I would post about my dinner until my husband and I already ate it! 

Tonight was full of firsts because I also used my dutch oven for the first time! Thanks Kitchen Aid for making great products that I love! And Thanks Sis for knowing exactly what I would need as a new wife! Okay, maybe I should stop with all the exclamation marks....can you tell I am kinda stoked on life right now?

I can't believe I am stoked on life because of chicken! Anyways, this recipe was super simple and super easy and I did change it up a bit (added more lemon juice, some red peppers and more spices). I feel like I have accomplished a great goal, I am on my way to be that wife that knows what to cook for dinner every night because she has a million recipes stored in the back of her mind! "Greek" chicken shall be a new favorite in this house. Did I mention my husband enjoyed it too?? (He is a bit sick tonight so it was hard for him to taste it, but what he could taste, he liked!) 

Back to twilight....eeerrrm, I mean the Mennonite Girls Can Cook. My mother in-law is fantastic with her sewing machine (and multiple other machines in her sewing room that I have no idea how to use!) and she just told me that she is making me an apron! And she found the same pattern as the aprons that the MGCC ladies wear! I am sooo blessed!  

I promise to add pictures to my next blog post! I love looking at pictures but I really haven't been taking any new ones that I feel I should share....but I will! I have a summer full of plans and can't wait to share them with you!!!

LOVES <3 

Going to Mexico!!

I wish!! Well I am trying my hardest to win a trip to mexico!! Woot Woot for save on foods! If I post this link (http://shopandspin.com/?plink=1339473604_XL8682)  I get more chances to win save on more points and gift cards and perhaps a trip to mexico. I figure at this point in my life, that's the only way I'm going to get there! A real blog post will follow soon!!! <3 <3 <3