Picking the Garden and Canning the Goods!

Well, this year is my first year for a garden and my first year to can. I was VERY nervous about the whole canning process. I was afraid that I wouldn't do it right and all my food would be ruined. I was afraid that I wouldn't get the canner lid on right and it would explode and I would burn my face with the steam. I was afraid all my jars would break or that they wouldn't seal. Yes - I imagined up every possible scenario!! I had read the books my mom gave me, but I still wasn't feeling very confident, so I asked for her tips. Well, bless her heart, so typed out the whole process - from beginning to end - and emailed it to me. I printed it out and read it several times and most of my worries were put to rest. The next day I went out to my garden and dug up all my carrots and spent the next few hours washing, peeling, and slicing them! And when it came time to can - well, that was the easy part! I was able to get 5 quarts of carrots and they all sealed! Now, I just have to be patient till winter time and pop open a jar and see how they taste!

I am now confident that I can do the rest of the canning. I only got 2 pickings out of my peas and then it got too hot for them - but they were delicious! I put one quart of peas in the freezer. My green beans are doing really well, and we have had them for a few meals. I will have to save a few days worth of pickings to be able to can them. We have cucumbers and LOTS of yellow squash! The okra still has a ways to go - but so far so good. I have one little bell pepper, but several more blooms, so I hope I get a good crop of bells. Joe's jalapeno's have taken off and the plants are full of them - his habanero's haven't really done anything yet, though. And our tomatoes, well, they aren't doing so great. Of the 6 we planted, only one is still alive. The one has lots of blooms and just the other day we found our first little tomato! So I hope all those blooms turn into tomatoes!

This garden has been a learning experience. We don't have a bumper crop or the nicest looking garden - but we are getting some good produce and are learning how to do things different for next year!

July 4th Weekend

Moe and Jess invited us to go with them to Canton Lake in Oklahoma for the July 4th weekend. Jess's family owns a few trailer houses down there and have a few boats, jet ski's, tubes, and kneeboards and make use of them all as often as they can get to the lake! We were very excited to go as we have never been jet skiing, tubing or kneeboarding before! And, well, we miss the ocean and the lake was as close to the ocean as we were gonna get! We were in for a surprise because the lake is HUGE - I wasn't expecting it to be so big! Joe and I both got to ride the jet ski's and the next day we took turns driving them - I think they were my favorite part! Tubing was quite an experience! It was such fun, but my arms were so sore from hanging on for dear life! Joe attempted the kneeboarding and even got up on the board a few times, but didn't make it far. I didn't try that one - maybe next time! I loved being in the water and now have a good tan - a few burnt spots too - but they'll tan nicely!! In the evenings, all the guys set out jug lines for fish and the next morning they went and picked them up. Jess and I had stayed back at the house and when the guys came back Joe was yelling for me to get my camera - they had caught a BIG fish. Big was right! The catfish weighed 20 pounds and was 34 inches long! Those guys were so excited about their catch! It was such a great weekend! A great time getting to know Jess's family. A great time on the water. A great time for fishing. A great time to just get away and have some fun!

Aimee

My newest neice, Aimee Michelle Elizabeth, born on June 12!

5 Years!

My how time flies! Seems just yesterday I was walking down the aisle in my wedding dress smiling at my handsome hubby-to-be! Yet so much has happened in these last five years! A deployment to Afghanistan, a move across the ocean, a new 'culture' to get used to (and I mean the Army, not the island!), an amazing three years on my beautiful Oahu, snorkeling adventures, hiking adventures, a deployment to Iraq, learning deployment survival, running my first 5K, church on the beach, several friends made (and unfortunately several friends lost), lots and lots of coffee, a move back across the ocean, a new job for hubby, a new job for me, life in a tiny duplex, a week of hurried painting and fixin' up the new house, our first Christmas tree, our first garden, fishin' and campin' trips, and the list goes on! What a crazy first 5 years! Who knows what the next five years may include. My hopes are that we have a lot more time together (easier now that Joe is out of the Army!), have a few kids, buy a house, Joe's dream to compete in a triathlon comes true, lots of family vacations (and hopefully one back to Hawaii), and that our relationship keeps growing, as it has done the last 5 years! We have had our ups and downs, we've had our moments of pure happiness and we've had moments of sheer pain too. But those moments - all of them - have made us who we are.

Joe's Birthday Adventure!

This year for his birthday, Joe wanted to go fishing and camping at Meade Lake. I took off work and Moe and Judson tagged along! Driving to Meade, it rained on us the whole way, but once we arrived it let up. After about an hour there (by the time we got our camp set up and were ready to get out on the boat) the sun decided to come out! We spent the afternoon on the boat and had a great time! Evening came around and the park ranger was speeding to all the campsites to let everyone know there was a forecast of hail and a tornado heading our way. So we jump in the car and head south, away from the storm, and wait it out. Turns out we only got rain at the camp - no hail or tornado. The guys stayed up late fishing, even caught a bunch of crawdads to use as bait the nest morning - only problem was that the coons got the crawdads sometime in the night!

The next morning it was gray and cloudy out, but it didn't rain, so we kept on fishing, still hoping to catch something. Sure enough - Moe caught something - a turtle. A not so very happy turtle! It took Moe a bit to unhook the turtle cause he kept snapping at him! We finished out our day without catching a single fish (though we kept seeing them jump out of the water the whole time!) - but that doesn't mean we didn't have quite the adventure for Joe's Birthday Fishing Trip!

Splish Splash!

Bethany and Morgan are some pretty lucky girls - their uncles LOVE to play with them, even if it means getting wet! They love their water balloon fights - in which the girls are WAY more drenched then Joe and Moe!! Last week, they even pulled out their slip-n-slide and had their uncles playing on that too!

Here are a few pics of their water adventures!

My Roses!

Growing up, I always wanted a rose bush! Everyone said they wouldn't grow well out here, so I just put the idea out of my head. Well, our house has a rose bush out front, and, well, when we first moved in, there were only a few puny roses on it. So maybe it is true, they don't grow well out here! Well, after a few tips from Andrew, Joe cut the bush way back (I thought it looked horrible, but he assured me it would be good for it.) Well, that rose bush has taken off and now grows gorgeous roses! I am so happy to finally have my beautiful rose bush!