We be jammin'!

Measure the sugar,
Mix berries & sugar for 10 min & add pectin,

Pour into containers, and you get. . . . . .

44 containers of Strawberry Jam!

We used 18lbs berries, about 14lbs sugar (lost count), 8 boxes of pectin, and all the containers I could possibly find. Had to make a trip to the Dollar Tree today and they had the perfect size containers, can't beat a six pack of containers for a buck! We still have 5 cups mashed berries left so tomorrow I attempt cooked jam. This way I can use Grandma Plock's canning jars (and I'm all out of plastic). I'm sure mine won't be as good as hers, but I can't wait to use her jars!

Down on the farm

Trevor & I went strawberry picking today. It was so much fun. When you get to Basse's Farm you pick up your flats and take a wagon ride to the strawberry fields. Trevor was a lot of help! It only took us about 20 minutes to fill two flats (18 lbs). Before we left we enjoyed ice cream & berries, Trev fed the goats and played on the jungle gym. Tomorrow we make jam!

MY CAKE! by Trevor

I was so surprised when i saw the cake my mom made me!

Don't forget wax droped on the cake when I was blowing out the candles.

I look like I need to go potty. My mom says I look like a monkey blowing out my candles!

Cave of the Mounds

So I tried to make a slideshow, but the pictures came up as individual posts. Urg!
This pic is of formations in the cave.

Trevor on Field Trip

Here is Trevor on his b-day at Cave of the Mounds.

Trevor at Cave of the Mounds

I went with Trevor on his field trip to Cave of the Mounds. He was especially excited because it was his birthday. The weather was beautiful! It was a little warm out, but when you go down in the cave it's a chilly 50 degrees. The stalagmites and other formations are so awesome. I didn't think I would be so into it, but it was so cool. It's really nice because the walkways in the cave are paved w/handrails and dim lighting. I forgot my camera so I only had my cell to take these pictures with. We will definitely go back. I told Kevin that our new hobby is going to be spelunking!

Awesome husband!

Here is why my husband is so awesome: He fixed my van!! The water pump went out last Friday, also the day we made out last payment on the van. At first inspection Kevin thought the engine would have to be pulled out to get to the water pump. That would mean we would have to put it in the shop, and pay lots of money to get it fixed. Well, my smart husband bought the mechanic's manual and found out that the engine didn't have to be pulled out and that he could fix it himself! So for $60, which includes the manual, Kevin was able to fix it himself in a little over an hour!! Isn't he awesome?

Saturday walk

Everyone who knows me knows that I've been trying to lose weight. It's the hardest thing I've ever worked at! So I bought myself a pedometer to track my progress. First of all, I entered my pace wrong yesterday. Today I fixed it in the pedometer and headed out to see what my long hike yesterday really was. Turns out the 4 miles I did yesterday is actually 3.157. That was a little let down, but the good thing is that since my stride is smaller, the calories I burned doubled! Yesterday the calories were 250ish and today the correct amount is 487.6. Maybe I worked off the piece of taco pizza I had last night! I couldn't help it, it smelled so yummy, and it was!!

The picture above is from a lookout on the Ice Age Trail I like to hike. There is a bench at the top so I take a picture and a little rest!