A friend of mine whose parents have a beautiful orchard and garden on their place invited us over to pick peaches, apples, and tomatoes the other day.  We (along with several other friends) enjoyed the afternoon picking fresh homegrown produce and brought home a bountiful harvest.  

When we were driving away, I realized that I had a teachable moment to talk about being thankful with the boys so we said a quick prayer of thankfulness.    

As the peaches have been ripening, there has been an invasion by a small army of fruit flies so I made another homemade fruit fly trap tonight which should do the trick.  

This recipe is condensed from a Ball Blue Book that my mother-in-law bought me.  The Ball Blue book is really helpful because it is for food preserving beginners like me and is easy to follow.  I used the sugar pack method for freezing peaches which is super easy.  

First, you wash and drain ripe fruit.  Next, peel, pit, and slice the fruit.  

Then mix together 2/3 cup sugar and 2 tsp. Fruit-Fresh.  Sprinkle 1 quart sliced peaches with the sugar mixture.  Toss gently to coat.  

Allow this to sit until sugar dissolves, about 10 minutes.  

Ladle fruit and syrup into freezer containers or freezer bags leaving some space for expansion.  Recommendation is 1/2 inch for freezer containers.  Label containers with date and contents then freeze.  

I love the upside down sign.

I know I took lots of pictures, but it was the first day of preschool.  He was so excited and was totally ok with me leaving him at school. 

I love these printable signs for the first and last day of school.  You can find them at 3 Dinosaurs.  You can print signs for preschool through 12th grade. 

This picture is from a few years ago before I knew anything about photographing for a blog.   I used a Nordic Ware pan that I purchased at Meijer for the train cake.  

Here are my notes:  I made a large chocolate sheet cake and a vanilla train cake.  I used dowel rods to help secure the train cake to the chocolate cake.  The cake is frosted with chocolate buttercream frosting and vanilla buttercream frosting.  My three year old insisted that the train had to have a face like Thomas so I made a face out of gum paste and brushed it with silver dust.  He also wanted smoke coming from the smokestack so I cut up a large Campfire marshmallow and sprayed it lightly with black coloring spray.  

Today was the first day of school.  Much excitement, pictures, and little bit nervous mommy - I actually checked my phone a few times today to see if the school had called and of course they did not.  Everything was fine.  

I love these printable signs for the first and last day of school.  You can find them at 3 Dinosaurs.  You can print signs for preschool through 12th grade.  

Happy 40th Birthday to the best husband and daddy in the world!

Always reading to the boys...They read Swiss Family Robinson and White Fang this Spring/Summer and many childrens' books and daddy created imagined stories.

Who else would build campfires in the summer?

And igloos in the winter?

Happy 40th Birthday!  We love you and are so blessed to have you in our lives. 

I realized about a week ago that my oldest will soon be in school all day, everyday. Kindergarten is full day.  My burn injuries, 3 rounds of strep throat, and then a respiratory infection all contributed to us spending a lot of time at home this summer.  Which isn't all bad when the weather is beautiful and you can dig for dinosaurs in the sandbox, chase fireflies, or swing on the tree swing.  There is a lot to do in our little yard.  

But when I realized how little time we have before my little boy is off to school all day, everyday, I decided that we were going to make some summer memories.  Last week I took the boys to my parents house for a few days.  They have a fish farm, Busch Family Fish Farm and Pay Lakes.  The boys and I had an incredible time.  It was a long drive for us that took way longer than it should have because we had to stop so many times, but it was so worth it.  The boys had so much fun and wanted to stay longer, but we had to get back for Kindergarten registration.  

Our fun memory making at Grandma and Grandpa's included lots of fishing, four wheeler rides, playing on Grandpa's playground (my Dad built a huge playground for the grandkids), apple picking, berry picking, playing in Grandma's garden (sorry Mom, I think a few stalks of corn bit the dust), playing with some cousins, eating homemade apple pie, and a very exciting paddleboat ride.  

Oh yeah, and playing with worms.  How could I forget that.  Doesn't every little boy love to play with worms?

This little guy is becoming quite the fisherman.  He asked to go fishing the whole time we were at my parents' farm.  He can bait his own hook and is pretty good at catching fish too.  

Another fisherman in the making...he caught just as many as big brother which kept Grandpa very busy as his fishing assistant.  

I picked fresh blackberries which the boys love.  

We made some wonderful memories and will make many more.  I have some fun things planned for next week including a Zoo trip.  I'm glad to have gotten the push of school starting to remind me to enjoy my children and make some fun memories.  

My Dad told me when we were leaving their house after the 4th of July last month that these are the happiest days of my life.  I thought it was really sweet that my Dad looks back on his life and remembers raising my sisters and I as "the happiest days of his life".  I have to remember that when things are chaotic and I feel like I don't have a moment of peace.  My precious boys and I are making memories...I want them to be good memories.  

Although, the mishaps can be funny memories too.  I had to use the restroom in Target yesterday and of course had to take my two year old in with me.  While I was indisposed, my adventurous toddler opened wide the door to the stall and wondered over to the paper towel dispenser.  I tried to convince him to return to the stall and shut the door with no success.  There was an older woman in the restroom who found the whole situation quite hilarious as she saw my toddler not responding to my request.  She thanked us for the good laugh and said it brought back many good memories.  

An older man said the same thing to us in church one day.  The boys had been loud and antsy the whole time and we were pretty much mortified and couldn't wait to get out of there after the service was over.  This kind older gentleman who had been sitting all alone made a point to tell us that our boys had brought back fond memories for him that day.  

I love these little reminders that help me to appreciate every moment with my boys.  

I made this cake several years ago for my son's second birthday.  It was a lot of fun to make.

I carved the dog shape out of cake that I had baked in a dutch oven.  I frosted it in buttercream frosting using an icing tip that I could drag to make it look like hair.  I made the eyes and nose out of gum paste.  I covered the icecream cone hat with gum paste to resemble a party hat.

Looks like I made a tail and a bump for the head out of gum paste too.  (I have a very pregnant belly in this picture.)  That little guy is almost 4 already.  

We really enjoyed this simple recipe for chicken caprese.  The flavor blends are wonderful and it's a great use for tomatoes from the garden.  We enjoyed our first tomato of the season in this recipe.  Truly delicious!  Adapted from Parenting Miracles.

Ingredients:

•  3-4 large chicken breasts 

•  1/2 cup Italian dressing or vinaigrette

•  olive oil

•  9 oz. bag fresh spinach leaves

•  1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

•  1/2 teaspoon basil

2-3 tomatoes, sliced into 1/4″ slices

•  4 oz. mozzarella, shredded (about 1 cup)

•  salt

•  freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1.  Slice each chicken breast in half lengthwise so they are thin and flat.  Marinate the chicken in the Italian dressing or vinaigrette for a couple of hours or more. 

2. Heat enough oil to coat a large skillet.  Turn pan to coat.  Cook the chicken over med-high heat.  Cook chicken breasts on each side until golden and cooked through.  While chicken is cooking, salt and pepper each side.  Transfer chicken to an oven safe dish.

3. Heat 1T. olive oil in the same skillet and add spinach, basil, and garlic powder. Turn gently until wilted.

4. Layer tomato slices on top of chicken.  I used two tomato slices for each chicken breast.  Top with a generous mound of wilted spinach and a small handful of shredded mozzarella.  Salt and pepper as desired.

5. Place chicken under the broiler to melt the cheese, about a minute.