It was a couple months ago, but a red-letter day like this shouldn't go unblogged. For Nate's birthday this year he really wanted to hike to the top of a mountain. So he picked Ben Lomond, headed out early, and conquered! I love it when Nate gets back from his outdoor adventures. I worry the whole time he's gone, so it's part relief that he didn't get eaten by a bear or a snake or break a leg. But he also comes home recharged. Something about doing something hard outside helps him break free from the stress and monotony of daily life and show his very best self. I love it. While Daddy was out getting his hike on, the kids created a birthday jungle for him. It was pretty spectacular. He went through all the tunnels and spotted all the wild animals with the kids, and then opened presents and enjoyed his birthday treat of choice, fresh peach milkshakes. I will take just a moment here and wax philosophical. It is incredibl...

Our garden did really well this year! As a result, we canned a TON. Here's the list. I didn't count how many quarts/pints. cherry jam tomato sauce applesauce salsa peaches grape juice apple juice bell peppers (we froze a bunch) We worked our buns off and are so glad to be done, and are grateful to have our shelves full for another year.

We had some mammoth crookneck squash plants in our garden. We ate a lot of squash. Squash carving Nate and Addison ran the 5K at Clinton Heritage Days So proud of my little guy running with all the grownups! The girls ran the mile The kids had fun with my button collection Aunt Bri helped us can cherry jam. The Primary did balloon animals at our ward picnic. Asa asked them to make him a pickle. I think Rosie's walk is our family's favorite children's book. Especially when Daddy reads it with fun background music composed on the spot. We went to the Riverdale trail with Kim, Isabel, and Ben to catch minnows. They actually got a few! . Love this lady. We got to watch a really cool bike race go right by our neighborhood! Trash day is always a highlight for Asa. We loved getting visits from cousins and grandparents. We buried our bird, Plow. We went wit...