Thankful Thursday

So many things to be thankful for today! Here are just a few:

• A swim date with our little family last night and a poolside picnic dinner. We haven't been able to take advantage of my parent's neighborhood pool as much as I'd like. But I hope to the rest of the summer.
• An incredible friend who took care of Leta so I could get a few work hours in today- since my normal work childcare (my mom) is on a trip. Thank you so much, Kate!
  

• Beautiful weather and all it entails- tons of raspberry picking, hanging clothes to dry on the line in the sunshine, picnic lunches and a popsicle evening treat with the peanut.
• A pretty productive week. I made a to-do list with a self-imposed August deadline and was becoming so frustrated because I never had time to get any of it done. However, this week has been surprisingly productive. Still a long way to go, though!
  

• God's provision & the reminders of it in the form of a wonderful re-read: The Freedom of Simplicity by Richard Foster, & Kristen's post this morning. I'm so thankful for the gift of extra work hours come September (as challenging as it might be to find time for them).
• Leta and how quickly her communication is improving. She was a bit slow to talk, but now has so many new words and phrases every day - it's so exciting to witness! (Not to mention the fact that it makes my job as a parent so much easier to know exactly what she wants).
  
  

I hope you have a wonderful weekend celebrating the 4th!

Our Other Child

Did I get you there with the title?! No, we're not pregnant! I was alluding to our huge crop of a certain favorite summer berry that feels like another child these days- with the daily tending, washing, freezing (well, maybe you don't freeze your children)...

Our raspberries came in early this year and so far we've had so many that Matt & I have had to pick them every single day! Here is how many we had just yesterday:

But, unlike last year when I was overwhelmed by my first experience with these bountiful bushes, I'm really enjoying it this year. I think it helps to know that all of my time picking, washing, freezing, etc... will allow us to give a ton away, enjoy periodic raspberry desserts all year long, and provide enough jam to give to friends and neighbors and still have plenty left over to last us the entire year. That's right, we just used the last of our jam from last summer about a month ago!

I thought I'd take a 2nd to share the limited wisdom I've learned this year about raspberries - especially for those of you who we've recently given bushes to. (If you'd like to be one of those people, let me know. We'll be transplanting a bunch of our raspberries this fall to make room for blueberries- so we'd be happy to share the love!) So, here's what I've discovered this year:

-Care during the spring/summer involves getting rid of any weeds & grass growing among your bushes- these rob nutrients from your plants. They spread like crazy- so in order to confine them to one area I suggest burrying wood or plastic barriers in the ground where you want them to end. Also, although they spread like weeds, they are not weeds & thus need adequate water during these hot summer days. I water them every other morning.

-If you want to freeze them here's what I recommend:

1. wash them by the handful, shake off excess water & lay them out in a single layer on a jellyroll pan. If you're anything like me & were shocked at a huge waterbill increase (from all this plant watering & extra baths for the dirt-queen), I recommend putting a large bowl under the faucet to catch the water as you rinse them and then use it to water your plants.
2. place them in the freezer until frozen.
3. allow them to thaw a bit before trying to take them off the pan and putting them in freezer bags. Otherwise, they'll crumble. I set them on the counter in the evening & just keep coming back periodically to bag those that have thawed enough to easily come off the pan, but are still frozen inside (usually working may way around the outside, in).
4. Then you can just store frozen bags of raspberries until you have time to turn them into jam, or have them in baked goods or on top of cereal or ice cream anytime of year!

Anyways, that's the extent of my knowledge. Here's my little raspberry picking helper- who apparently didn't realize that when I say, "go get your hat" in 80-degree weather, I'm refering to her sunhat. And that's her "cheese" smile, in case you were wondering:

The 3 Musketeers

Last week my good friend Randi came up to Seattle for a visit. Since it had been awhile since this last picture of the 3 kiddos, we decided to take another.

Kole, Leta & Sean

They've grown up a bit in the past 6 months, huh?

My Favorite Garden

Friday Night we took an after-dinner trip to the Rose Garden- my first visit of the year! This is probably my favorite place in Seattle & because of that, was also where Matt proposed a little over 5 years ago. Here are just a few pics of our time there:

7th Annual Trip to LaConnor

This past weekend we went up to our friends' cabin in LaConnor that we've rented from them for 7 years now! I LOVE it there! It's so low-key & has a beautiful view of the bay! Such a wonderful place for relaxing, eating good food, and taking the time to re-center myself & my priorities that sometimes get so out of whack in day-to-day living.

Katie, Ryan & Sean came up again this year, so back by popular demand...more pics of Sean & Leta :)

(Above: Daddy & Leta go for an early morning walk while everyone else is still sleeping)

Playing on the beach with sticks

She loves to play in the mud, but isn't a huge fan of the sand's gritty consistency

Checking out a baby crab

...and a bigger variety (don't worry, it was dead)

Ryan, Katie & I watching Sean walk up the beach

Leta playing in the rocks: the front picture

...and the crack (I mean, "back") picture.

(Sorry, Matt thinks this one is hilarious!)

Future wildlife watchers

Storytime with the Kylers

Father's Day breakfast out on the deck

We love you, Daddy!

2 Little Buddies

Sean & Leta spent the day together Thursday. Sorry so many pics, but they were all so cute, I couldn't decide! Here's what we did all day:

Picked Raspberries

Played in the dirt a ton (this seems to be their favorite activity every time they get together)

They got a bit dirtier than usual- so much so that it warranted an immediate mid-afternoon bath

A snack together

Playing with puppets and making them dance ...and then kiss :)

And then dancing with cellphones

I thought this one was funny 'cause it looks like they're texting - this new generation, I tell you :)

Thankful Thursday 6.18.09

Sorry for the absence around here lately. We've just been really busy living life...and LOVING summer! Here are some of the things I've been so thankful to be doing lately:

• Picnic lunches or snacks almost every day with this little one. I LOVE that Leta likes to be outside on beautiful days like we've been having! And doesn't everything taste better when it's a picnic?
• Gardening every chance I get. You still wouldn't know it to look at our yard (especially the front). But Leta & I have been growing a lot of flowers from seed (I had no idea how long that took & the patience it requires until now!). It has been so fun to watch our veggie plants grow so quickly and to see our beautiful roses in bloom (roses have always been my favorite!).
• Picking raspberries a little bit already! This is early for our raspberry crop, but we've definitely had some ripe ones and have discovered that Leta can't seem to get enough of them! Yesterday I was picking them & putting them in a bowl & looked over to see that Leta had eaten every single one in the bowl.
  

• Going on morning walks-although as you can see in the picture, Leta likes walking on her own a lot more than riding in the stroller these days, so I'm not getting quite the excercise that I would like. But, I always love exploring the neighborhood in the early summer mornings (with Leta still in her pj's) and lately have really been appreciating all the garden inspiriation I come across.
• Working hard at work and around the house this week (which is not in itself what I'm very thankful for) so that we can head up to LaConnor this weekend for the 8th annual trip renting out a friend's cabin up there! In fact, Matt & I started going up there with friends before we were even dating. Needless to say, I LOVE it there and am so excited to walk on the beach, sit & read, eat cinnamon rolls at Calico Cupboard and for our favorite happy hour at Seeds Bistro. I'm excited!
  

10 on 10 -June 09