I Made Jam!

I finally made my own jam!  My Mom and daughters helped.  I made freezer plum jam using the recipe from my friend Daisy (the recipe isn't listed, sorry).  The kids love it!  Then I made apricot jam.  The kind you cook and boil the jars and put the jars in boiling water and the lids pop.  Yum.  We still have lots of fruit, so I need to make more.

Very First Family Bike Ride

Finally!  We can ride bikes as a family!  Of course, when our kids were little, we had the trailers.  And the only place we would ever ride was in Yosemite.  But since the kids got too big for the trailers, they would ride their own bikes.  This year was the first year that our youngest, S, joined the others riding her bike around Yosemite Valley and our campgrounds.  But, our 11 year old, B, still cannot ride a bike.  So when the others went riding, I would stay with him.  At home, we just never went.  I did buy one of those trainers that fit behind a bike, but B ended up being too heavy for that.  While at Yosemite this year, my best friend suggested a tandem bike.  I'm sure the thought came up in the past, but not recently...I just never thought about it.  Maybe I figured it would be too expensive.  Anyway, I mentioned it to the Daddy and the next thing I know, he is emailing me that we are getting one for FREE!  At his company's Christmas party, one of the managers won a tandem bike.  During a conversation, the other manager mentioned he was working out.  E asked if he rode the tandem bike.  He said no, so E offered to buy it.  The manager said no, he could have it!  So the following Saturday, he brought it over!  It is awesome and B is finally riding a bike with the family! 
Today, we rode to a new frozen yogurt shop, had some yummy yogurt, and rode back.  It is just around the corner from our house, but it was a start.  I'm looking forward to many more rides.  The problem is getting to a nicer, safer area to ride, but at least now we can!
Here is a picture of B & E when we first got the bike:

Death Valley

We went to Death Valley in March.  We stayed in Furnace Creek Campsite.  On the second day, a dust storm picked up and didn't let up until the night before we left. We lost a roll of paper towels and a coffee pot broke.  I thought the wind would pick up our tents and carry us away!  We had a great time, though, seeing the interesting land formations.

 Sand dunes:

 Getting farther and farther away:

 See that little dot? TOO far away! Come back!

 Mosaic Canyon

 Natural Bridge:

 Dust Storm! Hurry to camp!

 Badwater Basin salt flat:

 The sign says "Sea Level" so we were BELOW sea level!

 No snow, salt!

 Really, salt!

 Painted by the Artist

 Windy:

 Storm on the way home!

 Driving home in a snow storm!

Sweet Peas

We went to a friend's house a few weeks ago and she had a lovely patch of Sweet Peas.  She let my daughter clip some and bring them home.  They smelled so good and looked so pretty on our table.  My great-grandma had a huge patch of Sweet Peas behind her garage while I was growing up.  I remember the sweet smell, I loved it!  But why didn't she ever clip any to put in her house?  Why didn't I clip any and take them home?   I will never know.  I do know that next fall I am going to plant my own Sweet Peas and clip them in the spring and put them in a vase on my table.  These pics were taken after a few days, so they weren't their freshest, but still so pretty and fragrant.

Swarm of Bees!

We had a swarm of bees come visit us last week!  This is the third year in a row that we have seen a swarm of bees in our yard.  The first time, it was during a birthday party in our backyard.  You should have seen those kids run!!  This time, they were out front, and this time, they gathered on our tree branch!  We watched from the safety of our front room, looking through the window.  In just a few minutes, most of  the bees were piled on top of one another.  We had a little science lesson and learned that the bees were moving to a new hive due to overcrowding of their previous hive.  I didn't know if they would make their new hive somewhere in our house or tree, but was hoping the stay was temporary.  It was.  They left in just a couple of hours, almost unnoticed.  Whew!  It was exciting, though.

Homeschool Hero

Earlier this month, I went to two memorials for a wonderful Christian homeschool Mom.  But she was much more than a homeschool Mom.  She was a mentor, encourager, tutor, friend and teacher to the homeschooling community in our area.  I only had the priviledge of meeting with her  a couple times for help with teaching my kids.  After hearing how much influence and a blessing she was to so many others, I was saddened that I didn't know her better.  She was a true Titus 2 woman, continuing to help younger mothers train and teach their own children long after hers were grown and graduated from college.  She truly left a legacy: all four of her children gave the gospel message at her memorial service and are living proof that she loved her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to her fullest, teaching them to do the same.  She was truly an extraordinary woman, but as her daughter said, she was also ordinary, that it was Christ who did the work in her and through her, for her to do all that she did.  Her daughter encouraged us homeschool moms and dads that we, too, can do extraordinary things for Jesus.  We just have to be willing.  For me, I want my kids to be Movers and Shakers, but first I have to be an example.  And the first place to start is by praying.  (But that is another post.)

Snow!

It seems way past winter now, but I really  need to post pics of my kids.  For Grandma :)  We went to the snow in mid March, on a Friday.  Very few people were there.  The kids tried the slope, but it was too lumpy. So they went to the white meadow and made hideouts and layed and crawled around in the snow for a good hour.  Then  another family with 5 kids came along and the Dad had his shovel and was making another slope sleighable, even with a jump!  So the kids went up and down that for another couple of hours til Little Sister got too cold.

 She got some air!

 Notice the snow balls over B's eyes!