Today

we...
met some friends at Teddy Bear Park
performed puppet shows
marched in a band
made more zucchini soup
and zucchini bread
baked two pumpkins
had our first (very successful) family meeting

A Lazy Day

After a very full weekend (and some full days last week) I decided today we needed a nothing day. A do whatever stay in our jammies all day sort of day. Nothing days are very important days around here, and I wanted to make sure we got at least one more in before summer ends.



So we relaxed. This was the scene I found when I got out of the shower. Grace never did make it out of her pajamas.



And this is the scene that's been piling up for a good week now. A giant basket of clean laundry... just waiting to be folded and hung (apparently this is the consequence of all of our trips to the beach last week). (picture taken by Grace)



For dinner... fajitas. With our beautiful home grown peppers (well and onion).

I Did It

Today was another wonderfully full day filled with more of our favorite things. Most importantly, I managed to squeeze in another beach day at our favorite secret beach.

















We followed it up with ice cream and a trip to the park.





And another batch of tomato soup for dinner (and a jar for the freezer).

Filled

With only 12 days left of our summer, I've decided it is of utmost importance to fill our days up with all our favorite things.



Like cooking from the garden... today we made 5 jars of pesto.



Along with a huge batch of zucchini soup.



Grace and Jackson got some quality outside in their underwear time.



We laid on a blanket and watched hundreds of huge dragon flies dance over our heads.



And tonight as we sat down to dinner I marveled at the fact that almost everything on the table came from our garden.



We are going to have to make sure we include time for melon eating in our last summer days too...

One On One Time With My Girl

Oh dear did Grace wake up on the wrong side of the bed today. It was bad. Thankfully, my mom stayed over last night (since Ryan was out of town) and offered to take Jackson off for some of his own one on one time. I got to keep the crabby girl for myself.



But, as I suspected, this was just what she needed. Some carrot cake baking and some mama time.

Beautiful Beach Day

This may have been one of my favorite days ever at the beach.


It was so warm... but there was also this great "sea" breeze.


We had a picnic...


and played in the sand.


And then to our surprise our friends showed up... and we had the whole beach to ourselves.


It was even warm enough that Jackson wanted to swim.

I need to squeeze at least one more of these days into my summer.

Gathering...

We've been gathering...


and eating.


Gathering...


and cooking.


Gathering...


and baking.


Gathering


and enjoying...

more tomato soup
midget melons
watermelons
pesto
zucchini bread
pumpkin muffins
carrot cake

And there's so much more to do. Loving this harvest season.

A Special Visit...

From Aunty Nicole and cousin Carver.

Mammoth

This year I thought it would be fun to grow Russian Mammoth sunflowers. They can grow up to 14 feet which at the time seemed impossible to me.



But let me just say... these sunflowers are mammoth. Huge. So big it seems as though you could climb them. A perfect image for the introduction of this book.

Pesto

2 cups of loose basil leaves
2 tbsp of pine nuts
1/2 cup of olive oil
1/2/ cup of parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Blend everything together.

A Vacuum...

Also makes a great horse.

How to Make Tomato Soup

1. Gather some tomatoes, basil and onions.


2. Chop and place in a large pot. Start cooking.


3. Don't forget to wear your apron.


4. There will be time to fold the laundry while it's simmering.


5. Turn off heat. Eat. Or in this case cool and pour in jars.

Real recipe here.