34

Homemade cards
French toast for breakfast
My mom stopped for lunch
Got my hair cut
Went out to dinner (fam + Katie & Kris)
A Great birthday

Hi Ho Hi Ho

Off to get tomatoes I go.



I am loving tomato season this year. I love going to collect them. I love finding new recipes to make with them. I love the way my hands smell after I get done cooking with them.



And I of course love eating them.

Weekend

Garden Meals

I am having so much fun making meals from our garden this year.
(Although I'm not sure the rest of the family was as enthusiastic about this one. Thankfully they humored me).

The Fair

We met some of our good friends at the fair today. So much fun the fair is. Especially little ones like this. We listened to some music, ate ice cream, watched a log rolling competition and went on some rides. I think the highlight for me was the four of us on the ferris wheel. I was so surprised how much Grace and Jackson enjoyed it (and weren't the slightest bit scared). We decided that we definitely want to make this an annual tradition.

Farm Mornings

While I of course love going on vacation. I also love being home. I think I am especially appreciating that now, as I know our vacations are done for the year. It feels really good to get back into the rhythm of things.


This morning shortly after we finished breakfast Grace and Jackson ran outside in their underwear. It was such a beautiful morning I couldn't very well make them come back in just to put their clothes on. So as I worked on the gardens, the two of them ran around having underwear adventures (I should add that Jackson is not yet potty trained but he likes to practice).

At one point they ran a little out of my comfort zone, so I trekked along after them. As I was walking... and enjoying the warm sun and the smell of the morning breeze... I had one of those moments. One of those fully present in awe of my life moments. One of those I couldn't be happier moments. Here I was, on this beautiful day, working in my gardens on my farm. And here my kids are, running around freely in their underwear, on their farm, completely oblivious to how great that is because it is just a normal part of their life.

I made sure to stop and breathe it all in.

I love those kind of moments.

Summer

I think that about sums it up. Riding trikes and picking fresh veggies from the garden... the perfect summer day.

Up North... Part II

Another great year up north!

Delicious Pasta Salad

I made a giant batch of this today for us and for some friends of ours who just had a baby. It was a fun one to make because I got to use so many things from our garden. Also all four of us loved it, which is not all that common around here.

Greek Pasta Salad
(I think I changed the recipe enough that I can actually call it my own)

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh basil
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon white sugar
2 1/2 cups cooked pasta
1 or 2 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
1 or 2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup sliced zucchini
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
sliced kalmata olives
3/4 cup sliced pepperoni sausage, cut into strips

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegar, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. Add cooked pasta, mushrooms, tomatoes, zucchini, feta cheese, olives, and pepperoni. Toss until evenly coated. Cover, and chill 2 hours or overnight.

A Dreamy Sort of Day

Today was a nice nothing kind of day. We didn't do much. Spent some time playing around the house...



And going for a long walk.



Everything seemed to move in slow motion.



I let the kids play one of their favorite things...




"Cooking" with real food. Which made a nice big mess, but kept them very happy for quite sometime.



I noticed throughout my day that it was rare in that there were a lot of opportunities for daydreaming... I don't get as much of that these days. But I made sure to soak up every minute of it. And I think I should start planning more of these dreamy moments into my life.

For Two Whole Days

Apparently they don't miss us a bit since they asked to stay another day. I've made full use of my time writing, relaxing and sewing.

Last night I also made a new discovery... black currents in our yard. Delicious.

Alone

Both children went to my parent's for a sleepover today. Hmmmm, what to do, what to do. I'm sure I'll figure something out...

Home Graffiti

Daddy's Little Helper

Gathering...

I am loving, loving, loving our gardens right now. I really can't get enough of them. Everyday something new appears. Since we've been home I think we've managed to have a little something from our garden each night for dinner.









Tonight we enjoyed our first zucchini of the year. Delicious!