Getting in the Groove

I realized yesterday that it's been awhile since I wrote a blog post.  We've mainly been trying to get into this new school schedule groove.  It's taking longer than I want it to.  I like to blame it on the school schedule.  In the first 3 weeks of the school year there is no week that the kids go 5 days.  So it's not until the 4th week that it really feels real.  And I say 'Let's get on with it already!"

So while my big kids are gone during the day, here is a peak at some of what Jake and I have been doing.  (By the way, if any of you are looking for a hilarious conversationalist you can borrow Jake for the day.  But then I want him back.  He really is so funny!)

With Larry's awesome digging skills (I'm trying to encourage him. He said we're never planting potatoes again...) we picked this wheelbarrow full of potatoes.   It was like Christmas morning for Jake every time Larry turned over a shovelful of dirt. "OH!  'Nother 'tato!!".  It was super cute.  And who can resist laughing at this potato:

No caption is really needed.  If you don't get it I feel sorry for you.

We hosted the Lickity Split employee picnic at our house in August.  We cooked our supper in that big pot and then dumped it out on the table.  It was delish.  I'm not sure who ate the butt potato but it was in there :)  We played games until it was dark and then watched a movie outside.  It was a fabulous night with wonderful people.  Everyone hugged me before they left and I loved it.

Jake loves to mess up help in the kitchen!  Here we are making tomato juice with romas from our tomato plants.  We froze the juice to use in spaghetti sauce making which happened this week.  There are, sadly, no photos of that.  It was kind of a crazy day, right, Crysti?

We babysat this wild and crazy girl and I kept her alive the whole time!  If you don't know her, this is my niece, Riley.  Now, I know she is nuts because I have the privilege of spending time with her and I love her to death.  But I am not usually completely in charge of her, I am generally with her mother too.  Tiana likes to tell me that every day she keeps Riley alive is a miracle.  It's a true story.  Nothing major happened on the day I kept her except that she fell face first in the creek when we went to Boehringer's for lunch.  She didn't even care.  I was exhausted by the time we returned her to her rightful owners.

The most recent thing we've been up to is picking these gems from our garden!  This summer has gone so fast and I am mourning the ending of it but I really love fall and decorating for it.  I don't have pics yet but my porch looks awesome as of yesterday :)

I hope you've enjoyed this peak at my everyday life.  I like to say if my life was an ice cream flavor it would be 'vanilla'.  It's pretty plain but I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything.  And there are plenty of people I love who add a little nuttiness when plain vanilla gets too boring :)  

Grace and Peace to you all!