Canning Season

I have been busy lately canning tomatoes. I am trying to keep up with the all the tomatoes that keep producing in our garden. I have canned a mild and a hot salsa(for Jason), tomato basil soup, garden veggie soup, whole tomatoes, tomato juice, peaches, cherries, pasta sauce, brushetta, and chicken wing sauce. I also made Sun-dried tomatoes I was surprised with how much Peyton enjoyed eating them.

Peyton helping me make some peach pies. It was quite an experience we had flour all over my kitchen along with a lot of giggles and laughs.

We traveled to Brookings this weekend for a Farmhouse wedding. We had a fun time meeting some new farmhouse men and catching up with some old friends. Peyton did very well through the whole event. He was fun to watch dance at the reception. I think he got his moves from his dad.

On Sunday Grandma S. and Bob came up to Brookings to see us. We had breakfast together then walked around McCrory gardens. It was a fun getaway for us.

Storybook Land and the Land of Oz.

Today we went to Aberdeen to see Storybook Land, Whyle Park, and the Land of Oz. We first started out at the park, Peyton was so excited about going down the slide. He would giggle with delight each time he went down the slide.






Then we went to Storybook Land this has all of the characters from nursery rhymes and children stories. Peyton's favorite part of this was the chickens that were walking around the petting barn. He would get a little close to them and say,"oooo." We started to walk away from the chickens but Peyton ended up walking back to take a closer look at the chickens.

There was an old fire truck that Peyton enjoyed steering.

This was the Jack be Nimble display. I tried to get a picture of Peyton and Jack but Peyton was only interested in the candle.

Next stop was the Land of Oz.

We started at Dorothy's house that fell out of the sky and then followed the yellow brick road to see the scarecrow.

We walked through the haunted forest....

...where we came across the the Tin man.

We went through the dark and scary lions den to see the lion.

And finally we traveled on a train ride around the whole area. It was a very enjoyable morning we didn't even get to see everything but there is always next time.

Our Summer

We have been working on a lot of projects this summer. One of them is the garden. We are now enjoying summer squash, a few peas, green beans, cucumbers, onions minus a few of the tops, (everytime Peyton goes to the garden he will grab an onion top and starts eating it.), basil, and one hungerian pepper. We are looking forward to the tomatoes turning red.

We went on vacation to Lake Benton with Jason's family. On our way to the cabin we stopped in Brookings and walked around McCroy gardens. Jason pointed out all the new parts of the garden since he worked at McCroy gardens during a summer in college.

A family pic at Lake Benton, Minnesota before our boat ride.

Beach time

Peyton loved playing at the beach. He and his dad even went into the water several times during the weekend.

An early morning swim?!? Jason woke up and says I am going to go swimming. Peyton saw Jason getting his swimming gear on and wanted to go also but when it came time to actually get into the cold water Peyton decided it was better to watch dad.

The Twins At Target Field.

Jason and I went to a Twins game at the new Target Field. It was fun to watch the Twins outside. Jason says, "It was the best game ever."

We traveled to St. Louis for a family reunion on my side. We drove with my parents and Peyton. Peyton did wonderful with a 10 hour drive. Our first full day in St. Louis we went to Grant's farm.

Peyton and his dad feeding the goats. The goat would come right up to you if you had a bottle for them.

That night Jason and I went to a Cardinal game. We had planned for Peyton to come with us but Peyton had other plans since he didn't take a nap.

Jason and I at my cousin's law firm in St. Louis just before the ball game.

Can this be my office?

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The Cardinals game.

Jason and I at the cardinal game. It was cool to be able to go to Champion Club due to my cousin giving us tickets for the clubhouse.

Peyton's New Room

We decided to move Peyton into his own room before the baby arrives. So this means that Peyton also gets to sleep in his very own bed. He adjusted very well sleeping in a bed instead of a crib. He did better than what I thought he would.

Grandma Tibben came up in June to spend a week with us and help get Peyton's room painted. Thanks for all the help I don't think I would have gotten this project done if it wasn't for you(Grandma Tibben).

Grandma, can I help you paint?

Our garden..

This spring we have been busy planted a garden. We have planted tomatoes, spinach, lettuce, white and red onions, beets, okra, peppers, russian kale, peas, raspberries (from Iowa),ground cherries, summer squash, green beans, cucumbers, broccoli, corn and sunflowers. So if anyone knows a good recipe for kale please share.

Today Jason built our fences for the green beans and cucumbers to climb up on.

We have been enjoying lettuce lately for our meals. Peyton and Jason picking lettuce for our supper but Peyton is picking all of the beets out of the garden.

Who do I look like Mommy or Daddy?

This is me around 2 yrs old.

This is Jason around 9 months.

Last week we had our ultrasound in Bismarck. We found that the baby is a health baby boy. We are looking forward to having another boy in our family. The doctor said my due date is still September 5. Which Jason thinks it is funny that I maybe in labor on labor day weekend. So now we are trying to agree on boy names.

Here are some videos and pictures of the baby during the ultrasound.