The Tale of the Cucumbers - Part 2

As we canned our pickles yesterday I was reminded again that memories are a powerful thing. Just the smell of the garlic, dill and cucumbers was enough to get Dave reminiscing back 45 years to when his Grandma Beck canned pickles. As he shared those memories, I was taken back 40 years, remembering a picture of my own mother washing the cucumbers in preparation for the next days canning. The very jars that Megan and Aidan helped me pack full yesterday were from my own Grandmother, my Oma Klukas. I think of her everytime I can pickles in those wonderful 2 quart jars.

Those same jars were perfect for a little boy filling his own jar for the first time.

The big ones he would show us and announce, 'This is a large one" and most of those went to Megan because they didn't fit into his jar.

He packed them in just right....it was so much fun watching him do his own version of the perfect fit. He reminded me of his Auntie Heather who helped me with the pickles for years because her small hands could pack the jars far better than I ever could. And that memory reminded me of the summer that Jody was only home for 2 weeks but during that time we canned pickles together and I have wonderful pictures of two sisters having fun while they worked.
Aidan was so proud of his full jar! In fact he packed 3 of them before losing interest and going to play.
And I realized that I was making new memories with Megan and Aidan....and when we open those jars in winter and eat the pickles, we will all remember this day! Thanks for coming to help guys!

The Tale of the Cucumbers - Part 1

Stock pot.....Click!

Garlic.....Check!
Dill.....Check!
Jars.....check!

Garlic and dill into jars.....Click!

Cucumbers.....check!
Many hands to help.....check!
Satisfaction with first jar of pickles packed into jar.....check!
Proud Mommy filling up her own jar.....check!
33 quarts full of cucumbers.....check!

Lids boiling on the stove....check!

Brine cooking in the stock pot.....check!
Jars processing in the oven .....check!
Finished jars cooling off.....check!

A wonderful memory shared with family.....check!

This post is lovingly dedicated to my friend Anneliese and the wonderful ladies at Mennonite Girls Can Cook! I love their blog but so often can get overwhelmed because I just don't even really enjoy cooking....but yesterday I enjoyed working in my kitchen and I just had to think of all of them!

Water Fun

One of the really fun things about last weekend was that I got to spend lots of time in the water both by myself and with Jamie, Megs and the boys. I am a 'water-rat', absolutely no doubt about it. My parents taught me how to swim at a very young age, and for most of my growing up years we spend our vacations at the lake for 2-3 weeks every summer. Consequently whether in a pool or a lake, I love to swim!

Friday afternoon Jaxon thought the pool was a bit too cold for him.

What made the weekend extra-special was being able to spend time in the pool with the boys.

Aidan learning how to float...and trusting Mimi not to drown him!

Jaxon took a while to warm up to being in the water, but by Sunday morning he was loving it....
The face tells it all!
Jamie had fun throwing the boys up in the air and catching them....Jaxon was totally relaxed.
Aidan's big accomplishment for the weekend was learning to 'swim' on his own with the Life Jacket. He was pretty tentative at first going between Jamie and I, but by the end of the weekend, he swam from one end of the pool to the other.

I love these action shots of Jamie throwing Aidan up.....

Saturday morning we drove to Lake Chelan where Aidan finally convinced Jamie to jump in(I didn't need any convincing!)

Yup...this diving beauty is me! I can't believe I am actually posting it but I thought the form was pretty amazing considering I probably hadn't done it in about 20 years! Dave captured the moment which Aidan thought was fun....to see his Mimi diving into the water off the dock.

Pa and his boys

Since Dave got his new camera last Christmas,we don't have nearly as many pictures of him with the boys as we used to have when I was the one taking all the pictures. Last weekend I captured a couple of keepers of him and his special boys.

Gotta love those smiles.....

Reading one of their favorite books...the wheels on the bus go round and round. Even Jaxon sat still and watched....

Pa and Aidan watch the golfers......gotta love this pose!

Enjoying our walk....Jaxon was totally relaxed.

A Weekend to Remember

We finished off our summer vacation with a weekend to remember with Jamie, Megan and the boys at a wonderful condo in Washington State(thanks for sharing your Timeshare with us guys). It was soooo much fun to play together, swim together, walk together and just enjoy hours of good times together.
Curbs just need to be walked along....even after spending hours playing in the sun, sand and water!

I loved this picture of Jaxon, relaxing in his stroller on one of our after dinner walks...he is definitely our little 'smiley'.

The young Beck family.

This was our view from our balcony.....Dave, Jamie and Aidan enjoyed watching the games happening.

Definitely a great place to spend a weekend! We decided that we should make this an annual tradition.

Last Sunday

Last Sunday we were enjoying a relaxing day by the river.....in theory they guys were fishing but is a fishing trip without a fish really a fishing trip?

Heather and I had the best seats and enjoyed watching Tika race around the guys. Apparently she slept for 2 straight days after we left so she really was tired out.

Matt decided we should check out another spot along the river to try out their luck there....

Still no fish but we did see this buck on our way home! Hunting season is coming soon little deer......watch out!

Sisters!

I took this picture of Heather last week wearing one of Jody's Maternity tops because I knew I had taken a picture of Jody in it when I was in Texas in April.......

Heather is 33 1/2 weeks along in this picture. Looking very good!

Here is Jody in April when she was 35 1/2 weeks along....it's so fun to be able to compare these two pictures! Thought you would all enjoy seeing them too.