STAWberries (as Jake would say)

We went STAWberry picking with Mark, Elizabeth, and Jake this weekend. We picked about 5 lbs of strawberries....it sounds like a lot, but it gave me an excuse to make something with them.

This was our second time picking strawberries this season, and unfortunately our last time since the season seems to be coming to an end. Last time we got strawberries, I made strawberry bread, strawberry smoothies, and strawberry shortcakes. Of course, Hershey got his share of "baby berries." He is so spoiled! (He loves strawberries, and will sit there staring at you with pleading eyes until you give him a strawberry. Once he realizes you are giving him one, he goes crazy with excitement!) This time, Hershey once again got to eat some "baby berries" and I also made another batch of strawberry bread to freeze.

The rest of the strawberries went towards making strawberry jam. It was just the recipe from the gelatin box, so hopefully it will taste good. Either way, Cody and I had fun making it! We got 12 half pints from the batch.

You might be wondering about the strawberry plants we planted in our garden....they are still alive! They look pretty healthy and are producing some fruit. Cody picked our first strawberry today--very small and a little tart, but good nonetheless. I have a feeling we won't be getting any big berries, and I'm going to have to figure out a way to keep the fruit from rotting before it ripens (maybe some sort of plastic, like at the strawberry patch???). For our first year growing strawberries, I guess they are doing ok. While we are on the subject of the garden, the rest of the plants are looking pretty healthy as well. Everything is growing and getting tall and very green--thanks to Cody's consistent watering! We have one tomato that is still green, but it is getting bigger. The pepper plants and cantelope plant have blooms, so we should be expecting some more produce soon, hopefully! I'll post some pictures once we have a little more to see....

Graduation Pops!

Yummy...Graduation pops!

Cody and I made these cute Graduation Pops out of Reese cups, chocolate squares, Airheads sour belts, and candy sprinkles for our high school graduates in our youth Sunday School class. The idea came from Bakerella....ours aren't quite as cute as hers, but they came pretty close! They were very easy to make, but a little time consuming, but that's ok, because we got to eat some candy while we were busy making them!

Congratulations Josh, Hannah, Stacey, Taylor, and Lily! We are proud of you guys!

Western Round-Up Day

This post is a little late, but it is definitely too good not to post...

While we were home for Mother's Day, the Lutheran Home where my Granddaddy stays was having Western Round-Up Week! All kinds of "western" type activities were taking place each day throughout the week--cloggers were coming to dance, Mini Pearl was making an appearance, etc. Cody and I went with Grandmother to the kick-off event. It was such a neat day for all the residents. They had horses, goats, and pigs in the front lawn. There were horse-drawn wagons giving residents (the ones who could) and guests rides through the parking lot. They also had chainsaws and tractors out in the parking lot for viewing. Granddaddy really enjoyed seeing the tractors; it makes you wonder if he remembered all the times he rode on one, plowing the garden or cutting the grass. The nursing home also provided all the residents and their families with a catered lunch from one of the local BBQ places.

This video below is of Granddaddy and the activities director from the nursing home, enjoying the live folk music in a shaded area outside.



It was so nice to Granddaddy smiling that day!

Memorial Day Weekend

Cody and I both enjoyed a long weekend, thanks to Memorial Day. Here is a list of all the things we accomplished this weekend:
1. Cody (and Mark) added an extra light in our attic.
2. Laundry
3. Ironing, which I hate, so my wonderful husband did it!
4. Went to the strawberry patch
5. Bought Father's Day gifts
6. Baked strawberry bread with some of the strawberries from the strawberry patch
7. Took a trip to the bowling alley. Cody did pretty well; my score was HORRIBLE!
8. Bought new tennis shoes
9. Went to the pool (and neither of us got burnt)
10. Took Hershey on some walks
11. Watched The Curious Life of Benjamin Button--which we both recommend
12. Sprayed the house with pesticide to keep out the spring bugs
13. Watered the lawn
14. Put Miracle Grow on the garden
15. Read--I read for fun (Eclipse, the 3rd book in the Twilight series), but Cody had to read about psychology

There might be more, but I can't think of it right now. We really enjoyed spending time together this weekend--doing a lot of nothing, mostly, but it was all wonderful. I have the best husband in the whole world!

Expanded Attic

Cody worked really hard this week to expand our attic. Only a small portion of our attic was covered with plywood (where all the boxes are currently sitting), and we were quickly running out of room up there. It is amazing how much stuff you accumulate so quickly! Cody put plywood on another section of our attic--this pretty much doubled our storage space. He did a great job! Now, the next chore on my list is to get all this stuff organized!

Testify

Cody has recently joined the men's singing group at our church, Testify. This past Sunday, they were asked to sing at another local church in Greenville. Here are two videos of the songs they sang. (In case you can't see, Cody is in the middle, in the back.)

Testify to Love

Jesus Lifted Me

Hershey's New Favorite Toy

Up until this weekend, Hershey's favorite toy had been Mr. Quackers, a stuffed duck he got for Christmas. Before that, tiger (a stuffed animal) and starfish (a rubber toy) and rubber squeaky balls were among his favorites. However, this weekend, he got a new favorite toy.

Everytime Hershey gets groomed, we let him pick out a new toy or a bag of treats. (Spoiled, I know!) He went to get groomed on Saturday, and I really didn't want him getting another toy because his toy basket was already overflowing. However, Hershey found a toy and was not going to leave without it. It was a tennis ball that squeaked--he had one of these when he was a puppy and LOVED it, but he bit a hole in it so it no longer squeaked. We had looked and looked for another one but weren't able to find one. But guess what they had at Petsmart???? That's right, a squeaky tennis ball. We made the mistake of showing it to Hershey, and he was so excited over that ball! We played around a little with the ball in the store, and he decided he was not letting go of it. We had to literally pry it out of his mouth just so we could pay for it. It was so funny. He did not let go of the tennis ball the entire way home from Petsmart; he wouldn't even give up the ball to eat a bone!

For the rest of yesterday and today, he has not let the ball out of his sight and wants to play with it constantly! Let's just hope he doesn't bite a hole in this one--we would have one very sad puppy!