Visitors!

For the last week, we had the pleasure of having our first visitors in our new home! Carie and Ryan and their baby, James, came for a visit, staying a full week! We weren't sure how it would be to have people in our other bedroom but we managed to make a nice bed (out of the daybed setup plus an air mattress on top) and fit a Pack-N-Play in there for James too! It was a little bit on the crowded side but they managed for 6-7 days so it must not have been too bad.

Chet was lucky to have the whole week off and spent time driving them around to see the sights of downtown Seattle and Brianne joined in as much as her schedule would allow (it was the first week of school plus some work was involved). Everyone made a ferry trip over to Vashon Island in the rain to explore beaches and hang out at a local coffee shop. We all found lots of shells and took many pictures of the misty Puget Sound. Overall, they had a good time and it was nice for us to get out and about around the city.

We also both enjoyed little James. He is just about the most good natured, sweet baby ever. He had huge smiles and handled being in a new place and traveling really well. He won both of us over and it was hard to see him go. If we could have such a sweet easy baby guaranteed, we would definitely have a little one right now!

Now our visitors are on their way home and it is back to normal life. It is definitely starting to feel like fall and we are thankful that we got so many house projects done and out of the way. Brianne is getting busy with school but is excited to learn A LOT this quarter. The air has a fall feel to it and Brianne ushered in fall by making pumpkin bread last night. It always feels more like fall with spice-filled pumpkin bread cooking.

Until later...

Home!

We got back from a wonderful trip to Montana last night... it was so nice to get away! We were able to meet our precious new nephew, Logan; see lots of friends; attend a fun wedding; go to a concert (a favorite of Chet's); and just generally visit with lots and lots of people. We are definitely tired from all the happenings and visiting (I don't think we've talked that much for awhile) but we came home very happy that we had a chance to go.

So, we came home so that Chet could play in a softball game with all the guys from church... but unfortunately, though we had a full team there (for probably the first time in the last couple years), no one from the other team showed up at all!!! And, the guys were suppose to play this team twice last night. That was pretty disappointing but we couldn't complain because they still practiced and it was a beautiful night to sit outside. While Chet played, there were all the women for Brianne to visit with and all the kids to play with! It was kind of like a mini church party... I think that one family didn't even have a dad playing but came anyway so that the kids could all play. :) Once the dad's were done, all the kids lined up to hit the ball and run around the bases. Can we say, once again, that we enjoy our church family? We just can't help but think we are very blessed by all these wonderful people and the community.

Anyways, we are off to go do some house projects today... painting, gutter repair, etc. Yay!

Blackberry Jam, Take 2!

So, last week Chet and I went to Discovery Park and picked blackberries after church. It was, as usual, a pokey adventure but unfortunately it didn't yield as many blackberries as I had desired. Yet, determined to make something useful from them, I found that there was enough to make some jam. I had some pectin in my cupboard and, while I was on the phone with my friend, Debbie, I attempted to make jam using the recipe on the box. I usually have used the less sugar pectin and so hadn't done this recipe before... and so the combination of combining massive amounts of sugar, Karo syrup and fruit while talking on the phone with Debbie failed to yield actual jam. I think I put the ingredients in in the wrong order... and as a result I have some delicious blackberry syrup if anyone is interested!

Yummy blackberries all ready to be made into jam!

So, feeling somewhat annoyed, I vowed to make a good batch! Yesterday, while on call for work, I hung around our neighborhood picking blackberries. I actually went and got the less sugar pectin, which, not only has less sugar but seems to work better overall. Also, it doesn't disgust me as much to make as I don't have to put 4 cups of sugar plus a cup of Karo syrup in to make it work!

Sure enough, success! The blackberry jam is beautifully set up this morning, looking wonderfully tempting and begging me not to put it in the freezer. I have to say that for a weed out here, blackberries sure produce such beautiful dark rich jam... no to mention tasty as well!

Oh so pretty sitting in its containers all ready to be eaten!

Because I have gotten in the habit of taking pictures of food I have either picked from my garden (which I am really excited about) or gotten from nature for free, I have included a couple pictures of my SUCCESSFUL jam making operation.

~Brianne

Our Camping Adventure

The end of this last week, we went camping over at Lake Wenatchee. Sadly, though it was the end of August, it was the first time that we had gone camping all summer! Between a trip to Montana, work schedules that didn't quite line up and Brianne's summer class, it just didn't work. This was wonderful... very relaxing and a nice way to spend the days leading up to Labor Day weekend. We had a great spot, right on the lake, and we set up a fun little home-away-from-home. :)

We had running water... of the Camelbak sort!

The weather varied between cloudy and 60's to sunny and 60's. There were a few sprinklings of rain but nothing that affected the fun we had. Mostly, we just relaxed... Chet had gotten sick his last day of work before we left so there was quite a bit of sleeping, reading and sitting around by the campfire to be had by all. It definitely was pleasant to be without anything to do and to just focus on relaxing. During one of Chet's naps though (to help him feel better, of course), Brianne almost didn't know what to do with herself! She went wandering through the woods to try to find a trail she saw earlier... only to be eaten by mosquitoes! She probably will have some welts for awhile.

Yum! Camp food!

We must say that we (in our opinions), we created some tasty camp food on this trip. We had burgers grilled over the open fire, blueberry pancakes, foil dinners with red potatoes, chicken and carrots, and yummy breakfast sandwiches. The griddle that we got for our wedding was definitely put to good use as we cooked over our Coleman stove. The pancakes may look better than some actually created at home. Thank you Krusteaz and camping griddle... you saved the day!

Other than that reading, eating, playing with the fire and eating, we went on a short hike up to Hidden Lake. It was a nice nature walk, not at all strenuous, but very appropriate for a husband with a cold. We enjoyed the little lake and dangled our feet in the water for awhile. We also created small rafts our of lake grass and wood and raced them in the lake. It was fun to be like little kids and come up with our own games!

Us up at Hidden Lake

Overall, it was nice to get away, build small rafts, cook over a camp stove and play with the campfire. Too bad summer is pretty much wrapping up and school starts in another three weeks. Yet, we have such a wonderful life to go on fun adventures like this! There are so many places to see and explore in this world and we are so glad that we can make the most of them!

We are headed to Montana this weekend for various events... visiting family, going to a concert for Chet, hanging out with friends and more. It will definitely be fun!