Author Archives: Karin

Aug 16 2012

Over the river and through the woods

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Well we have finally made it to visit grandma and grandpa Tiffany.  After a 14 hour drive (split over two days) we arrived last Sunday to Grants Pass.  We have spent a lot of time in the swimming pool.  It has been in the triple digits while we have been here.  It has been nice to cool off in the pool.  Yesterday we chose to cool off a different way.  We went to the Oregon coast for the day.  What a difference in temperature.  It was only 61 degrees there while in Grants pass it was over 100.  We let the kids play in the water for a little while until Sophia got pummelled by a wave.  We then let them play in the sand but Sophia was shivering and we decided it would be good to head home.  I love this area and I have really missed it.  It’s been 2 years since the last time we were here.  I wish we could come more often. Better yet I wish we could live here.  For now I’ll just enjoy the time I have.

Stretching our legs at the Rouge River Gorge

Rogue River Gorge

It’s really hard to take a picture while you drive.
Notice the trees on both sides of the road. So pretty.
Crater Lake Highway

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Getting ready to swim

Levi Jumping in

Preston Jumping in

 

 

 

 

 

 

Having fun in the pool

Swimming

Staying nice and cool

 

 

 

 

 

Being silly on the beach

Playing in the ocean

Sophia after she took a tumble in the water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harris beach in Brookings Oregon

Aug 4 2012

Cabbage

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This year Corey and I planted 4 cabbage plants.  That means we now have 4 cabbages.  A few years ago we made sauerkraut.  I was a little nervous about it at the time but it turned out pretty good.  So this year we have decided to do it again.  As part of cleaning out my fridge (see previous post) I had finally decided to get started on the sauerkraut.  The recipe I have calls for 20lbs of cabbage.  That is a crap load of cabbage.  With our 4 heads we only had 12lbs.  I started shredding and after two I decided that was plenty of sauerkraut for us.  We only need a few jars and it last us a long time.  I used my food processor (thanks again Corey’s mom for that) to shred the cabbage.  Then you salt the cabbage and let it wilt for awhile.  After that put it in the brining bucket.  I had to make some extra brine so my cabbage was covered in liquid.  Then cover with cheese cloth and place something heavy on top to keep the cabbage submerged.  Now all you have to do is wait 3 to 6 weeks.  Yes that is weeks.  Now you see why I was so nervous about making this before.  Everyday you have to skim the foam off the top.  So I guess you’ll see the finished product in 3 to 6 weeks.

Shredding the cabbage

Salted and wilting

My brining bucket

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cheese cloth on top and ready to sit for 3-6 weeks

Aug 3 2012

The Case of the Missing Containers

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Before

I woke up this morning and started to empty the dishwasher.  As I was doing so I noticed that I was missing a lot of plastic containers.  Where might they have gone?  I opened the fridge to get the milk for my cereal and this is what I saw.  This fridge is so full of who knows what and how long it’s been in there is a mystery.  So now I’m on the hunt for the missing containers my bet is that they are in this fridge somewhere.  So guess what?  Yep, it’s time to clean out the dreaded fridge.

I decided to look at cleaning the fridge in a who new way. I usually take out the rubber gloves, nose plug, and ten foot pole. This time, however, I decided to be grateful. I know, I know “be grateful?” how is that supposed to help??? As I was taking stuff out of the fridge I began to feel blessed. My family and I have been blessed to have an over flowing fridge. We have been blessed to have so much food that we can’t even keep up with it. There are so many people who struggle to make ends meet. They often end up wondering what they are going to feed their children if anything at all. My family may not have fancy things but I’ve never had to worry about what my kids will eat. By changing my attitude I was able to look at cleaning the fridge in a who new light. Of course that doesn’t get rid of the containers growing green fuzzies that make you gag as you open them. It sure does help you appreciate everything. So now I have a clean fridge and a grateful heart. It’s a really nice way to start your day. Oh, and I did eventually find my missing containers.

There they are!

After

Jul 30 2012

Canning has begun

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Sink full of green beans

I spent last week up in the mountains with the girls from our ward up at girls camp.  When I came home my fridge was full of green beans.  We planted twice as many beans as we usually do and in one week we got a whole sink full.  So the canning begins.  The boys were wonderful in helping me snap the ends and then snap them to bite size pieces.  It took all three of us about 30 minutes to prepare them for canning.  When all was said and done we ended up with 19 pints of green beans.  Not too bad for a weeks worth of beans.  Next picking we’ll pickle.

A couple of great helpers.

Voila! 19 pints of green beans.

Jul 18 2012

4th of July 2012

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We have a tradition of going to the parade every year.  This year was no different.  The kids love the parade.  At one point in the parade a live band with drums and guitar went by and Levi just started rocking out.  Corey started to record unfortunately he missed the best part but still got a little snippet for you to enjoy.

After the parade we played and ate lunch with some friends at Gem Lake. We did this last year and I think it should become another of our traditions. Later in the evening we like to watch the fireworks. We usually go to a place off Skyline near our house but one of our friends invited us over to see them in their backyard. This was really fun too. Corey and I forgot the camera so no pictures of the fireworks this year. I love that even though we are far away from family we still feel like we have family close. The friends we have made in this neighbourhood are great. What a great way to celebrate our country’s birthday. Hope you all had a great 4th too.

Waiting for the parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our big group trying to squish in the shade

Jul 17 2012

T-Ball

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Levi decided that he wanted to be on a T-ball team this year.  After the first couple of practices it was like pulling teeth to get him to go.  He said that practice was so boring.  Finally he had a game.  This made all the difference.  If you know Levi you know he is a high energetic boy.  To keep his interest he needs to go, go, go.  So the game was perfect for him.  He got to play different positions and run around the bases.  His last game is next week on July 26th.  He has been going since mid June playing a game every Tuesday and Thursday mornings.  I’m sure this will be one he wants to do next year.

Getting ready to run from first.

Touching home!

On the pitchers mound

Jul 16 2012

Mesa Falls

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Upper Mesa Falls

The last weekend in June or first weekend of July, however you want to look at it,  we went camping up by Mesa Falls.  The falls were a beautiful site.  It was pretty crowded up there but well worth seeing.  They have an old log inn there that they have turned into a visitor center/gift shop.  I told Corey that someday I wouldn’t mind retiring in a log cabin like this.  We went through the visitor center and a park ranger gave the boys a booklet to look through that had a comic in it.  Afterward we walked the path that went by the waterfalls.  While everyone is looking at the falls Levi would find a bench and sit to read his comic.  He was so much more interested in what happened to smokey the bear than the beautiful scenery around him.  We had a really nice weekend.  We are so lucky to live near such beautiful areas.

Beautiful!

Levi and his comic

Really neat Inn

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Can you see the Tetons in the back?

Love Sophia and Levi’s expressions here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spent a couple of nights in this area and the next day we ended up hiking by Warm Springs.  They have an old fish hatchery that you can rent out and near there was a bunch of hiking trails.  We decided to hike a couple of miles (all Sophia can handle).  Have I mentioned how beautiful the area is?  This was a great weekend.  We had beautiful scenery accompanied by equally beautiful weather.  I love going camping.  It really helps me relax and get away from the world.

Hiking along Warm Springs

 

Taking a trail mix break

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The grass is as high as Sophia

Family Photo at Lower Mesa Falls over look

Jul 15 2012

Levi’s 7th Birthday

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Iceberg with penguins cake

A little less than a month ago on June 27th we celebrated Levi’s 7th birthday.  This was a non-party year for him.  My kids only get parties for their birthdays every other year.  We do this for a number of reasons.  It saves us money on having to throw a party each year.  It makes it more special when they do get a party.  This is something my parents did when I was young.  This year I made the mistake of watching “Cake Boss” with the kids about a month before Levi’s birthday.  Levi decided that he wanted an iceberg cake with penguins.  In his mind he was thinking it’s going to be a multi layered cake with intricate details.  In my mind how can I make this look as simple as possible.  So that is what we ended up with.  The star was another requirement Levi wanted.  I think he wanted it to be suspended somehow in the air.  Sorry kid I’m no Buddy (the guy from Cake Boss).  We had a pretty simple birthday celebration with the family.  At lunch we had cake and opened presents and then for dinner we let him pick where he wanted to go.  Surprise, surprise he picked McDonald’s.  Over all I think he enjoyed his birthday and had a good time.

Blowing out the candles

Opening gifts from Nammy and Nampa.

Jun 12 2012

Another Birthday

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geek cake

A couple of days ago Corey turned…. sorry don’t think I should tell you.  If you don’t already know then you can ask him.  I’m sure he is fine divulging that information but it’s really not my place.  Anyway he had a birthday and he is getting old.  I asked him what kind of cake he wanted meaning along the lines of flavor and frosting.  He started spouting off geeky things he wanted me to shape his cake as.  So I compromised and made him a cake with a few of his favorite geeky things.  I’m not a professional cake maker and I’m sorry if it doesn’t look up to scale.  Corey is also a very hard person to shop for.  He wanted some very specific things and after going to 6 different stores lugging around 3 kids I decided to order online.  One of the specific things was a certain chef knife.  I think you will all appreciate the picture with his precious.

making a wish

Blowing out the candles

 

 

 

 

 

Crazy Corey

Jun 12 2012

Camping

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Mike Harris Campground

Yay!! School is out.  We have been out about a week but I’m slow at posting.  On the day that school ended we celebrated by going out on our first family camp trip for the year.  We packed up and went to Mike Harris Campground in the Grand Targhee National Forest.  This is a place we have been before and like to go to for our first campouts of the season.  Despite forecast for rain we decided to tough it out.  The weather actually turned out perfect and it only rained for a couple of hours on Saturday.  We got there pretty late on Friday and discovered that we forgot many things including bug spray.  We didn’t want to be bug dinner so we had to go into to town and buy some. The other stuff we did without.  That’s what the first campout is about right?!  In the morning we warmed our breakfast up on the fire (breakfast burritos I learned from pintrest).  The kids really liked it.  They were easy too.  It rained for about and hour and we just read and played games in the trailer.  After the rain let up we went for a hike.  There is a really neat trail near the entrance to the campground.  It leads up to some peaks.  We didn’t go that far.  We only went as far as Sophia’s little legs could take her.  It ended up being about 2 miles round trip.  It was a beautiful hike.  On the way back it started to rain again.  By the time we got back to camp we were all pretty wet.  It rained for about another hour.  After that it was beautiful.  There was one other family camping in the campground.  We introduced ourselves.  Their kids are the same age as ours and they hit it off really well.  The kids went and played hide and seek.  After talking with them a little we discovered that they live just on the other side of the airport from us (small world).  We also found out that although they wear red and we wear blue we can still get along (those of you who are cougar and ute fans know how hard that is). We exchanged phone numbers and the kids have future plans to hang with them sometime.  We packed up and left Sunday morning.  On the way home we stopped one more time for a short hike.   Not as great as the first one but still fun.  This outing was a great start to our season.  I love being out in the woods.  It really helps me appreciate all that Heavenly father has created for us.  I can’t wait to go again.

Cooking breakfast on the fire

Beautiful Hiking trail

Sophia and her hiking stick

All of us on the hike

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kids getting warm after the hike

Gorgeous sky as the sun was setting

 

 

 

 

 

 

Almost full moon

Our little home away from home