Happy Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Talmage!

Talmage turned 2 last weekend. So to prepare him for the big day we talked to him about having a birthday and a party. I told him we were going to have an Elmo cake there. So all week anytime we mentioned his birthday he'd just yell out "Elmo Cake!". We went to a park with the Watson side for a bbq and presents. From the looks of it he was very excited for his party. He fell asleep on the way to the park. He woke up after we had all eaten. We were just hanging around waiting for the birthday boy to wake up to do presents and cake. What a party pooper. We love him and I still can't believe this little guy is already 2 yrs old! Where has time gone?

In a Jam

What else is one to do with a flat of fresh strawberries that were just picked from the fields? We get the best strawberries I've ever eaten just down the road from the strawberry patch. They pick them right from the field, put them in a box and load them in your car. You couldn't get any more fresh unless you walked in the field and picked them yourself! These babies taste like candy they are so sweet and soft!

With the help of a wonderful lady in my ward she came over with ingredients and supplies to help me learn how to make jam. Yes, this is my first experience making jam. We ended up making 18 jars of jam and I'm thinking that wasn't enough. I may be doing it again next weekend while the strawberries are still good and the homemaking bug is in my system. This jam is just so good. I decided to make bottled jam vs. freezer jam because I just don't have that much space in my freezer for jam. This way the jam can sit in food storage for a lot longer and doesn't require electricity to keep it good. The other thing I like about this recipe is that it takes A LOT less sugar which makes it taste like strawberry preserves and not like strawberry candy. We used the Pomona brand in case you were wondering.

Now I'm excited to make other types of jams and bottle fruits and vegetables when the are at their freshest. Mmmm!

Beautiful fresh strawberries!

Jars ready to go

Cooking in a pot

Just finished in the steamer

The finished product!

Mother's Day

As you all may know, if you have kids in school they really do a good job helping kids understand and appreciate the different holidays. This mother's day was no exception. It was Walker's first year in preschool so it has been full of fun events all year long. Although I have to admit that this one was the best! They invited the mothers to come to school for a Mother's Day Tea Party. I walked into Walkers class and he eagerly greeted me, took my hand and led me to the table where we'd be sitting. He pulled my chair out and sat beside me and gave me a gift. What a gentleman. Who's teaching him this stuff? The gift was a necklace he made in class that was a compilation of a porcelain heart a few beads one being the shape of a cat that is classic. Then we had lunch. They served the mom's salad and a roll and the kids had chips and mini corn dogs, followed by lemon pound cake. Then they read us a story and we could go home from there. I really had a good time with Walker. It is VERY rare that he and I spend time alone together. I need to do more of that because we enjoyed ourselves and it was fun to do something just for him. He's such a great boy and I love him dearly. Here's to many more years (so long as the school system probes them to do something) of mothers day celebrations.