The skate park.

Our kids are skate park punks.  They love to go do some shredding with all of the other cool dudes.  So Matt and I like to go along to make sure our kids are extra cool.  You know, parents plus the skate park equals total radness.  This particular day, we were the only people there so we got to run around like crazy. 

They look so tiny down there!

This is so Asher's thing.

Even the wrecks.

Zad's bike had a flat so he did some freestyle walking.

Who knew it could be so fun?!

Asher throwing some mean jumps.

Levi needed daddy to help him make it up the hill.

Made it!

Now for the fun part.  Wheeeeee!

Jolie doing some mad rollerskating.

Here she is the king of the world.

What a fun family day.

Everyone should watch this.

Warning* This is graphic and disturbing. Not for children. But everyone should have the oppurtunity to see the truth and ask themselves these questions.

Here is the link to watch it on You Tube. I can't make it fit on my blog.

Hi-Ho, Hi-Ho, to the apple orchard we go!

We went to the Apple Country Orchard last year for the first time.  we liked it so much that we decided to go again this year.  We went a couple of weeks earlier this year so we missed some of the apples.  They just weren't ready.  Plus the drought seemed to have made the apples a bit smaller and not as plentiful.  But we still had a great time!   

The kids and Grandmolly pulling their buckets down the rows.

The best part about the orchard is that they use no chemicals on their fruit!  So you can walk up to a tree, pick an apple, shine it up on your shirt and eat it.  Levi was impressed.

It was a long way to walk so Levi hitched a ride.

My nephew Cole came along with us and was an expert apple picker!

Family!

Miss Emma needed a ride.

Jolie loved the raw honey so much that she bought her own jar.

Cody and Zaddok have bagged up their apples and are ready to check out.




Even though the apples were not what they were last year, we still had fun together.  That is the best part of the journey.  Now, off to make some applesauce, apple pie and apple jelly! Maybe.  :)

I have been a major blog-slacker.  But I have a good reason.  It's harvest time!  My garden has been in need of almost daily attention.  Plus, this is the time of year that my MIL makes the treck to New Mexico to pick up our chili and tomatoes. Our supplier is Sichler's Farms in Los Lunas.  We always anticipate her return.  Almost as soon as she pulls in the drive, we start packing our green chili.  After that we start processing our red.  It's a big deal!  After doing the same thing for several years, we now have it down to a science.  So I appologize for my absence.  I will be back to normal after the first freeze.

Oh freezer full of chili how I love you.  Please last us through the year.

This is fresh-roasted and pureed red chili.  It will make many Huevos Rancheros and enchiladas.

The stage is set.

The players are ready.

The heat is on!

The audience is, well, a little crazy from all of the canning! (And no, we do not have a canning uniform.  We are just wearing our husbands old work shirts.)

We use the raw-pack method.  It seems to work better for us.

Boiling water is poured over the tomatoes and they are processed for 40-45 minutes.

We also did some pickling.

I can't wait for these to be ready to eat!

We made salsa.

And our own lava lamps!  Just kidding.  This is just tomato juice that seperated during processing.

Molly Jo worked her booty off.

I just had to throw in a shot of our after-canning dinner.  Fresh green chili on a tortilla with cheese, garlic powder and salt.  Oh man.  What a reward!

The family that weeds together, shoots together.

We finally had our cold front.  It knocked us from the 100's to the 70's.  I was a happy girl.  We have suffered such a harsh season.  It is like we lost our summer.  It was so hot and miserable that we rarely went outside.  I spent only the required amount of time in the garden and yard.  It showed.  We had weeds like crazy.  So on this happy cold-front wrapped morning, we took on the beasts!  It was so much more fun as a family. 

Sweet Jolie Kay.  She was a trooper!  Her brothers, however, seem to be up to something.

Yep.  They are trying to eat a pecan they found.  Boys will eat anything they can find in the wilderness.  I think it is in their genes.

Levi even helped pick up the pulled weeds and throw them into the pile.

See what I mean by beasts.  These weeds were ferocious!  I have never seen one grow this huge.

Even Fuzz helped.  He kept on top of the chickens.  They could not go anywhere without his watchful eye following.

After the yard was tended, the boys retired to the back to have a bit of target practice. 
Note: This is only a pellet gun.

But that doesn't stop Asher from having darn impressive form.  He's a natural.  He shot a tiny army man off of the top of a stick from quite a distance.

Zaddok's form is great.  It's just that darn eye that won't stay closed.  His brother is happy to help him out by holding it shut for him.  Not sure that will fly in the academy boys.

Deconstructing a garden

It is a bitter-sweet time of year.  Time to start pulling up the plants that I have nurtured all summer.  Some are in the midst of massive prodution.  They can stick around.  Others, like our corn, have already given what they had to give.  We are always thankful as we wrap up the season.  We again reflect on the majesty of it all.  Nourishment from a seed and some dirt.  It's still amazing after these many seasons.  The Father still provides.  We will continue to pull and sort until the last frost.  I hope your season has been sweet. 

Oh the bounty!!  Vibrant color from the ground.

So sweet with no chemicals added!

My fridge has been stuffed.

But this is beautiful too!

This was just one color of indian corn that came from our stalks.  My personal favorite.

It was like Christmas to open each husk.  So many colors!

Of course we save seed for next year.

This kid stuck with me all afternoon.  He shucked corn like a pro.

This one just kept trying to eat it.  But come on, you always need a comedian.

We found some okra that was long gone.  So, to seed it will go!

As a bonus, we found some watermelon hiding in the corn.  Thanks summer!