Party and Pie

Reba was invited to a friend's house for a birthday party this afternoon.  About an hour before the party, she asked if she could have her nails polished.  It was a good time to do it because Julianne was down for a nap and the boys were gone fishing.  I then made her sit in the chair and watch a show on TV while her nails dried.  A few minutes later, I found her asleep!  

She was able to get a quick catnap before the party!  I was afraid that she would be a bear when I woke her up.  Once I mentioned it was time for the party, she was wide awake and happy as could be.

Once I got home from dropping Reba off, I set to making a pie with a few of the those cherries I pitted a few weeks ago.  Sugar couldn't wait to sink her teeth into it!

It was my first time making a cherry pie (not using store bought cans).  The flavor was wonderful, but it was sooooo juicy!  After we cut and dipped out our pieces this evening, I poured about 2 cups of juice out of the pie plate hoping that the crust won't turn to mush.

Until next time...

Bowl full of Cherries

I guess I should say "bowls".

The kiddos (all three of them) are staying with Gram and Pa this week.  So I was able to work on pitting the cherries Gram shared with me, without little people helping!  I was able to put enough pitted cherries in the freezer to make 3 different pies.  I would have gone ahead and made one today, but Doug and I are still trying to finish the black raspberry pie I made last week!

Until next time...

Sleep and Eat

We are still trying to get back to normal!  Little Miss fights to go without a nap most days, but sometimes it just catches up with her...

My black raspberries have finished up for the year.  It seemed very short, but they did peak while we were gone.  Thankfully, the neighbor boy that took care of our animals, also picked the berries!  I thought they would be best in a pie.

Not the prettiest, since it bubbled over the edge, but it tasted just fine with a scoop of ice cream!

Until next time...

Strawberry Pie

The strawberries keep coming!  Doug and I have put multiple bags in the freezer, and we have had multiple bowls of ice cream as well as milkshakes; therefore, we were needing something different.  

You can never go wrong with pie!

*excuse Dallas' red and swollen eyes...his allergies are getting the best of him these last two weeks

Until next time...

Basketball, Pie and Ice Cream...Oh, my!

Dallas got a new net for the basketball goal in his Easter basket, and Daddy was able to put it up tonight.

Dallas' first shot up...got stuck!

After a few more attempts, he finally made one.

Our rhubarb is just about ready to be cut, so I figured I had better use up what is still in the freezer from last year.  That meant pie and ice cream was on the menu for dessert tonight!

Even Sugar snuck in a few bites from Big Sis' bowl...

Until next time...

7th Birthday Party

What a wonderful day celebrating a special little man!  Thanks to everyone that came and spoiled Dallas with love and gifts.

Dallas could not wait for lunch to finish up and tear into the presents waiting for him in the living room.  Enjoy a few of the pictures I captured from the day.

When trying to decide on a "theme" for the party and what to put on the cake, Dallas stated that he would rather have pie than cake.  He really wanted a raisin pie, but I wasn't confident in making one.  Thankfully, we were at an awesome Amish bakery a few weeks prior that makes the most wonderful raisin pies (according to Dallas and Daddy).  We picked up a pie there and froze it until the party.  I also made a triple berry pie for those that were not interested in the raisin.

Until next time...

Peach Pie

I made my second peach pie today with peaches from our trees!  The first pie was made with white peaches, and today's pie was made using yellow peaches.

I didn't get my crusts sealed too well, so there was some boil-over action going on, so it's a good thing I'm not being judged on appearance/presentation!

Julianne was sitting with Daddy while we were enjoying our evening treat.  She was watching him so intently, but when I snapped the camera, she gave me this face!

Back to watching Daddy

Daddy finally decided he would share, but I think Julianne had second thoughts!

Until next time...

Random May Photos

One of the most fun parts about having two girls - getting to dress them alike every now and then.  Reba thinks it is the absolute coolest thing!

One day on Doug's way home from work, he found this guy sitting in the road!  Apparently, it seemed like a great idea to bring him home...

Jep lived with us for a couple weeks before we released him back into a creek.  He was fun for a while, but then he started stinking up the barn!

Our strawberry patch did amazing this year!  I was able to freeze multiple gallon sized bags of berries to use in milkshakes throughout the next year, and I was able to make a few of these gems...

Julianne loves it when Dallas holds her (even if both of them have a hard time sitting still for more than 1 minute)

Reba and one of the many flower bouquets she picked for me this spring

Lastly, to end our month, Dallas had some major dental work done (two teeth pulled and two crowns).  We were so blessed that he did amazingly well with the procedure, as well as the recovery.  He goes back in June to have work done on the other side of his mouth.

Until next time...

Apple Pickin'

After visiting the zoo on Friday morning, we headed out for lunch and then home for naps!  I had been wanting to go to a local apple orchard to pick apples to can.  We are on our last jar of apple butter and last jar of applesauce.  I was also out of apple pie filling.  Luckily, the orchard near us still had a great deal of apples!

The yellow apples were pretty much gone, but these red rome trees were full!

Off to find some apples...

The branches were so full that they hung nice and low so the kiddos had no problems pickin'

or taste tastin'

I wasn't quite sure how many apples I would need, but here are two of the three bags we brought home (a total of 62 pounds!)

I first made apple pie filling - I ended up with 12 quarts, which should make 6 pies.  Yumm-o!

I then made applesauce out of the remaining apples.  I saved 20 cups worth to make apple butter this weekend, and the rest (7 quarts) was kept as plain applesauce.  I'm sure everyone - including Baby B#3 - will enjoy it over the next year.

Until next time...