more catching up

July is just about through so I need to get the last of these posts in before August sneeks up on me. So more on our Boise trip over the 4th.
One of the highlights of the trip was my families annual mud volleyball game. They do it every year and it is a huge ordeal. We have 50+ people over for a potluck BBQ and some muddy muddy fun. I absolutely loved it!
We ate lots of yummy food. Mind you not the healthiest but yummy nonetheless. 

and then I got to practice being a Zumba instructor. Excuse the hot pants. They were strictly for mud volleyball. I showed off my first ever dance routine. I don't know if they loved it but I sure did.

Then it was time to get messy!

The weather didn't completely agree with us that night. A random storm blew in and it was COLD! But we all stuck it out and didn't let it ruin the fun. But man oh man rinsing off with the hose while the wind blew like a mad man sure wasn't painful! BRRRR!

After everyone had cleaned up whether it was by hose, soaking in the kiddie pool, or rinsing in the water gun bucket we all settled down and went in for dessert. You could tell my mom had done this before because she had plastic tablecloths taped down on the hardwood floor leading from the garage to the guest bathroom. There was NO hot water left in that house for awhile.

Kiera had fun being pampered by my two cousins. She felt just like a little princess. She even said so.

I think her hairdo lasted for 2 days after that! It was great! I love visiting my family!

Catching up with what happened over the 4th of July

I know I know I am sooo behind! I still haven't posted about our trip to Boise over the 4th! What a slacker! What is wrong with me? (Please don't answer that). Usually I post things right away so as not to forget the fun little details. Well I am attempting to catch up now.

The Fourth of July is my mother's birthday and this year we decided to go down and celebrate with her. We drove the 10+ hours with two toddlers in the car! Whew! Tough tough but they actually did pretty good considering how long they sat. We just made stops along the way and let them run around at all the rest stops and stretch their legs and then we'd stop to eat at a sit down restaurant or two instead of opting for the drive-thru every time.

When we arrived we surprised my mom. She didn't think we'd be there for another 3 hours. Hehe. I love it! I took of her reaction when we got there but can't figure out how to upload it. I keep getting a message that there was an error while loading. Grrr.

The kids love their "grandma tutu" and all the fun treasures she has and as soon as we got to her house the kids went strait for the toys. They knew exactly where to look. We spent about a half hour outside playing with the basketballs, soccer balls, baseballs, and bats before we even set foot in the house! You could tell it was a long day in the car. But boy oh boy was I ready for bed!

The next day the fun began...

The kids spent the morning in their PJ's. There just wasn't time to be wasted getting dressed! Grandma took them both for a ride on the riding lawn mower...

The toddler toys and tricycles were brought out...

And who can wait for the sun to warm up a freshly filled kiddie pool?! Not these two! Kiera at least got changed into her swimsuit but Ethan was just as happy getting wet in his PJ's...BRRR.

Later in the day I was able to go and visit my Grandma! It was so good to see her! She had just been through two hip surgeries (the second one was due to the first one going bad) and a shoulder surgery! And all within 2 months time! I was happy to see her in good spirits and she even showed off for us and walked around the room with her walker. I love my grandma! And I think she is one of the strongest most beautiful women I know!

After visiting my grandma we all went swimming but this time at the pool in my cousin's subdivision. It was so nice to soak up the sunshine for a change! And to have some real summer heat to go with it! I do have to admit it has been pretty nice back here since we got home though. So no complaining now.

I'll post about the rest of the trip SOON! I promise. The hubby is away at scout camp this week so I've got plenty of down time in the evenings. I have a hard time sleeping when he's away. Anyone else have that problem?

New blog in the works.

I am in the process of organizing my blog and have decided for a couple reasons that I am going to be starting a new blog "Busy Hands Make Happy Hearts" to keep all the crafty posts and "Going's on at the Glenn's will be mostly for journaling and family events. I'll keep you posted on when it will be up and ready. I'd also like to hear some of your thoughts on it.

A Happy Family

I don't know if any of you have noticed the button on my sidebar that says Adoption for Jason and Autumn. They are some of my close friends from home. Well I just recently found out some great news that they were able to adopt their baby boy! I am so happy for them! See their blog here. He is such a cutie and Jason and Autumn have been waiting a very long time for their little miracle! Congratulations you guys!

28 jars of yummy!

Our 4th of July trip is over and we're getting  back into our routine. That is always the hardest part for me after a trip. I will post about the trip soon but first I wanted to share something I did the night before we left. It was CRAZY busy trying to get ready to leave and part of it (well...probably all of it) was my own fault. I was the one who decided to go strawberry picking for FHE (family home evening) two nights before we left, and it was me who decided we needed 2 flats of them. So the whole day of canning was my fault too. I wouldn't have been able to pull it off if it weren't for my good friend who volunteered to take the kids for me after seeing my stressed out facebook post. Thanks Nicole!

I started by washing all the strawberries in a sink full of water and one by one cutting off the tops to throw into my big mixing bowl.

I then took out 2 quarts worth and smashed the up with my potato masher in a separate measuring cup/bowl so there were about 5-6 cups of smashed berries (I just followed the directions in the pectin box).

Then I mixed in the lemon juice and pectin per instructions and added the sugar. Then it was stir stir stir...

When it had boiled for the right amount of time I filled the jars, put on the lids and then put them in my hot water canner. Boiled them for 10 minutes and that was it.

I took them out and set them all on some towels and listened to the happy sound of popping while the cans sealed. I now have 28 jars of jam sitting in my pantry. mmmmm. Oh wait...I take that back I have 26 jars in there. I took one to my mom for her birthday and gave one to the neighbor who watered our garden while we were gone.

I am looking forward to the tomatoes being ready so I can can some salsa! I also plan on doing peaches and applesauce this year.