Strawberry jam

We love strawberry jam. I usually make my own every few years and store it in the freezer. This last week, I went down to grab another container of jam and found there wasn't any. None. It was practically an emergency. The last time I made jam was in 2012.

Usually we pick our own strawberries, but this year they aren't quite In season anymore.

I settled for farm stand berries and started on the jam process. Of course, my three trusty helpers wanted some fun too! They were very very helpful for about an hour and then, one by one, they wandered away to other pursuits.

This brings back many fond memories of growing up. Picking strawberries for hours upon hours in the blistering sun without food or drink (my mom assures me there were plenty of snacks and it was only a short picking session. I do not recall it this way.) was a tradition most summers. We would then take our 100 lbs of strawberries (or 1, spending on who you ask) and slave over the hot stove for hours and hours (I suspect my contributions were not as lengthy as I recall) to produce gorgeous red jam. Of posse, I want the same for my kids.

Which is why I enlisted their help with my project.

4 hours and close to 25 pounds of sugar later, we now have a full freezer stock of the yummy strawberry jam.

Amelia's cartwheel

You may recall Amelia started gymnastics this May. Like, 3 months ago May. Imagine my surprise when I looked up and found her doing this!

Hair raising

It was a hair raising experience!

Magic house day

We are squeezing in as much summer fun as we can! We took the whole family back to the magic house on Saturday for some kid fun!

Braid bun

The Internet it a great invention. It is full of information. For example, there are hundred of different tutorials showing how to execute hairstyles. Lucky for me, Amelia is game for trying out most of them.

Shark carrot

Look mom! My carrot looks like a shark!

Gemma

John and were scrambling to make dinner. It is the most stressful time of the day. Kids are crabby and hungry. John and I tag team many days in the kitchen. Someone breaks up a fight and someone else pours milk. Then we switch. Someone cleans up a spilled cup of milk and the other attends to a bathroom emergency. Many nights this goes smoothly, but many more nights it is a frustrating one step forward and two steps back type process.

Last night, Gemma came running in crying. She was holding her arm.

Mama: Gemma! What is the matter?
Gemma: I hurt my arm!
Mama: what happened?
Gemma: I don't know.
Mama: what were you doing?
Gemma: something crazy

I started towards her to check out the injury. Before I took two steps, she spied a toy in the next room and took off to go and play.

Apparently she was just fine?

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