Our Corn

Ryan has been working so hard in the garden. We've never had a garden before, so this year has been our first and Ryan has loved it! He has done a lot of work, but his favorite thing by far in the garden is the corn. He has really babied that corn. Here is a picture of Isabel in the corn. It's so tall, it's actually taller than me. I am really hoping that we get a good crop from it. Ryan will be so dissapointed if we don't. I will let you all know. On a side note, our garden has been producing so good this year. So far we've gotten peas, beans, raspberries, yellow squash, zuchinni, and tomatoes. We have lots of pumpkins growing and the corn of course. Also, our chicken have started laying eggs. We get about 2 a day right now, but that will increase over time. It is so much fun having chickens and a garden. I love not having to buy the vegetables and eggs at the store anymore. It is so great! We are always going to have a garden, and chickens of course since they are ours.

Food At the Party (For Mom)

Our party was last night and we had international food. It was so much fun and the food was so good. This is mostly for Mom. I thought you might like to see all the good food we ate. For appetizers we had Spanikopita and Pagsnit (Renee made them)We had a really yummy salad (made my Jennifer)

We had potstickers (Sam made them)

For our main dish we had sweet pork burritos (made by Michelle)

For Dessert we had a Berry Tiramsu (by Lisa) and Palmiers (by Emily)

We missed you Mom and Dad. We wish that you had been there with us. We had so much fun, but it would have been more fun with you there.

By the way, the bread and jam look fantastic.  It figures that the year we aren't there everything has a bumper crop.  I haven't had a raspberry or a cherry in 3 years and you guys get it all in the same year.  I really am "eating my heart out".  What fun!

We had an office party last Thursday afternoon at some local waterfalls.  The water was so nice and cool.  Some of the people started jumping off this cliff.  It looked like the logical thing to join in on.  I climbed up, walked to the edge, then without even looking much just turned around and did a back flip.  I don't think I have done one in 35 years, but it worked perfectly.  It just seemed like the thing to do at the moment.

Mom just finished Lucy's quilt today.  It came out super.  She claims she is all caught up.

Bread and Jam Anyone?

Michelle and I have been busy being domestic. We have been making raspberry jam for the past week and today I made bread. We took some to the ladies we visit teach and to Emily (oh, and the mechanic that worked on Michelle's car). It is really good jam and the bread was super yummy. I am making more bread tomorrow, since Ryan didn't get any and complained about it. So, I guess a big thanks to Mom for her bread recipe and for the raspberry plants that have produced great this year! Thanks Mom, we love you!
Isn't our jam so pretty? We thought so.

Happy 4th from the Rice's

This is Isabel (very distracted) in her 4th of July outfit. She is my all-american girl with her blond hair. She's pretty dang cute, if I do say so myself.
The chickens were out today walking around the yard. Ryan and Isabel were giving them water. They are fun pets and should be laying eggs soon.

Eat your heart out Mom. This is what the cherry tree looks like. Can you say loaded? I have never seen so many cherries in my life. It is a beautiful site.

This is why we have a waterproof camera.  How else can you take a photo in a waterfall?  And yes, I do have miles of wrinkles.  We hiked out wet which offers some relief from the heat.  

Here we are at the trail head.  The trails aren't marked all here, so many times it is guessing game hiking anywhere.  It keeps the hikes interesting.

Mom and I went to a waterfall this morning for a 4th of July hike.  The hike was about 1.8 miles.  It was nice to get out.  The water was so cool and nice.  

A Less International Party

On July 11 (next Saturday) we are having a party sort of in honor of Joey's and Andrew's birthdays. Actually we were just missing the Delong family (not just the Sam DeLong family part of that family). We will meet at the Midway house around 1:30. We will swim and play until we are sick of playing. Then we will have a delicious BarBQ, all very casual. We will top the evening with chocolate cake. If you are willing to bring something to add to the meal, contact me. I realize that Emily is actually due to have her baby the day before that, but I still wanted to organize a get-together. We love you guys! Bring a swimsuit and an appetite. -Jen