Wildflower Jelly

The girls have been ecstatic about the arrival of the first flowers of Spring. They want to pick every bit of color they see and I'm beginning to run out of vase space so I decided to try a more creative use for their finds. Today we made jelly, both violet and dandelion. First, we had to pick lots and lots of flowers, approximately one cup of each (if you try this I would strongly suggest making sure the flowers you choose are indeed edible).

Nest we thoroughly rinsed the flowers, placed them in a glass jar and poured one cup of boiling water over them. We let that sit for a few hours then poured the mixture through a sieve, reserving the water and discarding the flowers.

Next was an eighth cup of lemon juice and two cups sugar and bringing the mixture to a boil. (I think wearing butterfly wings during this step is optional.)

When it was boiling we added half a package of liquid pectin and boiled for two more minutes.

Then came the canning, and even better,the taste-testing.

Mmmmmm... can we make it again?

Such pretty pink and yellow Spring color!

What We Did In California: Part 3

Spring! Glorious Spring! That's what was waiting for us when we arrived. Of course it rained most of the time we were there, but when the sun did peep out, it SHONE!

The girls fed Grandpa and Grandma's ducks,

played on playgrounds,

and picked flowers with Papa.

They also flew kites

and hunted for bugs.

They made boats and floated them with Grandpa

and simply enjoyed the novelty of being outdoors without a parka.

What We Did In California: Part 2

There was lots of riding bikes and learning to ride bikes ... and falling off bikes... on the days it wasn't raining. This, as you may have guessed was more Karl's department than mine. Through his encouragement, Heidi became a more confident rider and cousin Keira was able to leave her training wheels behind. Hannah spent more time sporting the headgear than actually riding, but seemed to enjoy every minute of it.

So did Heidi, how delightful to have spring while there was still snow on the ground back home!

What We Did In California: Part 1

My purpose in going to California was to spend time with my family, and we did just that. Not a lot of visiting friends or going places this trip, just lots and lots of being with those we love. My girls loved getting to know their cousins better.

Aunt Summer was a little overrun with nieces and nephew.

All the Aunties and Uncles enjoyed meeting Levi.

Because, lets face it, he's just plain adorable!

I taught my sisters to make truffles.

Because with Summer headed back to the mission field in August it is highly essential that she have the skills necessary to survive any dire situation.

You know, like the lack of readily available quality chocolate.

And I helped Mom turn a bedroom turned storage room back to a bedroom again. She had done the hard part of sorting and cleaning. I got the fun sewing part of the job.

This toddler bed is actually made with a crib mattress on plywood placed over three Rubbermaid totes! I made a skirt to hide the totes, put together a quick quilt and covered pillows to tie in with the curtains I made for the windows and storage shelves.

It's amazing how much I can get done when I'm not the one doing all the cooking, dishes, laundry and childcare.

Where have I been?

Want to know where I was for the month of April?
Here.
At home.
Recovering from the month of March.

Where was I in March, you ask?
Ah, now that is the question!
I had the tremendous blessing of being able to go "home" to California.

My children got to see their cousins, My parents got to see their grandchildren,

and our whole family got to be together again!

(although we didn't quite all get in the picture,my sister's husband wasn't there that day).

What a joy to spend time with those I love!

Levi: 9 Months

Levi: 8 Months

Yes, it's late again. Is it bad to admit that I didn't realize it was April?