The Fruits of my Spoils/Labor

Above is just a little picture of the Fruits of my Labor (or however that goes). So far this year I've canned 21 quarts of peaches, 14 quarts of apricots, 10 pints spaghetti sauce, 10 pints tomatoes, 14 pints of salsa (chipotle lime, regular, some with cilantro), 12 jars of jalapeno jam, and 16 jars of blackberry jam. I've also frozen 2 gallon bags of apricot puree, 1 bag of peach puree, 1 bag of peach halves, and 5 1/2 quart bags of blackberries. But hey, who's counting...
I am planning to do some more salsa and spaghetti sauce (or at least help my friend do hers), do apples and applesauce, and I may even get to do grapes. I met a gal last week (my sister-in-law's friend) who has grapes and wants to do apples. So I think we may get to do a trade. Also chicken is on sale so I'm debating doing some of that.
For all of my friends out there who knew me way back when, did you ever think that I would be so domesticated?!? I'm quite the little Betty homemaker if I do say so myself. Realistically, this doesn't happen that often...

The Birthday Boy

This past week has been a busy one. I canned 42 quarts of peaches with my friend Erin (we each went home with 21). We had zoo day, picked berries, and most important of all... celebrated Jace's 1st birthday!!!

We no longer have a baby in the house, he's officially a toddler now. We haven't been to the doctor for his 12 mo. checkup but that will be this next week. I know he's at least 24 lbs and is on the go all the time.

To start the day we went walking and then invited our friends Angie, Addison and Jake to go to the zoo with us. After the zoo it was nap time for the boys while I finished preparations for Jace's party. We had aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents over for pizza and dessert. We did a basketball themed desserts with a cake for Jace, ice cream sundaes, basketball rice crispy treats and cake balls for the rest of us.

Jace was a little tentative at first to dig into his cake but soon got the hang of it and thoroughly enjoyed himself.

Happy birthday little boy!

The rest of the week was just as busy, Saturday morning the boys and I headed up to my Aunt Linda's house after we got back from walking. Aunt Linda had a little gift for the boys for their birthdays and had invited us to come pick a flat of blackberries. Jace napped while I picked and Levi went and saw the chickens. While we were there my cousin Ashlee and her family came to pick also. It was good to see them and get a chance to catch up. Levi and Caleb had a great time exploring the property and playing with each other. It took about an hour to get my flat picked, the berries are huge (about the size of a quarter). They are now waiting for me to do something with them. I've frozen a bunch and have enough set aside to make jam tomorrow. I just ran out of time on Saturday to get everything done.

I also prepared a batch of fresh salsa using a recipe that I've been wanting to try before I make a bunch to can. It was yummy, I'll definitely be using it to can our salsa (if we ever get enough tomatoes). Saturday night I joined my mother-in-law and sister-in-law for a girls night out. We went to Costa Vida and then to see Julie&Julia. I always enjoy Costa Vida and was glad to get to spend some time with the girls.