Lovin' it...

The experts will tell you that eight hours of sleep are needed in order to function properly throughout the day. A new mother, however, will say that as long as you receive more than two consecutive hours of sleep, you can't complain! So, when Max and I went to bed at 11:30pm last night and didn't wake up until after 6:30am this morning - forget proper functioning, I was at peak performance! It's amazing what seven straight hours will do for a person who hasn't had more than 4-5hrs of sleep at any given time over the past two months...longer if you include waking up to pee during the night, every night, for the past nine months...

I can't lie, today was a really great day. I even felt up to canning 8 1/2 pints of Jalapeno Salsa.
Jalapeno Salsa
I haven't done a whole lot of canning this year, but did manage to put up several quarts of diced tomatoes, some half pints of strawberry and raspberry freezer jam, and four other half pints of salsa. All of the canning I did (except for the strawberry jam) was from fruit or veggies out of my mom's garden or my potted garden (I had six tomato plants and one jalapeno plant on my deck this year and they did awesome)! I also shredded several freezer bags of Zucchini so I'll be able to make Zucchini bread through the winter without buying it. I found a phenomenal recipe for Zucchini bread and it seems to go faster than I can make it.

Me and the kiddos at my parents place.
The kids and I took a trip up to Idaho the end of August to visit my parents and my sister before school started. We spent an afternoon up at the Zoo in Idaho Falls with Cheri and her kids and it was real fun...I didn't even know IF had a zoo, but it was pretty cool. We helped pick and can up a ton of beets and carrots from my parents garden. The kids ate themselves sick with raspberries out of the backyard as well. It was lots of good fun.

Max in his blessing outfit.
The whole family (my side).
We had all of my siblings and their families as well as my parents down this past weekend for Troy, Porter and Max's baby blessings. Both of my sisters and I decided to bless the boys at the same time so everyone could be there. My siblings were all able to stay for the holiday weekend and it was great to have them all here. We didn't go to bed before midnight all weekend, which made me extra grateful for the seven hours of sleep I got last night!

Joe's back on the road again as of August. It was nice to have him home most of July, but we appreciate every minute of his time we get to share on the weekends and days he's able to be at home. He taught Quin how to ride a bike without training wheels a few weeks ago and Quin hasn't been able to stay away from his bike since then. He's a maniac!Quiner

Jacko fell asleep in the car...that can't possibly be comfortable!
Jack is kissing up to all the ladies, everywhere. He disappeared a few days ago and I was trying desperately to find him, only to discover he had gone across the street and was watching chick-flick's and eating pizza with the neighbor lady and her daughters! Today he was chatting up the office staff while I was at the dentists office. When he came in the room and asked what they were doing to my teeth, they said they had to get out all of the 'cavity bugs'. His reply to this was to pick up the mirror on the counter and say, "get them out and SMASH em'!" They had to take a bit of a break to compose themselves before we could put the drill back in my mouth...

Ali and Jack on her first day of preschool.
Ali started her first year of preschool last week. She is LOVING it. Most children cheer when threatened with missing school, Ali threatens back! She loves the socializing and adores her teacher. Jacko and Max ride in the stroller with me and we walk her to and from school every other day. It's fun for her, fun for the boys and good exercise for me...win, win, win.

Clay kicking football at family reunion this summer.
Clay is working hard at school and scouts. He got his bobcat and a bunch of pins and belt buckles at the last pack meeting. He has shown everyone who's visited or dropped by the house. He has been working really hard on his pinewood derby car in preparation for the big pack meeting this month. He has very high hopes and I believe his father and uncle share his dream...I've decided that pinewood derby cars are one of those things that allow men to re-visit their childhood. You can see the inner struggle they have over doing the car themselves vs. letting Clay in on the action.

Max is growing like a weed. He was almost nine lbs at his two week visit and has done nothing but eat, sleep, poop and occasionally open his eyes and peek at you ever since then. He is an absolutely adorable baby and he loves to snuggle. I don't know what I did right with this little guy, but I feel extremely blessed. He's wonderful.