Hiking

Quinton wanted to climb the mountain. But he is easily distracted, so I put him in the stroller until we got to the base, carrying Lillyth in the wrap. 

Going up the deer trail.

We got tired quick, but had fun.

Lillyth was not a huge fan of hiking in the wrap, but was a good trooper.

On the way home, Quinton demand that I take a picture of him standing on this rock at a neighbor's property.

After getting home, Lillyth wanted to go walking, and dirty feet ensued.

Another day, at the park. She thinks she's so big. 

Deer season. Zachary came out with me one morning. We saw several does, but no bucks. Just for fun, we shot a rock on the other side of the draw. 

Floods and Buffalos

On our way home from Seattle, our good neighbors called us indicating their son, who was watching our chickens, notices water pooling in our yard, flowing into Chayce's window well, and flooding our basement. An irrigation pipe had come disconnected. With the help of a couple neighbors, we got the carpet out and the standing water sucked up. Then we went to pick up our children, who were at my parent's house, and then went to Yellowstone Park. Since Chayce's room was out of commission, we re-arranged the bedrooms, ditched the beds, and put up hammocks for the children to sleep in. They have worked well for everyone but Zachary, who has returned to sleeping in a bed. 

September Miscellany

Lillyth inspecting dried paprika peppers

Our first table grape harvest from a vine planted spring 2014

A large pizza shared with our friends, the Carlsons. 

Paprika harvest

The little princess demanded I put one of her older siblings dress-up dresses on her.

Quinton helping dig trenches for a neighbor's irrigation system. 

Peach fruit scrap vinegar and pickled Greek pepperoncinis

Quinton put stickers on his wall

Jillian accompanied me to Seattle for work, and we went to Rachel's Ginger Beer. Good stuff, but it had to be shipped on ice, so we enjoyed it while we were there.

Chopped

Tonight we finally fulfilled our children's repeated requests to do a mock Chopped competition. Chopped is a mystery ingredient cooking competition on TV. We went in constrained expectations and...were pleasantly surprised. 

The mystery ingredients were grapes, squash (which none of them like to eat, we were curious how they would treat it), a hot dog, and a cheese stick. 

Quinton, getting his ingredients chopped up. At first, he just thought he was making himself dinner, and went to town eating it after cutting it all up. 

Payge, ketchuping her dogs.

Chayce getting into the freeze dried yogurt.

Zachary, making jam.

Quinton, getting inspired.

Chayce made tako-chan hot dogs, sauteed squash fries with garlic powder grated cheese sprinkled on top. In the yellow cup was vanilla milk, and in the blue cup was pomegranate yogurt bites (dehydrated yogurt) with fresh squeezed grape juice, served chilled. Jillian indicated that everything Chayce made was something she would eat again. Stephen liked the drinks. 

Zachary made cheese stuffed hot dog, nuked with the squash on top. The squashed was re-cooked with chili powder, garlic, adobo, and butter. The sauce  for the squash was made with ketchup, yellow mustard, dijon mustard, frank's hot sauce, chili powder, garlic, and adobo. On the buttered toast was jam made from grapes, sugar, cinnamon. In the cup was milk with brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon, and freeze dried cherries, served heated. The judges both thought the squash was excessively seasoned, but liked the jam (Stephen kept eating it) and the milk.

Payge made little squash bowls filled with cheese, dehydrated squash, and corn. Payge is the most vocal disliker of squash, and the judges critiqued her for not really using the ingredient.  She made a pudding with milk, cinnamon, vanilla, lemonade powder, with dried cherries on top (the lemonade powder caused it to curdle, and Payge rediscovered ricotta! If she had just sweetened it more it would have been fantastic as a sweet dish). Toasted bread dogs with ketchup. Grapes with cinnamon water.

Quinton made soup with hot dogs, cheese, and grapes flavored with cinnamon. He stirred it lots. The judges said good effort and even succeeded at eating parts of it. 

Rosie is one

Among many other things that has happened in the first half of the month, Lillyth Rose turned one. Here's a summary. 

So this isn't a great shot, but it is funny. They are both derping. When we're out playing in the garden, we put the little people by the raspberries and they take care of themselves.

Zachary procured some used tires to make a stand for a large chicken waterer, but the tires were too big. Quinton requested that we make a tire swing. It has since fallen down, my rope isn't long enough to tie a proper knot and still be low enough the children can reach it. 

At the Tueller family reunion (which Payge keeps referring to as the "family home union") we did family and full group pictures. While we were waiting for our family's turn, I tried to catch one of these four. Chayce is practicing her teenager look. Quinton is just plain adorable. Zachary is probably writing a minecraft mod in is head. Payge is being a princes. 

After pictures, we went to the aquarium, lunch, and Scheel's sporting goods where we took this picture with the cousins. 

Quinton really wants his own truck.

Chayce fit in the tire.

Jillian attached plastic cups to the children's ankles, filled them with popcorn. Then they had races, attempting to retain as much popcorn in the cups as possible.

More popcorn racing, Zachary illustrating a dance-like technique.

During the Tueller family reunion, and her birthday, little Lillyth was sick the whole time. Here, she is back home but still not quite up to par. She tried to smile while "helping" me with work. 

The next weekend, we went to Rexburg to Jillian's parents and go to her 15th high school reunion. Here is Quinton getting a turn on a climbing wall. We had to add a rope to pull him back down because he was too light to weigh down the autobelay. 

Here is Chayce on her second run up the wall, with Payge on the right making her first attempt.

Little Lillyth and her grandpa.

The babies in our fantastic looking corn patch. This bodes well, we decided this was our last attempt on corn before we gave up on the crop. 

Have you ever seen a pirate sheep? Well, now you have. 

This little lady likes to climb all the things at the park. She also likes to go to the edges and crawl of backwards, no matter the height, and when her feet find no ground she bellars for help until she's rescued.

Jillian is out this weekend with friends from south bend. After having raspberry balsamic buttermilk pancakes, we went out to pick. This is what happens when you tell the children they have one hour to pick berries and their minecraft time will be proportional to the volume picked.