Canning

Yay, I am so proud that all the pears sealed! It will be so fun to eat them during the winter! I really do enjoy canning, but I think I need to get a pressure canner. That "hot water bath" stuff takes forever! Oh well, I got it done and the mess is cleaned up!

Harvest Updates

So, we we are in the middle of harvest. I say middle even though I do not feel that the end is in sight by any stretch of the imagination. This city girl (who is desparately trying to act the part of typically amazing farm wives) will now attempt to recap the first two weeks of potato harvest.

Week 1: We started harvest in Richfield. My husband tells me that typically you can harvest 30 acres in 1 day. I, being the mathmetician that I am, (insert courtesy laugh here) took the 100 acres to be harvested, and discovered that we could be finished in Richfield in 3.33 days. So, I told myself, "I can handle waking up at 5:00 in the morning, work all day, and be in my bed by midnight for 3.33 days." Well, 2 trips to Burley chasing down parts for the broken machinery, and 5 days later, we were in fact finished digging in Richfield. I will not miss that drive!

Week 2: Actually, I have decided that it would be more dramatic to break this past week down by the day.

Monday 15th: (Babe's B-day) I was told Sunday night to wake up early enough to drive to Blackfoot in search of a motor for a table at the cellar. And, Now I am pleased to announce that I can easily find Spudnik equipment in Blackfoot. I quickly made my way back to Arco to discover that the feild was too wet to harvest.

Tuesday 16th: We did not get very much done. Leave it at that.

Wednesday 17th: I hurried off to Idaho Falls in search of bearings and parts for a broken down 10-wheeler. Around 8:00 that night the digger was broke down, in need of yet another bearing. Mark and I traveled back to Idaho Falls to get the bearing. I called this a date, we did stop at Artic Circle for dinner.

Thursday 18th: Things were going pretty good in the morning, then the crew was back to sitting when the top belt of the even-flow tub would not work. Back in my car, I went to Blackfoot getting another motor.

Friday 19th: I was feeling quite depressed about the potato harvest at this point. Things seemed to be going good on this particular day, but all those trips in the car had made me a bit crazy. I decided to check out of reality around noon, and go PARTY WITH THE GIRLS AT THE HALL'S CABIN IN BEAR LAKE.

Yes, this my fellow wanna-be farmer wives, is how you deal with stress. You know how the saying goes, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going" (going on vacation that is!)

Enough with all the talk, the pictures will tell you that the weekend was an ab-workout in itself. (Which is why I felt justified to eat that extra little cup of Heather's amazing white chocolate popcorn.)

As you can see, this annual weekend with the cousin's is just what I needed. You can also understand why the husbands must never comprehend how fun this is, or they would want to come too! So when you get home you say things like, "yeah, it was ok" or "I was worrying the whole time what you were going to eat" or you can do as I did, and say "My weekend was so fun, but I know how hard you were working while I was gone. Why don't you go put your feet up and take a nap while I do the dishes."

This is the picture of a husband who wants his Sunday afternoon nap much more than he wants to help with the dishes. I do believe he will remember this nap when it is time for me to go on the retreat next year. But if he does forget, I, being the wanna-be farmer's wife that I am, will offer the same bargain next year.

Summer Review

I have been excited to join the blogging fun. So here is my first post! Maybe a little long, but hey, summer was busy! This is a picture of the field in front of our house in Kimama this spring. There was a huge river running in the middle of it! Winter was brutal out in the desert last year. Let's just say getting to work each day was a full time job in and of itself!

Many of you know that Mark and I moved to Arco in May. This has been crazy, but so far we have enjoyed our new life here. And, for those of you who have asked, Mark and I are positive that we do not glow in the dark...yet!

How could I blog without mentioning Rebel? I decided he needed a summer haircut in June. I have cut lots of wiggler's hair, but this was by far the worst. But doesn't he look good! All that work paid off!

M'Lisa got married! This is a picture of us getting her ready for the big day! The wedding-day morning was quite relaxed because we didn't have to drive far at all to get to the temple. Wow, she looked beautiful! The day was perfect, and the reception went great! Congrats to the newlyweds!

M'Lisa and Lance Denning

Brooklyn being a cute and awesome chick. She was good the whole day. She never cried once! I decided to make her dress for the wedding. Let's just say Aunt Barbie to the rescue. There would have been no dress without her help! I got a good start, but then Aunt Barbie finished it out for me. Brooklyn is the best baby I've been around in a long time. It is so fun when Derek and Angelie come to Idaho to visit!

Fourth of July/Walker Family Vacation

We started out the day at the Rexburg Parade. Needless to say we were mostly entertained by Brooklyn, but the parade was fun too. We also had a yummy BBQ afterwards. Very fun! That evening we went out to Grandpa Walker's for rides in the Model T and also fireworks. Grandpa restored the Model T himself. This is the same one that he drove as a boy.

Every year our family goes to Warm River for the Walker Family Vacation. Last year we took canoes, but this year we decided to take bikes. It was really fun, but, Mariah (Dallin's GF) had an accident right off the bat. She broke her wrist! Dallin and Mom took her back down to Rexburg, and the rest of us stayed and biked. She is one tough girl! No crying or anything.

The bike riding was really fun. And yes, Rebel enjoyed it quite a bit also! The wildflowers were very pretty!

Unfortunately for Rebel, I think this post shows that when Brooklyn is around he is not the center of attention like he once was!

Telford Family Vacation

We had a fun time in Carey on the Telford Family Vacation. We also went to Craters of the moon on one of the days, also to the Arco Atomic Days Parade. It was really fun to be with our family. We have got some cute nieces and nephews!

Jared and Jenna's Wedding

Mark's brother Jared also got married. Two weddings in one summer! You can see her colors were pink and brown. The boys looked very good in them, and as Jenna's brother put it, "they were tickled pink" about wearing them! It was a very nice wedding ceremony. The sealer gave the best advice to them that I have ever heard in a wedding before.

Ball Family Reunion

Every year we have the Ball Family Reunion. The family has grown so large that they decided this year would be the last. Sad!! I thought I would show everyone why I love the traditions at the Ball Reunion. For the evening meal, the Walker clan cooks corn for the entire group. This is the way that my dad learned to cook corn while he was on his mission in Indiana. When he returned home, the Walker's started cooking the corn by using charcoal and soaking wet burlap sacks (to steam the corn). It is delicious! And it is usually the first corn I eat of the summer. You can see that Mariah (Dallin's GF) did not let a broken wrist stop her from helping us prepare the corn! She is a sweet girl! The Ball family cooks fresh lamb-chops (to die for) and the host family makes hamburgers. I have many memories of the Ball Reunion! We'll have to find something else to do on the first Saturday of every August. (Mark says, "Like help out on the farm!" Ha Ha, I meant something different than that.)

All in all, this summer has been very fun and busy. I have learned a lot about helping out on the farm too. I feel anxious to get started on potato harvest. Oddly enough I really do enjoy those long harvest days driving a potato truck. Nothing is better than hanging out with my honey 24/7 for an entire month!