Harvest

All picked the morning of July 31st

Purple striders 5k

Purple Striders 5k

July 28th

Karalee, Amy and I had been working hard for six weeks, and it paid off with our first 5k here in BG. I finished in 32 minutes, and they were standing there cheering me on when I crossed the line. (In other words, they were ahead of me.) Yay, for us though!

Shortly after we finished, all three daddys came packing in the five kiddos. What a fun morning!

Science Center fun

Each time we go to Louisville to see Kathy, we try to add something fun for the boys to the trip. (But I will have to say that they do have a fair amount of fun playing with the toys at Kathy's office!) We have a membership at the science center in downtown Louisville and since it was a hot day, we decided to take the boys there to play before heading home. They also have a traveling exhibit there that I wanted to check out.

The boys saw the train on the bridge and wanted to go see. (Scary enough, right behind them is a huge drop off right to the river. Notice they were holding Heath's hands.)

We didn't get to play with the fun mirrors on the way in last time we visited because it was very cold. This time, the boys got a pretty big kick out of it, and I was able to take a pic of all of us in it.

Myself, included.

So tall!

Yes, Heath was on his phone some, but he was super busy this week. He even had to send off some info right after we got to the science center. He found a quiet place in the cafe while the boys and I headed to the the little kids play area.

They love this "ambulance." Sirens, a phone, steering wheels and flashing lights - perfect for little boys!

There's so many different areas for the kids to run and explore - all of the activities seem to really challenge all the senses.

These two pictures of B are from the airplane area. There's ramps, tunnels, slides - you name it simulating an airplane. They love it!

Of course, my lil' man always spends some time in the work zone.

But not for long, because it's right next to the water area, and as soon as they spot it, both boys grab rain jackets and get their hands wet!

This little guy usually gets more than just his hands wet. :)

They love it here, and on this particular day, they were the only ones around, so we stayed forever!

Cash really started figuring out which pieces to use to really make the water move fast. He had pipes and hoses all tied together - pretty impressive engineering!

This guy was more into scooping and pouring ... until he figured out how to turn the main water valve on and off. Then we had to leave ... :)

We had fun in the kids area, but Heath finished his work and it was time to go check out the new exhibit - Science in Play

A new way to use pool noodles!

The boys loved it! (But be careful that you don't run into someone!)

Cause you never know who may be playing in there! :)

Baylen loved this - it was like a Hot Wheels track, only you released a ball at the top and watched it make the loops. The hard part was getting the ball back after it finished the course!

B did this over and over again!

Meanwhile, Cash was playing with the huge tinker toys and blocks.

Engineer in the making!

Or maybe he'll just be a demo man!

This was a huge magnetic wall that you could stick kitchen things to. It startled B at first because it would pull the pans away from you and to the wall. It was a strong magnet (and of course, Heath was trying to figure out how it was working...)

B did some relaxing on the blue blocks before he and Heath checked out the wind tunnel.

They had one of these at the Magic House in St. Louis, but B was too little to remember it. You stick scarves and puffy balls in the hose and the air moves it around it and then sends it flying out. He loved it!

Dancing in the lights!

The hands-on science activity of the day taught kids the importance of snot. The sheet we were given told the health benefits and jobs of mucus. They were given a tray of "boogers" to play with.

They touched it, moved it around, picked it up, but ...

they were not impressed.

So we went shopping for shapes!

They picked up lots of different shapes, put them in their carts, and then came to check out. We had fun with it, until my boys got tired of it, and there was a line at the check-out counter. :) 

We made some huge bubbles - and popped them!

Played in the wind tunnel (no, we didn't actually pay for the wind part), and then we headed for the exit right before closing time. Shew!

We walked across the street to show the boys the huge Louisville Slugger bat, and then loaded up in the car for BG. Wow, what a day!

Lynn's Paradise Cafe

On the 26th, Heath and I took the boys up to Louisville to see our holistic practitioner, Kathy. They were early appointments, so when we were done, it was lunch time and we had some hungry boys. Karalee and Derek had been so a funky restaurant just off Bardstown Road that they suggested to us, so we decided to go see the fun for ourselves. Whoa...

We checked out the outside first. They weren't sure what to think about this ...

 

There were lots of concrete animals around, and Cash had to ride all of them.

B and I relaxed in the hands.

Here's Cash on the buffalo - not sure this one was very comfortable. :)

Then there were the mirrors in the bathrooms. I seriously sat at the table by myself for a good ten minutes waiting on them. I found out later that Heath was taking pictures of them having fun with the funny mirrors.

There were also some funny things in the urinals. Ask Heath next time you see him.

Hilarious!

A very uncertain look...

 The inside of the restaurant was a playground for the imagination, too. Although Heath loved his lunch, I wasn't overly impressed with mine. It was good, but nothing special. It did have a fun atmosphere though. 

Canning tomatoes

For as long as I can remember, there's always been this room in my parents' basement, just off the den called the green bean room. This room is long and narrow, and it's lined with wooden shelves. There's some of dad's old stuff from college, some empty gift boxes, old toys, but mostly there's jars and jars. These jars are full of green beans, tomatoes, soup, jellies and more. Some of them are already empty, waiting for the next canning season, but I remember the majority of them being full. My sister and I were sent downstairs on many afternoons to get a jar from the shelves for supper. (We also have two stand-up freezers down there full of bags of apples, beans, peas, corn - you name it!) My granny and mom have always saved up fresh food to have year round. This is the way I grew up, and I've decided that I want it to continue.

I think that canning is a way of life that is slowly fading away, sadly enough. People just aren't interested in it because it's easier to buy it canned from the store. Gardening and canning - two things that I'm hoping to learn now, so I'll be able to do it for a lifetime and hopefully pass it on, too.

This past week, we got some tomatoes from a farm down the road, and the boys and I took them to Roseville to can. My mom and granny were more than happy (I think) to help out and show me the process. I tried to help as much as I could, but they were doing there own thing like it was second nature. I did get to do some of each of the steps though.

Pretty red tomatoes

Baylen was sleepy. He didn't choose the best place to lay down, but of course, he didn't stay there long. Notice mom in the background cutting the tomatoes and Granny was busy sprinkling salt, boiling lids and getting the jars ready. 

I helped mostly in the blanching process. Then I helped granny put some of the whole tomatoes in the jars. Aren't they pretty? 

It was like an assembly line, and we got it done. I think we had had 13 quarts by the time we were finished. They will be super yummy in our taco soup and chili this winter!