Clark Clan: October 2008

Fun Family Night

Well, last night after our Family Night lesson, we were able to carve pumpkins. The boys look forward to this each year. I think Bryce does too. He is really good at it. He helps the boys clean the seeds out and then carve cool things on the pumpkins. Ellie got involved this year also. She enjoyed digging into the pumpkins and pulling out the guts too. She even enjoyed tasting it. Yuck!! We all had a great time and the boys were very proud of their finished products.

Canning fool!!

Well, this summer we were able to grow a garden and we had tons of tomatoes and peppers. We were also able to grow some beans. So I figured I needed to use this abundance of produce and do some canning. I have Jennette's pressure cooker so I had everything I needed. It was nice to be able to spend my days doing something useful for my family that we can enjoy all year.

I did about 3 batches of salsa- 50 quarts. I also did 40 quarts of stewed tomatoes, 40 quarts of spaghetti sauce, 12 pints of enchilada sauce and 12 pints of pizza sauce. I was able to bottle 20 pints of green beans and about 20 quarts of peaches. I actually enjoyed doing it. It made me proud of myself for accomplishing it. I always remembered my mom bottling when I grew up and we always enjoyed the fruits of her labors, so now my family can enjoy the fruits of mine.

Weekend in Jackson

Bryce and I had the opportunity to get away without the kids to Jackson Hole last weekend. I had never been to Jackson and we had wanted to get away together so we decided that would be the perfect place. It was our fall break at school so I had Thursday and Friday off. We left Thursday afternoon and returned on Saturday. Bryce's brother Jim and his wife Brandi were nice enough to watch our kids for us. The drive to Jackson is beautiful. It took us about 4 hours, but we enjoyed it. You go through Logan Canyon to Bear Lake and then drive along the Snake River and through a canyon until you reach Jackson. With the fall leaves and the pine trees it made for a beautiful drive.

We had a very relaxing time in Jackson. There is not a lot to do in the "off season" in Jackson, but we were able to shop, go to nice restaurants, catch a movie, and see some wildlife and the Grand Tetons. I even got a massage. It was just nice to be able to spend some quality time with Bryce. We always seem to miss our kids while we are away, but we still enjoy our time together.

The weather was good but cold. The highs in the 50's and the lows in the 20's. However, the place we stayed had a heated pool, jacuzzi, and sauna all outdoors. We were able to enjoy them on Saturday morning after breakfast. A year ago, we spent 10 days in Hawaii. Jackson was no paradise like Hawaii, but overall we had a great weekend together.