Snippets of Life

Life just goes as life goes.  Sometimes there is not that much to talk about, and other times, there is no end to the amount you can tell someone.  While we did go on a mini-vacation (see more recent post), most of life just happened.

While Jeremy’s family was in, we called on the brute strength of the combined families to move our playset.  We love our playset, and we thought we had picked the perfect spot.  I mean, it looked good while they were putting it up.  It looked good during lunch.  It did not look good by about 3 o’clock in the afternoon.  The slide was blazing hot and facing the afternoon sun.  There was no way Madison was going to be able to play on it after school, which, let’s be honest, is the time it will get the most use.  So, we contemplated new locations, positioned the small climbers there, and watched for the amount of sun exposure.  (This is a science – placing your playset in your yard.  You didn’t know that, did you?  Neither did we.)  Finally, after much observation, it was determined the best spot was closer to the house, parallel to the deck.  I was not on board.  I did not want a monster playset blocking up our otherwise idyllic view of the horses and countryside.  But the idea of kids actually being able to use the playset won out.  So, we called on the boys men to move it – Luke, Jeremy, Arturo, and Jason.  They used an amazing system – one Jeremy had witnessed on TV in a documentary about moving the ark (or a prototype of it??).  They placed the tower portion on wooden fence posts and simply rolled it across the yard. 

    

And you know what?  I LOVE where the new playset is.  The girls play on it more because it is close to the house… and in the shade.  The view is not obstructed as the tower is off to the side and the beam for the swings lines up with our deck rail.  Good move… I will give Jeremy credit for this one!  And here are some of the support staff watching from up high.

Remember we went to watch the cross country runners?  She loves running the hallway on our main floor.  It was while she was running it the other day, she said, “Mom, look.  I am just like Emily!” (our youth group girl who was running cross country).  So cool the impression high school kids can make on littler kids in such positive ways.

I conquered something on my homemaking list of things to do recently.  I know you will probably laugh and tell me how easy it is.  But, I had never taken on this particular task.  Making homemade applesauce.  You read that right.  Have you tried it?  It sounds intimidating or time consuming or something, so I had never tried it.  Leona (our neighbor from our old house) brought by some apples.  She said, “Will you use these?  You just need to clean them up a little, and they would be good for applesauce.”  I said, “Sure, I will try.  How do you make applesauce?”  And she told me.  And I put the apples on the counter.  And they sat there, and sat there, and sat there.  One day, I finally decided I could not waste all those apples, and so I did it… with help.  Ellie turned every apple by herself through the apple peeler and corer.  (No, I did not peel all the apple by hand and cut them… there are machines to help with that!)  She was a trooper!  We put the apples in the pot; let them simmer for a really long time; and then sent them through the food processor.  Ellie had warm applesauce for lunch, and I felt a great sense of accomplishment. 

Now on to bigger things… maybe canning something one day or sewing a button on or hemming something up or … you get the idea.