Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Stained fingers bring joy!


Where have I been you might ask?
It's been one crazy, hectic, but enjoyable month, FULL of lots of family fun!!  
While working my daily job from 7-12 on  Monday-Friday and dealing with normal everyday life, I have had to squeeze into my life, planning a 50th wedding anniversary party, going to Cross-Country meets and other school activities, dealing with an abundance of produce, dealing with church callings and also having family from out of town and having events going on every evening with them as we try to experience the most fun that we can before they leave to head back to their home in Tennessee  
AND the weather has been amazing and so many an afternoon and evening has been spent outside enjoying the last of our wonderful, perfect and warm summer weather.

Thus, is the reason for my lack of posting and as I sit and type and wonder where to begin with posting again,  I am doing what I always do when confronted with a dilemma, 
just START at the easiest place there is and move forward...
So,  
I share with you, two wonderful moments that stained my fingers 
 and filled my life with such JOY and wonderful memories
Last week of summer vacation FUN!  
The kids and I tie-dyed shirts for us the last few days before school started and we had a ball…AND better than ever, they turned out awesome… 
so awesome in fact,
that the kids decided they wanted to wear them on the first day of school.
I had the tune “Feelin' Groovy” going through my head all day long.

We headed out on an afternoon adventure to Jenny Lake and Jackson Hole, Wyoming with some of Tracy's family and I made us all wear our matching tie-dye shirts...
LOVE this photo of us standing in front of the Tetons on the Wyoming Side of the mountains.


We were swimming in projects to be done with putting together things for a 50th wedding anniversary for Tracy’s parents,  LOTS of home improvement projects to get done before company came from out of town, but, believe it or not, 
"The mountains were calling me 
to come and pick their bounty" 

I would so much rather be out in mountains 
enjoying this time that only comes around once a year, 
picking berries, relaxing on a hillside 
enjoying great, stimulating conversation with my family and  
filling our buckets with handfuls of "purple gold". 
Projects can be done anytime of the year, but picking Huckleberries only has a small window of time...so we enjoyed two wonderful days! 
wow, Wow, WOW, 
is all I can say, the bushes were SO loaded with berries and the berries were as big as blueberries and some as big as cranberries...my hands couldn't pick them fast enough.
Truly an amazing huckleberry picking year!

 Adventure on Day One
YES, if you want to have buckets of huckleberries to enjoy, you encounter these friendly little guys, around many a bush. I was AMAZED at how many cat face spiders and webs we came across!


Adventure on day two!
We enjoyed huckleberry pancakes for dinner
and made Apple Huckleberry Pie with homemade ice cream for dessert the next night.
After sorting berries, spreading them on cookie sheets lined in wax paper, putting them in the freezer and freezing them and then bagging them,
we ended up with 51 cups of huckleberries (just a little over 3 gallons)

 Happiness is...being a little "wild, crazy and bold" from time to time
Happiness is...being spontaneous and enjoying whatever the moment has to offer.
Happiness is...enjoying the gorgeous beauty of the mountains with my hubby and kids.
Happiness is...enjoying muffins, pancakes, pie and smoothies, using berries that were picked by the hands of my family!

 I learn on a weekly basis, that you have to get your hands a little dirty from time to time to truly enjoy and experience life at its fullest!

  Happiness is...my wonderful, happy life!

2 comments:

  1. Kimmie,
    My daughter is dating a man from Rexburg and they have gone huckleberry picking 2 or 3 times. She brought me a few cups of the delicious berries and we made pancakes! Absolutely delicious! You guys really got a lot! How fun that you all work together to get your stained fingers.

    Love the shirts. The picture of all of you with the Tetons in the background is truly a treasure. The song "Feelin' Groovy" brings back memories, some not so pleasant. A few years ago, my youngest daughter and I were driving in the car, listening to the radio. "Feelin' Groovy" came on and we both started singing. Half way through the song, I see the lights of a police car in my rear view mirror. He gave me a ticket for speeding. If you remember the first part of the song it says, "Slow down, you're movin' too fast!" I should have listened to the words I was singing!

    It sounds like you've had a full and busy month! You're one awesome lady!

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  2. That is so awesome!!!!!
    We only went once this year and didn't find the gold. SO glad you did.
    And I can't tell you enough how absolutely delicious that huckleberry apple pie was. Of course, I'm totally in awe of the pie crust too.
    (I snuck the very last piece the next afternoon and I think it even tasted better!)
    So glad you got 3 gallons! That is a lot of work.

    I loved all the pictures.....right up until the spider! EEEEEKKKK!

    The T shirts are great. So funny. Great thing to wear while going "back to nature" I bet the boys were a hit the first day of school.

    I love the picture of Ethan reading when he's supposed to be picking! What a bookworm.

    It is a busy time. My garden runneth over!

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