Harvest Days and Dog Days

 

Sometimes, I totally feel like this. I'm a tiny LEGO pig, drowning in laundry! ;) I had a great laugh when I opened the wash and saw her there, crying for rescue, "help meeeeeeee!" 

FHE on Monday night was in the church corn field in Centerton. It was 6,000 degrees with 1,000% humidity outside and Corbin and Sloane fell asleep on the way there, so Aaron and I decided to just tag team and sent one adult out to pick with the girls, and one to stay in the car with the littles. I was up first with the girls. They were having a difficult time finding joy in a hot, sweaty, buggy, weedy corn field. I felt a mother need to teach them about hard work and keep them free of the entitlement trap that spins it's web so close to home that I'm haunted by the fear of raising lazy children. 

So here we are in the field and they're freaking out about every little thing that moves or twitches and honestly I'm a little wigged out, too, because we're knee high in weeds that I'm certain are full of chiggers...which is waist high for the children. I remind them we're doused in bug spray and I use my big rubber garden boots to step down and clear a nice path through the weeds for them to follow me. There were so many metaphors about mothering here that I beamed with the thrill of all the life lessons I could teach them from this one experience. 

Seeing that they were still reluctant to follow or help, I reminded them about our friend, Ben, from Laos, who spoke in church on Sunday about pioneering and freedom, and his tales of riding a water buffalo to work in the rice fields as a 5 year old boy. "Ben was such a good example of working hard for his family, and we can work hard, too." 

I demonstrated how to pick corn and they reached for an ear to give it a try. 

What are the odds that the very first ear they'd grab ahold of (together) would be FULL of giant (seriously, nickel-quarter sized) Japanese beetles that would come flooding out of the husk and swarm around them. It was like the opening scene in Jumanji where all the bats come pouring out of the fireplace and chase the little girl down the street. They screamed, dropped the bag, and ran crying all the way back to the car. 

LOL, well...I tried, right? 

At that point, I was laughing so hard and also just wanted to get out of there, too, so I moved down the row as quickly as possible and grabbed every decent ear within reach to fill our bags. Aaron came out to switch the heavy full bags with empty ones and hauled everything to the car for me and we got a nice system going. I picked about 130 ears of corn in 20 minutes and we called it good. 

On the drive home, a little spider crawled from the corn and dropped down from the ceiling of the van between Corbin and Quincy. Hysterical screaming. Someone tried to smash it with a shoe and ended up hitting someone else and everyone was crying, which woke up Sloane, who also started crying.  Aaron and I just looked at each other and had to laugh at our state of chaos, with two hot, tired, and sweaty parents and a van filled with unconsolable children.  It was a night for the books. 

The last 2 days, the kids chipped in to help me shuck, blanch, cut, and bag all of the corn into a year supply for our freezer. They did a much better job handling all the caterpillars (there were a lot, this year) than they handled the beetles, and even joked that we should just collect them in a jar and feed them to the chickens. I love my giant cheese pot for corn. 25 ears blanched at a time! Woohoo!

I also cooked up 100 tomatoes into soup, and harvested all of the squash this week. 

If you ever receive a bowl of red pepper and tomato basil soup, or a bowl of butternut and wild rice soup from the Willardson home, you should know that the produce was grown, peeled, roasted, and preserved right here at Fort Willy with a crazy amount of love. 

This week has been really hot and the children got cabin fever while we worked at home. I've been short of patience and low on energy to be fun in addition to productive. One evening I simply texted the word "pizza." to Aaron around 4:30 pm. 

Yesterday, a cooler breeze carried away some of the humidity, and brought us back to s bearable temperature. Swim team finished yesterday and aside from all the baby food I plan to make, the summer garden harvest and preservation season is coming to an end. Thanks, garden!  It's a total jungle out there and it's too hot to bring it back from the dead. I need to hire a teenager to just come weed whack all around the yard. There are some 6 foot weeds out there! 

The dog days are here, we're itching for change, and I'm homesick for California. The years we don't make a trip out there are always hard on me.  I actually looked up flights and considered throwing everyone on a plane next week to finish out the summer in the Bay Area. 

I do truly feel like Arkansas is home for me now and I love my life here. There's a small part of me where my inner California Girl aches for produce stands and golden hills, and salty the breeze of air at the beach. I need sand between my toes. My hears long to hear waves crash, seagulls call, and sea lions bark. I want to smell the Monterey peninsula. It is ocean and taffy and seafood and waffle cones. 

I want to eat a decent burrito, wrapped in foil, delivered on a plastic tray, and covered in green sauce and fresh limes. I want more cousin time for my children and sibling time for me. I want to unroll my car window and smell the garlic processing. I miss my parents. 

I totally get why so many of my friends and family pack up and spend their summers in utah. It's not home, but it's part of their flavor and they need a few weeks every year to go back and be reseasoned.  I love living in Arkansas, but I'm craving a bite of California this week, both for me, and for my family.  I want it to be part of their flavor, too. Even if it's just a sprinkle. 

Yesterday, I remembered that in the springtime, I stocked up on crafts and science projects just for weeks like this one. The kids loved it!  Such a simple thing like a craft really lifted everyone's spirits. I think it's ok for kids to be allowed to feel bored. I don't have to entertain them all the time, and usually counter complaints of boredom with chores ;). Maybe Corbin was right when he said, "Mom! I'm feeling crazy because I have nothing to doooooo! Thats why I taked Soren's to to chase me!" Idle minds do not always inspire creativity...especially  for 6 year old boys. Sometimes, it just generates mischief. Which generates a mom who thinks she's losing her mind (she might well be).

I don't want these babies to remember the tired, impatient, ungrateful mom of the past week when they think of the summer of 2015. At least I can laugh about how crazy it's been, but here's to less bugs, tears, and tantrums. I'm focusing on joy this week, and hoping for better weather, healthy children, and happier everyone. 

And still not opposed to the thought of a spontaneous mini family vacation to somewhere a bit more local than California, to refresh us. 

Summer's not over, yet! 

Girls Date

On Saturday, I had the privilege of taking Reese and Quincy on a girls date to thank them for all of their help, lately. Being the older kids means they are often last in line for my attention and the past few weeks I have caught myself saying, "in a minute" too often. 

We put Sloane down for a nap and headed out for some big-girl time. 

We did some school shoe shopping/returns, then I treated them to Marketplace for lunch. They thought all of the "courses" were the fanciest thing ever. Quincy's favorite part was the Flaming Queso appetizer. 

Reese's favorite part was dessert (no surprise there!): the peanut butter chocolate mess. 

And my favorite part was uninterrupted conversation with these lovely ladies! We devoured our butter-soaked bread and talked and talked and talked. 

We bought Reese's school supplies, then picked up Sloane (who woke up from her nap) and went to the mall for a school jeans sale, and a new pair of earrings. The girls were giggly and grateful for the special treatment and I loved every minute of our time together. 

Reese in the Pool

Reese had her first swim meet, today. She was incredible! Reese competed in 2 events and took 2nd place in 25M freestyle and 3rd in 25M backstroke. I took first in "obnoxious cheering moms."  I am just so proud of her for sticking it out and doing something brave and difficult. Great work, Dolly! 

July Garden Update

It was a sweet welcome home. We've harvested hundreds and hundreds of tomatoes. I've been giving them away by the bag full. They're delicious. Not as incredible as last year's crop (those were the best tomatoes I have ever eaten in my life), but stil soooo so good. 

Fresh Cream of Tomato Soup (adapted from Ina Garten recipe)

3 TBS EVOO

2 diced onions 

1 red pepper, diced

3 cloves pressed garlic 

5 large tomatoes

1 1/2 tsp sugar 

1/4 cup chopped basil

3 cups chicken stock 

1 tsp salt (kosher)

1/2 tsp black pepper 

Directions

Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the onions and red pepper and saute for about 10 minutes, until very tender. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, sugar, basil, chicken stock, salt, and pepper,  and stir well. 

Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes, until the tomatoes are very tender.

Add the cream to the soup and pulse in blendtech until smooth. Reheat the soup over low heat just until hot and serve with julienned basil leaves, sharp shredded cheddar, and/or croutons.

We also have a load of these beauties coming in. Good thing Sloane loves squash! She had her first try this week  and is a fan. Lots more where that came from, baby! 

Summer Trip (saturday): The Minion Movie, Cousin Boat Race, And Vivian Park

On Saturday, grandpa Rob reserved tickets to the Minion movie for the whole family (minus Jared's, who had gone back home to Smithfield) 

Auntie Jana and Grandma Lynda had supplies for all the kids to build duct tape boats. After the movie, we raced them in the creek at the park. Corbin learned a good lesson about what happens to cheaters when he tried to throw his boat ahead of everyone instead of dropping it in during the race launch. His landed on it's side and sank. 

He was really upset, but I rescued the boat and he got over it and tried again, a little wiser about following rules of competition.  

They raced again, then again until the boats gave out. 

That evening, Soren and Sloane fell asleep hard on the way to dinner, so I stayed out in the car with them while Aaron and the big kids joined the cousins inside for JDawgs. After dinner, we drove on up the Provo canyon to show the kids bridal veil falls and play at Vivian Park. 

Fly fishing lessons with dad. 

I stayed up waaay too late that night being introduced to Astronaut Wives and eating cookies with Janae and Jana, while packing our suitcases for the long trip home. I washed everything and bright it home ready to go into drawers. I need to remember to do that every time. Unpacking was super easy! 

Summer Trip (Friday): Herriman Pool and Oquirrh Mountain Temple

On Friday, we went to the Herriman indoor Aquatics Center with Janae and Jana's families and Grandma Lynda. This time, we took Soren and Sloane with us. Reese discovered that she loves water slides. 

Quincy and Corbin got wild on the Orange slide and Soren didn't venture far. Sloane didn't really care for the pool, but rocked the tiny pink swim suit that Auntie Jana gave her! 

We were there for hours and everyone came home with tired bodies and pruned fingers. 

 John's family and Grabdpa Rob joined the group for dinner at a local pizza place.

 Everyone went back to grandma's to play and visit, and I saw an opportunity to sneak out.  I threw on a skirt, and dashed down the street to do initiatories for an hour before the temple closed. Yes. It was that easy. Right down the street! Utah: you are so lucky! Not was a great way to end a great Friday night. 

Will Work For... The Amazeum!

A children's museum just opened in Bentonville on the lot next to Crystal Bridges. Aaron and I discussed the ways a family pass could benefit our family, this year, and decided to go for it. But before we made the purchase, a bad case of entitlement swept through Fort Willy. 

I don't respond well to idle behavior. I expressed my frustration to Aaron, and we had a family night discussion to remind everyone to be respectful to rules and each other, be responsible for our own behavior and space, and to give personal space to one another. It went well. 

I created an incentive for the kids to wake up to yesterday morning, along with a list with several ideas for ways to earn 200 points.

They set right to work. No complaints! Huge success. 

The children reached 200 points around 3pm, so off to the Anazeuma we went. Aaron met us there after work.

The Hershey lab, rain room, truck loading, artist corner, "beanstalk", and mini homestead were their favorite parts, and they didn't even have time to explore the whole place. 

(Side note: I think that guy in front of me looks exactly like Aaron's cousin, Colin.)

The music room and mini walmart were super fun too! I see many hours of fun in our future. I have no photos of Corbin because he moved so quickly from one area to the next. He got soaked in the rain room right before we left and was sound asleep before the car even left the parking lot. That's one tuckered out kid. 

Amazeum success! 

And my house is clean. Great work, kids! 

Summer Trip (Thursday): Pizzeria Limon and Mrs Cavanaugh's Chocolate Factory

Pizzeria Limon was delicious. Ours had an olive oil base and was topped with mozzarella, red onions, prosciutto, pears, and pistachios.  Incredible. 

Next, we went to Mrs Cavanaugh's Chocolate Factory, in north Salt Lake, for a tour.  

Thursday night, I made my "famous" enchiladas for the family and we all went over to Auntie Jana's house and had a feast. Auntie Janae made homemade salsa and some incredible guac. We all ate until we felt sick, then walked over to Jana's park to play. The Daybreak community is full of cool parks and this one did not disappoint. The kids loved the zipline, slides, climbing structures, and creek. I even went down the zipline, too. Super fun! 

*add photos from Aaron's phone*