Ripening Tomatoes

This year we have been blessed with tomatoes! A few weeks ago someone we know who owns a greenhouse in town gave us a bunch of tomatoes that I used to make salsa and spaghetti sauce with.  Well, it is time to finally start pulling my tomatoes off the vines (I think I have about 60-70 Early Girls and tons of Tiny Tim tomatoes!).  The problem is that if you live in Alaska like I do tomatoes don't ripen fast enough before the cool weather hits.  So I decided to bring some of them indoors and start the ripening process.  I was setting them in my kitchen window that gets lots of light, but was running out of room.  Then I came up with the idea of going vertical.  By placing the tomatoes in mason jars I was able to get more of them in the window sill. What is more they are kind of decorative up there! Pretty cool!

Labor Day Weekend

Here are a few pictures from our weekend of camping...

{Zach on his unicycle}

{Titan says, "Yum, I want some!"}

{At the pond}

{Kayaking}

{Don't fall in!}

{One of those rare photos with me in it! I am not looking that great, but hey, just keeping it real! LOL}

{Rainbow over the pond...}

Update on the Garden

This is the biggest garden I have had yet.  We are growing some new veggies that I have never grown before: cucumbers, eggplant, spaghetti squash, and round zucchini.  Everything is doing really well, except for my peas.  I have a few pea plants, but for some reason they didn't sprout real well this year.  Here are a few pictures...

{All types of summer squash/zucchini}

{Orient Express Eggplant}

{Cucumbers}

{Tomatoes}

{The start of a pumpkin}

Grilling Zucchini

What you may not know about me is that I am brilliant!  And what is more I have a very brilliant friend!  This year (because we both love summer squash) we decided to grow a bunch of zucchini and yellow squash.  She started seeds for me and I also bought two zuke plants at a local greenhouse. So when all was said and done our brilliancy amounted to seven (yes, 7!!!) summer squash plants.  Now for you gardeners out there you know that this "brilliant" plan has the tendency to backfire in August when I start pulling green and yellow "baseball bats" out of my garden! LOL  What were we thinking?!

So the squash is starting to produce and I am looking for ways to deal with it all.  A lot of it I will end up shredding and freezing for baked good later in the winter.  I tend to use the "baseball bats"for that.  Lately I have been grilling zucchini.  Here's how:

*Cut a zuke lengthwise (see photo).

*Spread butter on one of the cut sides.

*Sprinkle with garlic salt and parmesan cheese.

*Sprinkle with chopped basil and oregano (also from my garden).

*Put the two sides together and wrap in foil.

*Grill for 15 to 20 minutes, turning occassionally.

*YUM!

So please tell me, what other brilliant things can I do with zucchini?

Blast Away Boredom

Are your kids a little bored this summer?  Amy over at Mom's Toolbox has a plethora of great ideas for things to do this summer! Check it out!

Projects Around the House

Here are a few of the projects that have been done around our house.  This summer we are really focusing on some much needed work on the house...

The first project is our new shed that Tim has been working on. It will have a bay window (I know, sounds a bit strange for a shed, but it will make the structure look interesting) and enough space and light to put a few tomato plants in there to grow in the summer. 

The other project has been the boys' bedroom.  It needed a serious coat (make that coats!) of paint.  We did about two coats of Kilz (and stain blocker) and then a color...a desert sand.  Here are a few pictures of Zach applying some color.

And, of course, there is always my garden...my favorite project.

Homeschool Mother's Journal-June 17th

In my life this week…We are puppy sitting this week for Titan's (our mini schnauzer) relatives (his uncle and mom).  Sure do love having the extra paws around! LOL Life is never boring with canines!

In our homeschool this week…We are still plugging along with reading and math.  Noah this week has been learning how to add and subtract fractions with the Muggins math games we bought.

My favorite thing this week was…helping the boys make new no-sew fleece blankets. 

 Things I’m working on…Continuing to work on decluttering the house.  I went through the boys schoolwork.  We also painted and decluttered the boys' room.  It looks so great now!

I’m reading...Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food by Lysa Terkeurst.  I have heard such great things about this book.  I need to get a handle on my eating...I exercise enough.  I actually crave the exercise...I need to stop craving the foods that aren't healthy for me. Now that I say that please don't even read the "I'm cooking..." section of this post! *Sigh*

I’m cooking…made refried beans in the crockpot.  They actually tasted great!  Did some more freezer cooking to get a jumpstart on July. Made some French toast scones...yummy!

I’m praying for…Three girls from our church that are going on a mission trip to Ecuador. A friend and her husband in the hospital.  And for the various needs of our youth at church.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share… Flowers from my garden....

Another Mystery Unit

What do Sherlock Holmes and food have in common? They both create mysteries!  Let me explain...Two years ago the boys and I did a mystery unit.  We read The Westing Game, did some fun activities, and finished off with a mystery meal.  It was such a hit that I have decided that we are going to do a shortened mystery unit.  Our favorite activities were the read aloud and the mystery meal. I have been trying to come up with a list of books/stories we could read that are mysteries and/or involve crimes.  This is what I am looking at as far as read alouds go.

The Ransom of Red Chief
The Complete Father Brown Stories

and if there is time...

The Case of the Missing Marquess: An Enola Holmes Mystery

I am working on a new mystery meal.  To see what a mystery meal consists of and how we did ours, click here. I would love to hear if you have any ideas!

Homeschool Mother's Journal-June 10

In my life this week…It has been a busy week!  I finally finished my Spanish lesson prep for the coming school year (I work part time teaching homeschoolers Spanish). I have also been decluttering my house.

In our homeschool this week…We have just been plugging along with math and reading. We are also reading some mysteries...since we are going to be doing another mystery meal soon.

I am inspired by…Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living This book is motivating me to get my house in order.

Places we’re going and people we’re seeing…Went to lunch with a friend this week and Noah got to see another friend's horse and feed the horses at the barn.

Things I’m working on…Forgiveness...such a hard thing for me.

I’m reading…My Antonia and The Waiting Place: Learning to Appreciate Life's Little Delays

I’m cooking…Spent Tuesday and Wednesday doing freezer cooking.  The freezer is loaded with meals now! Love it!

I’m praying for…A friend's husband who is in the hospital and for a group of three teen girls from our church that are going on a mission trip to Ecuador soon.

A photo, video, link, or quote to share…"Friends drive you to or from God."--Jerry White

Summer of Fun Calendar

Check out this free summer calendar from Amanda Bennett!  It contains a fun activity for every day to keep away summer boredom!

Pre-teaching During the Summer

I am all about trying to find ways to make the school year go smoother. I work part time during the school year teaching Spanish to homeschoolers. So my days are packed with homeschooling in the morning and then teaching in the afternoon.  I just came upon an idea that I wish I had thought of years ago that will make our school year easier.

This summer I plan to "pre-teach" a lot of Noah's math through games.  Noah is going to start Math-U-See Epsilon (which is the fractions book) in the fall.  Well, it dawned on me that I still have the math games set from RightStart (love these games!).  This set uses games to teach everything from numbers sense to multiplication to fractions.  So I am using these games to teach Noah the basics about fractions.

We have already done concepts like simplifying fractions and greatest common factor.  He is enjoying the game part of it more than a worksheet.  I am also eagerly awaiting in the mail some games from Muggins Math that deal with fractions-Down and Around, Pirates Plunder, and Sink the Ship.  We will play these to get him used to the concepts of adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing fractions.

I am going to be real curious to see how he does in math this year when we finally crack open a book in late August.  I am hoping the "pre-teaching" will make it easier for him! 

So what do you do during the summer?  Review? Pre-teach? Take a break? Or just keep moving on? I would love to hear what others do!