Huckleberry Picking with Erik, JoAnn, and Christopher

We thought we were skunked on picking huckleberries because in our usual picking spot the berries were all dried up except for an occasional berry or two.  But then Erik, Christopher, and Don went to scout out a higher elevation and came back with this!

Yahoo!  There are huckleberries in "them thar hills."  I was so happy and surprised to see Christopher's successful picking because that meant that we had berries to pick and we weren't skunked after all.

These are two pictures Don sent to me when I checked in with him to ask about how the scouting for a new picking spot was going.  If you look closely, you can see lots of berries on those bushes.  And Sox is in his typical "I'll wait here while you pick" pose where he always finds a comfy spot to hang out.

Buster taking a break with Erik on the hammock.  This is such a comfy hammock that when the three guys went scouting for a new spot to pick, I took a little nap in it.  Awwww.  This is the life.

This hammock tent is comfy, too.  JoAnn bought this for Erik's birthday this year, and they brought it over and put it up in our little forest beside our house.  It is tied to three trees and is important to get level or else everyone in the tent slides to one spot . . . especially if you're in a nylon sleeping bag because the floor of the tent is also nylon, so that makes for some fun sliding.  This view from inside the tent is a new perspective of our back yard.

The Parker boys, downtown Spokane, August 2016.  Thanks for coming over to visit.  Great weekend!  Wish I had thought to take a picture of the salmon dinner where Don declared, "This is the best salmon I've ever tasted."  True.  The salmon Erik cooked on alder wood planks on our barbecue was amazing.  They brought both fresh salmon and crab with them from the Washington coast.  So delicious--thank you!

My Three Sons and My Three Grandchildren (oh yes! and my Grandpup Sully--can't forget you, for sure)

Good times together.  Love listening to these three talk and share. 

The moment that Calvin and James meet for the first time:

I got to babysit Calvin and James Saturday morning, but James slept the entire time Ben and Brittan were gone . . . so Calvin and Grandma had some fun.

And Sully kept reminding me that he wanted to play, too!

In the afternoon, both of the grandsons went to town with their parents and I got to hang out with Caitlin.  We explored all kinds of things both inside and outside.

See what I mean about Sully wanting to play, too?

Caitlin made a small flower arrangement to help decorate the bathroom.

These two pictures with Grandpa were taken before Jake and Lyndsey showed up with Calvin and Sully. . .

Here are Don and Norris making not one but two batches of homemade ice cream to go with the huckleberry pie.  Norris picked the raspberries from our patch for one of the batches . . . Tori said it brought out his inner farmer.  Those two are so great to have come visit.

Love having family gather together at home!  Not sure how Lyndsey escaped getting into any pictures, but that's the last time she'll get away with that.  That goes for you, too, Tori!

Happy Birthday Tomato to Don!

Don wanted to pick his first tomato for his birthday on July 9, but he had to pick the first one on July 7 because it was just too ripe and couldn't wait.

We went from this (in April) . . .

to this . . .

check out that recipe . . .

and then . . .

they went from this . . .

to this . . .

and this . . .

and then . . .

a jungle . . .

and finally . . .

These babies are ugly, but oh, so tasty!  Heirloom tomatoes are the best.

Let's slice one and take a bite.

Yum!  Drip-down-your-chin kind of wonderful.

Happy Birthday, Don Parker!  July 9 never tasted so good.

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy Fourth of July!

What a trip we had to DC.  Here we are on the steps of the White House; big thank you to Jean for making this arrangement long before we traveled.

Shall post a few more of our highlights of this trip in the coming days.

Jill's Birthday

After a whirlwind of travel, I'm getting back to posting and want to share a bit to celebrate Jill.  This is a priceless entry in Dad's journal from that amazing day of June 25 those few years ago:

Very cool that Jill and her great-grandma share a birthday.  And wasn't long before Grandpa Bollman showed up in Provo to meet her.

Thought I would also share a few pictures of Jill from the walls of home:

So in love with this baby girl.

Happy girl.  Don't you love those curls?

Love the vintage dress.

This girl started to travel the world on her own at a young age.

My decorating style at our house is "a Jill."

Happy birthday, dear daughter!

Home Again, Home Again

Seems that each time I've been away from home this year, transformations occur.  This bounty was waiting to be picked when I got home from Princeton.

There are more out there to be picked, but they will wait until tonight.

The garden is also beginning to boast some pretty great stuff.  These are crunchy and sweet.

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Also picked spinach and lettuce and have been enjoying some yummy salads.

This happened in a different version when I came home from Utah in April after Ben's graduation.  Seems like our place transformed.  These are some of those transformations.

We had lots of little tomatoes that had set on the plants in the greenhouse. . . what did Don say?  15 little tomatoes in May and now up to 50 at the beginning of June?  So happy to think we might actually succeed in growing lots of tomatoes this year.  Finally!











Seems like there was new color and new growth wherever I turned.

These lilacs smelled SO beautiful!

And these two were from earlier.

Sometimes I walk inside our house and declare, "I love you, house."  Guess I need to now start being more appreciative of the great outdoors around our place, too.  Thanks for brightening up the world, Parker place!