Alright, I know I've been promising some new pics but haven't delivered. But today's your lucky day! I'm actually gonna post them! So, these are from way back in June. We went camping/gold panning at Bear River for the weekend. MoMo when she heard we were going camping told me she didn't want to go. But then she heard it was Bear River and she got all excited about the blackberries. Unfortunately, the blackberries were still blossoming and though there were some berries starting to grow, there weren't any ready for eating. She still managed to find some fun there.All you need for hours of fun is a hammer and a giant nail! (Large stump is optional) The first evening after we were done panning and playing in the (VERY cold) water the kids went to work pounding these nails into the ground, the stump and about anything else they could find.Meanwhile the dog was so tuckered out that he plopped down on the ground and tried not to move a muscle. Not sure what that was all about. He hardly did anything all day. But he was pooped. Later we had a campfire and smores before bed.
Next to us at the campground were a couple of fellow gold prospectors. Hubby got chummy with them, talking gold and even helping to get their truck started when it wouldn't start. This paid off when they sent over some leftover dinner they had made. It was basically lasagna but instead of actual lasagna noodles they used rigatoni. And it was A-MAZ-ING! Seriously amazing. Like restaurant quality. And believe it or not, the whole thing was prepared directly over the campfire. No campstoves were used in the making of this marvelous dish. The noodles were boiled over the fire. The sauce cooked over the fire. All of it. And there aren't enough superlatives to adequately describe how yummy and delicious it was. It would have been awesome if it had been served at a regular dinner and yet it was prepared CAMPING over the fire. Wow. Well, that pretty much covers the weekend. The kids did some panning but mostly they played in the water. Hubby and I panned a fair amount of gold. Not that we're rich from it but it's slowly adding up. (today gold is $1181.92 an ounce) and it's fun to just get out there and spend some time in nature.
I also have something else to share with you. I have been busy this weekend canning jam and stuff. I made blueberry jam, sweet cherry jam, pineapple jam, and peach butter.
Aren't they pretty? And tasty, too. My favorite is the peach butter. I'm going to go get some more peaches and make more peach butter. Yum! And then we have some beets in the garden that Hubby wants me to pickle. And maybe even some cucumber pickles if I can find some pickling cucumbers. This is another of my things that once I start I can't stop! I'm addicted! So, anyone need some jam?

Ok, I know I haven't really been posting much lately. And I think I did promise some photos and stuff from our last trip to Bear River which I haven't gotten around to yet. But I have a pretty good excuse. I've been really trying to study for my Medical coding course. I'm more than halfway done! Anyway, I just HAD to share my excitement about something totally unrelated to Bear River or coding. So, yesterday me and the Hubby went to the Big City. Last week someone had told me all about this supposedly awesome thrift store there in the Big City and I wanted to check it out and see if it really was that awesome. And it is really that awesome! We spent like 3 hours in there browsing through all sorts of things and when I got to the furniture section I immediately found a table that I wanted. It cost $40 and it's in almost perfect condition. No scratches in the finish, just a couple of small indents. It looks WAY nicer than the cheapo table we currently have. No chairs with it but I really don't care. I'm sure I can find something. We'll just use our old chairs in the meantime. So, here's a pic of it. It's in the garage in the photo. We don't really keep our fishing poles in the dining room! LOL In the pic it has its 2 leaves in it but when you take them out it is a perfect circle. I love it!
And I also found a bed for MoMo's room. Headboard and footboard. It needs some sprucing up for sure but it was only $20. I'm thinking I'll probably paint it. If anyone has any ideas for it please share them! The big oval is a mirror. (It's reflecting Hubby's hunting blind so it looks kind of weird I know.)Yeah, I'm pretty excited with my finds. And you know what? I've got to go help Hubby bring the table in and move the old one. Later!

Ok, I guess I'm a little behind on my blogging. I haven't even posted any pics from Big R's birthday! Bad me. And then we went camping at Bear River last weekend and I have a few pics from that. AND here's the really excellent news...Hubby had interviewed for a job Friday morning before we left for Bear River. On Monday he got a call offering him the job! Yay! I was hopeful that he'd get the job since he used to work with people from this company at his old job. he knows them all and gets along with them and the work is pretty much what he did at his old job. But there were other people interviewing as well so I was little nervous. Apparently another thing he had going for him was that he already has the clearance (ie. Secret, Top Secret, etc) required for the job. That he already had the required clearance also means he can actually start working sooner instead of waiting for the clearance to go through, which can take 1-2 months or longer. So, I guess that means that we will be staying here for the foreseeable future. Not that I mind so much. It is a nice place to live (when it's not -20 degrees LOL). The biggest downside is the distance from all of you. But I digress...
So, anyway, Big R's birthday. He decided this year that he didn't need a theme. "Just whatever," he told me. But he did want to have his party at the park and play baseball so I went with a baseball theme. He recently started watching Major League games on tv and his favorite team is the San Francisco Giants. I found some Giants party things to mix in with the generic baseball things. Ok, so here are some pics of him opening presents. On his actual birthday I made him a cherry pie instead of a cake. (Hey, I asked him if he wanted cake or cupcakes but he said no) The next day was his party. The bad part about having a summer birthday is that people go on vacation. Only 3 of his friends were able to make it (though NO ONE RSVP'd) but he still had a lot of fun. Now I normally bake him a cake and I actually did bake him one for his party. But he and his dad had come up with the idea of having an ice cream cake--vanilla cake with mint chip ice cream and Magic Shell on the top. I bought all the stuff, baked the cake and then realized that my freezer was not big enough to freeze the cake in once assembled. Ooops! So, he ended up getting a store bought ice cream cake instead. I know, blasphemy! LOL So, here are the party photos.
Unfortunately with the party being outside, the candles wouldn't stay lit so we just sang sans lit candles. And that about covers it. Big R's 8th birthday. Can't believe he's getting so old.
Well, I will try to blog again soon about our Bear River trip and I have some photos from that. But for now, I'll say adieu.