A SECOND BIRTHDAY, PICKLES, CHICKENS, AND FISHY!

Life lately has been full of the best kind of busy - family, birthdays, backyard adventures, and enough canning to keep us stocked with pickles and salsa for quite a while!

Our sweet granddaughter, Mango, turned two! We had so much fun celebrating her big day. Scott made her an adorable duck cake, which was almost too cute to eat. Almost. Mango loved her new tiara, her monster cape, and especially her baby doll. It was pretty adorable watching her parade around in her princess-meets-superhero outfit with her baby tucked in her arms. Two is such a fun age!

Cutest Smile goes to Two-Year-Old Mango!

She LOVED her get-up!

Opening Presents

Scott's cake

What's going on?!

Ohhhh! Yummmm!

We also had a very productive canning day! GJ and I spent an entire Wednesday in the kitchen and somehow managed to can 12 jars of dill pickles, 18 jars of pickled onions, and 24 jars of salsa. There is something very satisfying about looking at a counter full of colorful jars when you're finished. Of course, there is also something very satisfying about being finished. Ha ha ha! 

Whew! We were so tired by the end....

And Scott and GJ's chicken coop grew, too! We picked up 6 laying hens to add to our 4 young chickens. We are officially in the business of collecting eggs... and apparently chickens.

Meanwhile, Red Skittle and Red Jellybean have been having lots of fun together. They even "celebrated" Super Hero Week with their parents. I love seeing these brothers making memories together. 

Part of the celebration....

Red Jellybean is sitting up on his own!

Best Friends

Red Skittle is telling his little brother stories.

Everyone needs a little Kiwi Loco. Right?

Mango also came for a SHORT visit, and we packed quite a bit of fun into our time together. We went for a walk, threw rocks into the pond, and had a grand time playing in the bathtub while listening to my bathroom songs playlist. Apparently, a bathtub, some songs, and a two-year-old are all you need for a pretty fantastic evening! And then there is Fishy. Mango LOVES her new fish. And yes, his name is Fishy. It's hard to improve on a name that is that perfectly descriptive. Ha ha ha!

We sat on ALL the rocks.

And threw a lot of rocks.

And sat on more rocks.

So silly!

Baking with Mango

Fishy

I've also been trying to get out for walks whenever the air quality cooperates. When it's really unhealthy outside, I walk inside instead, but when I can get outside, it is GORGEOUS! There is something about being outdoors, moving my feet, and taking in the beautiful summer scenery that makes me feel grateful all over again.

So that's life around here lately: celebrating two-year-olds, making mountains of salsa, welcoming new chickens, listening to bathroom songs, throwing rocks in ponds, cheering on little superheroes, and enjoying every beautiful day we can.

Life is good!