Happy Birthday Eliza!

Hard to believe, but Eliza turned one on Friday! We didn't do anything big, had a few of the neighbors over for cake. She got some new outfits and a few new toys. We got her a ball popper, which she loves, when she actually gets to play with it. Erin had taken ownership of it.
I was frosting her cake and turned around and she had grabbed my frosting bowl. Since it was her birthday I let her have at it.

What to do with 30 pounds of tomatoes....

I had the chance to order 30 pounds of tomatoes from a local farmer for around $12.00. I jumped on it because I needed to beef up my pitiful looking food storage. I got the box in and froze 9 qts and still had a ton left. I had never canned before so I borrowed a neighbors pressure canner (thank goodness for google, I did it without blowing up my kitchen) and canned 9 qts of salsa. It turned out awesome and now we have salsa for the summer.

When I was getting things around to start canning, my house was unusually silent. I looked around the corner and Erin and Eliza had taken the top off of the tomato box and each were devouring a tomato. Eliza ate a whole one herself. By the time she was done, she had tomato juice from her hair to her feet.

Sky in Motion

I shot this from my parents backyard about 4 pm in the afternoon as yet another severe storm rolled in from the Northwest. The week I stayed at my parents, that area had over 80 tornadoes As a kid, I use to sit here at the edge of our windbreak and watch the storms build. You can actually see the rain stream in this photo (the dark area).

Ahoy Mate!

I am just playing blogger catch-up today. We made it back from Iowa safely, although I thought we were going to have to canoe home. Flying out of Des Moines, Iowa was one big pond. Our layover in O'hare was a nightmare, it was literally wall to wall people. You could hardly move. We stood in line at mcdonalds for almost an hour because so many flights had been canceled due to the weather. We made the last flight out of O'hare that night and were happy to be back on dry ground.

We did have one beautiful day while up in Iowa. Mom and dad took us up to Prairie du Chen and we rented a pontoon boat for the afternoon on the Mississippi (before the flooding :) Eliza wasn't crazy about her life jacket, but she loved it when we got going. She would stand at the front of the boat smiling as the wind sailed through her hair.

Grandpa bought Erin her first fishing pole, although she didn't catch any fish, the lily pads she reeled in were enough. He even let her drive the boat.

Things to do while watching the weather report

hmmm,
I am sitting here exhausted, pondering how to spend my last night in Iowa. Oh ya, I'll do the same thing I have done the last 15 nights, watch the evening severe weather report, pack my "tornado backpack", (which everyone laughs at, but when my house gets blown over by a tornado, I'll be the one on the evening news wearing all articles of proper clothing, including a bra (plus if we loose all of our material items, I'll be at peace if I have my beloved toothbrush)).

I drove back across the state today on I-80. In three hours I drove through two tornado warnings and several thunderstorms. The tornados have become a side thought as most people are dealing with the worst flooding in years. Dry runs have become swollen rivers and small streams are ragging with furry. Fields are washed out and Iowa might just look like the swamp land it once was.

They are calling for another week of rain, but tonight all is calm on the home front. Just the sound of tree frogs and slurping sump-pumps fill the night air. So as I watched the evening weather edition tonight this is what I found, thanks Brenna :)


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