Yardage

Our yard is slowly but surely coming along. We did some small work on the front slope. Jason spent a lot of time weed eating and laying down geo-mesh to control the nasty weeds.

Then we ordered 11 yards of bark to be blown on top of the geo-mesh.

Here are the guys laying the bark with this cool hose apparatus over the mesh.

..and here is the finished product. I am sure the neighbors would rather look at this than the yucky weeds.

Apricot Syrup

Two weeks ago Susan and I made apricot syrup. It sounds interesting, but it is so sweet and tangy! I could eat it plain from the jar and be a happy camper. It is super easy due to a different type of canning method and pectin used.

First we pureed the apricots with skins. Then we added sugar and a special liquid pectin called Serto. Then brought it to a boil and poured it into jar.

Then we let the jars cool upside down and they sealed themselves due to the Serto. So we didn't need to water bath them at all. It was so easy to do!

Then I made really thin pancakes and enjoyed the syrup in large quantities. Yummo!!!

Our Graduate

Last weekend we went to see Ryan graduate from Portland State University. The night before we all celebrated at our favorite restaurant in Gresham called Tadd's. It sits looking over the Colombia River, and the food is amazing!

PSU had the largest graduating class in history so the commencement was held in the Rose Garden downtown Portland. This picture shows about 1/2 court with all the empty seats.

Here is my mom using the under the seat binoculars to see the festivities.

Let the commencements begin....the ceremony was four hours long, but definitely worth it!

A final picture with the graduate who is wearing honors! We are so proud of Ryan and are thankful for the Lord's provisions.

Whoa.....watch the toe!!

Being pregnant has thrown off my sense of kinesthetic awareness and balance, hence the above picture. Last Friday I was walking in the dinning room when my foot met the vengence of a dinning room chair leg at a speed that was unsafe. The pain shot up my foot and I collapsed with agony. Hours later I removed my sock to see a black and blue swollen toe. I couldn't move it and immediatley began applying ice. The following day on a trip to see Ryan graduate from PSU I was unable to walk and found releif in elveating my foot in the car.

As a result my family felt it was unsafe for me to live in flip flops this summer. We went to an awesome birkenstock store in Portland and I got an early birthday present! Yay!!

19 weeks and 2 days

Four months have almost gone by! Each step of the journey had been so special and I have learned a lot of information along the way. I love going to each appointment to hear/see the baby. We find out the gender on July 1st and we are really excited!