We're Back....After a Trip To Kelowna

Well now that the summer is over and the air is getting crisper, we have returned back to Calgary after being gone for a whole month! I expected the trip would be full of beaches, peaches, fresh produce, sunshine, family, friends and it didn't disappoint. 

Well and forest fires, you can't have a summer in Okanagan without a forest fire somewhere. Weather was beautiful, most days it was in the high 30's almost the whole time, except for the last week when it was still hot but thick with smoke from the near by fires. I haven't seen it that bad since 2003, the year they said BC burned. ​

​This summer I got to do a ton of canning and I tried some news things. I canned roasted red peppers, acorn squash, jalapenos, green chili sauce and potatoes. I was tired of paying $3.50 at the stores for a tiny jar of green enchilada sauce, so I decided to can my own, and man does it look awesome! I am pretty passionate about having a good stock pile in my pantry, but not just cans from the store but stuff I canned myself with fresh ingredients that I get while in the Okanagan. There is something so wonderful about opening a jar of peaches or cherries up in the dead of winter and letting the tastes of summer roll across your tongue.

This August we had fun because I got to take the kids down to a peach orchard down the road from my parents. We helped my Dad pick about 60 pounds, but you know we helped with carrying the boxes by eating a few along the way. My kids absolutely were in heaven with the fresh juice running down their faces as they were chowing them down. I love that I can have these experiences with them and to teach them the value of where food actually comes from and not just the store, I think it helps them realize that nature is an amazing thing and so is Heavenly Father for providing all this beauty and bounty on the earth.

My parents also had quite the nice little garden that was able to produce all of the canning pickles and tomatoes for my canning and all theirs too. I love how amazing a home garden can be.

I got to see some family I haven't seen in years and actually meet a cousin I had never met before and I absolutely adored her and her husband. They live down in California and I hope I can see them again some day because that connection with them was strong. I also got to hold my brand new niece while there and got a healthy dose of newborn snuggles, which lets all admit we need them every now and then.

There was a majour first for me! I got to bake a wedding cake and cupcakes for a wedding and I got paid for it, which was pretty awesome to have my first real job dealing with selling my baked goods. My sister Sarah her brother in law, who is actually my sisters husbands twin, got married and asked if I could do that for them. They were such a sweet couple and it was such a beautiful backyard reception. 

​All in all it's been quite the adventurous summer but I am glad to be home and back to everyday life. Let's bring on the pumpkin flavored everything and fall because hey its my favorite time of year, it's my husband and I's birthday and our wedding anniversary, Thanksgiving and General Conference. Life is just awesome in the fall.