Old Photo Friday

In honor of my uncle Rick's birthday tomorrow - Happy Birthday Rick!

Rick Springer's 1st Birthday

Macro Camping

We certainly had a lot of fun using the camera for camping. From long exposure flashlight pictures to up close caterpillars and other insects, the camera made it possible to get up close with nature.

Camping on the Rim

The weather was still annoyingly hot on Saturday, but we didn't mind.  After Annika's soccer game, which they won 5-1 and Annika scored two goals, we had the car packed ready to go camping.  By noon we were setting up a tent in the cool pines of the Mogollon Rim with no one around us for at least three miles.  The kids could run, play ball, pick up sticks.  Or they could just play in the dirt.  That's exactly what they did.  Actually they did all of the above.  The kids were the chief wood gatherers, a chore they took very seriously since their S'mores were dependent on a wood fire.  We camped for one night again, same as last year.  I'm sure by next year we'll be adding a day.  Instead of typical camping food, we pushed ourselves into something more - chicken breasts with heaps of vegetables.  Delicious!  The kids still wanted hotdogs and mac & cheese.  No problem.  Our camping site is the same site we use to look for our annual Christmas tree.  We'll be sure to pick up a permit next weekend.  They're available starting October 1.  This trip, the whole family hiked into the woods to scout out the perfect tree.  And, smart as we are, we brought the GPS hiking so we could mark the exact coordinates of the best tree in the forest!  Just waiting for us for Christmas.

Here are some fun family pictures of our camping trip.

Old Photo Friday

Guess Where we're going this weekend?  Camping!  Fun Fun Fun.

Today's Old Photo Friday is my Grandmother, Irene Springer, roasting hotdogs over a campfire.

Totally Awesome!

It's 80's day at Jacobson today.  I think we've cultivated the look!

Who is This?

"i am Woody", says the sign.

No, says Woody.  YOU are a child model.  *I* am Woody.

New Coke

No, not that "New Coke" now synonymous with failed take off/failed marketing strategy.

This is the "new" coke machine.  Have you seen it?  It's fancy, like, Jetsons fancy.  And, it has 106 different combinations for soda pop.  That's a lot of choices.  A touch screen let's you make multiple selections of Coca-Cola products, plus varied flavorings and then delivers your soda to your cup.  Placing the cup appears to be the only manual process for this shiny big box.

Where was it?  At Wendy's.  The kids started begging us to go try the machine...

Boyce Thompson Arboretum

The weather is cooling and Fall can't get here fast enough.  It's all relative, right?  I mean when I say the weather is cooling, I mean we went from 110 to 100.  Anything in double digits is considered a bonus.  That's why my kids were insanely happy when we went up to Globe/Superior/Miami for the afternoon where the high was only 92 degrees!  It's nearly time for jackets for the kiddos...

After running errands and getting ice for the picnic cooler we made the hour drive out of town to the Arboretum.  It's similar to the Desert Botanical Gardens, but set back in the beautiful buttes of the higher country.

The kids loved the picnic area - we ate, watched the ants, and played a little soccer (the ball was in the car).  We got a membership (it's the equivalent of our large family visiting twice) so we'll be coming back.  There are several trails to choose from to see all of the beautiful plants.  Bonus - many plants also are cultured for sale to the public.  We didn't buy any plants or flowers but we enjoyed looking.  Our favorite path this trip?  The children's garden.

The kids got an impromptu lesson on how a sundial works.  We went into a labyrinth that had the kids giggling to find each other and the way out.  During the winter months it's covered with thick greenery.  During the summer - you can see through the reeds.

Our day ended with reading books and sleeping for the drive home, sushi dinner and baths before bed.  Another week awaits.

Did Anyone Order a Saturday Morning Wake Up Call?

This is what buzzed our house early Saturday morning, just high enough to clear the tree and land in the lot across the street.

2011-2012 School Pictures

Coming soon to a mailbox near you!

The sophisticated sixth-grader, the terrific third-grader, and the kissable kindergartener!

Two Pinks and a Red

During the year 2011, the Springer cousins single "handedly" have supported the pediatric orthopedic sub-specialty...  Caleb, Ingrid and Claire.

It's So Organized!

My new love interest ; ) on the web is Pinterest.com    This website is a big, big bulletin board where you can pin all of your ideas in neat organized categories or boards.  If you see a picture or project on the web, "pin it" to your board to view later.  Some of my pins are for the sheer joy of the photo while others are ideas I want to try later.  Rather than bookmarking an entire site, this pins the photo or object that is the source of interest.  For Ingrid's Fancy Nancy Party and Annika's Lego party, I did this, but without the nice website.  Carefully right clicking and saving pictures of ideas I wanted to use for the parties.  Pinterest keeps the URL tied to the photo so you can find your source easier.  This is so me!  Here's a snippet of my Pinterest Boards.  This is eye candy to me.

Canning Frenzy Continues

It's late at night and we're up experimenting with canning/preserving recipes. After two days of apples (and more to go), we moved on to Daikon radishes. These large radishes are a staple in the Korean and Japanese diets. Most often they are made into pan-jul or Korean side dishes with pepper paste.

Tonight, we made sweet pickled radishes as well as the pepper paste Radish Kimchi. When Morgan was two, we took her to a Korean restaurant near Woody's parents. They had baked chicken and these cubes of sweet pickle radishes. Morgan sat very quiet during the whole meal and quietly ate all of the sweet radishes. The restaurant server kept bringing her more radishes. She kept smiling and eating. We felt like we found the equivalent of food gold - an Asian dish that our (then) two year old liked and that kept her quiet and relatively squirm free. She still likes those radishes. So here is our second attempt to make them at home. We're looking forward to the results after a week to ferment.

You eat what you can, what you can't, you can.

Now that the apple picking is over, what are we going to do with 100 pounds of Golden Delicious, Fuji and Granny Smith apples?  Time to get serious about canning.  I feel a little under prepared.  Canning books?  I've read them and read them again just to understand the technique.  I've heard snippets of advice over the phone, but no one really showed me how to do this.  So we jumped in and got our feet wet.  Woody and I cleaned the kitchen and set everything up.  This was our first time using our Christmas gift - the Sauce Master.  We read the directions and set it up with high expectations.  We washed and placed a dozen new Ball jars in the roaster and cut some apples.  And???? It worked.  We now have applesauce (natural), spiced applesauce, pumpkin applesauce and apple butter.  Woody stayed up during the night and kept me company.  On a whim, he decided to add cayenne pepper to some of the spiced apple sauce.  Not horrible, but not a winner.  We'll stick with cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Today, Morgan was my helper and did everything from washing apples, pressing them in the Sauce Master and ladling the hot jars.

We still have one large box of apples, but I am done.  Put a pin in me.  We'll pick up the rest in a day or so.  I hope to find some Clearjel to make apple slices.

Date Creek Ranch 2011

It's Apple picking time for the Chungs.  We set out EARLY this morning (like before 6 AM) to get to Wickenburg before 8 AM.  We even picked up Annika's friend, Molly, who was up and ready outside the door at 5:55 AM.  We watched a beautiful sunrise after getting water (always have water in the car in Arizona in the summer) and gas (that's necessary, too).

Good Morning Arizona!

At about 8:15 we started the three mile driveway that leads to Date Creek Ranch.  This is an orchard in the middle of the desert.  We pass Joshua trees, saguaro cacti, palo verde, desert brush, dust and rocks before the last hill and then out pops an apple orchard and farm right there in the middle of nowhere.  It is quite striking.  Since this was our second year, we were experts in getting there early to get a wheel barrow and apple pole.

We had so much fun going up and down the orchard rows picking what we wanted.  There were a lot of other families and sometimes we were on top of each other, but overall we had plenty of space to roam (and jump).

One hour later - the temps already nearing 100 degrees (!) and we were done.  We weighed our apples, tried an apple press, drank fresh apple cider, and bought an apple cake.  Our ride home included sleeping little ones and a third row of bookworms.  Home by 1 PM!  Now what are we going to do with all these apples????


Fun Day!

Old Photo Friday

The school year is gearing up and starting for *most* of America's kiddos.  Our kids started in July, which means they are getting their first progress report and will finish the quarter in four weeks.

Yesterday was my aunt's birthday.  Happy Birthday Mary.

That brings me to this week's old photo.  This is a picture of me on the first day of Kindergarten with my *oh-so-stylish* corduroy school bag, made by my mom.  The bag is full of back to school supplies.  I love school supplies.  I recall receiving three gifts as a child that were my all time favorites.  All of them had something to do with school supplies.   I got a real  typewriter when I was seven. (**Kids, I'll explain what this is later.  Sadly, you have no idea).   My parents got me a set of 100 markers in a plexiglass case for Christmas when I was nine.  Gorgeous!  But, the present I most remember, with almost every detail, came from my aunt Mary.  When I was five or six, I got a burlap bag for a present.  I can't remember if it was for my birthday or Christmas.  The bag was large, and the contents were fantastic.  I remember reaching in and pulling out every imaginable school supply.  I was in heaven. My own scissors, ruler, protractor!  School paper, graph paper, construction paper!  Glue, pens, pencils, markers!  A sharpener!  It went on and on.  For someone like me who constantly organized (in a kid way) her desk, this was the absolute best.  Thank you Mary!!

Finally, what happened to the ubiquitous school bag?  I still have it and brought it out this AM for Ingrid to model for me.  She was shocked that I didn't ask my parents for a Barbie backpack to go to school.  I told her they didn't exist.  She replied that *someone* should have made them, so Grandma could buy me one.  Great idea if we had a time machine.  Bringing Barbie backpacks back into the 70's full of current school supplies?  (Can you imagine showing off glue sticks to the Elmer's paste crowd?  And *washable* markers?)

He's Cool Alright

My son is doing chores without being asked (take note sisters!); rocking his new Toms.  So adorable, I'm gushing.  P.S. Did you know I adore buying kids shoes but find it a chore to shop for shoes for myself?  I'd rather go to the dentist than shop for shoes.  Seriously. I own like five pair and that includes snow boots (the Sorels I brought when I moved here thinking I may use them in the desert).  My feet are begging for fashion.