Peas, red potaoes, and huckleberries...

are just of a few of the reasons we love summer! John's mom plants this huge garden every year! John tills it and makes the rows, the kids help plant and weed, and she happily shares the fruit {and veggies} of her and our labors with us! She loves having a garden and we love helping her take care of it! John and the girls went out and picked the first bunch of peas, a few red potatoes, and some lettuce! John brought them home and I immediately made a huge pot of cream peas and potatoes!! It was so good! So fresh tastin' and just yummy! Food from the garden has so much more taste! I rarely buy any veggies from the stores in the summer! The peas are sweeter, the tomatoes actually have some flavor, the corn ~ I can't even speak of the corn! One of our favorite summer meals is a huge plate of sliced tomatoes, huge bowl of cucumbers and vinegar, corn on the cob, some fresh homemade bread, and cream peas and potatoes! We picked John's mom up tonight and headed to our "secret spot" in the mountains and picked these...

Huckleberries!! It was so nice and peaceful! Justin was at football camp and Jace is at scout camp, so it was John, me, John's mom, and the girls! It still was a little early, there was still alot of green berries on the bushes, so we are going back next week, takin' the boys, and gettin' some more! Halle was a good little picker, eatin' a few as she picked, then got a little bored and wanted to go back to the car and eat the dinner grandma packed! Hannah did good too, but toward the end she too got bored and just wanted to eat!! It is kinda hard work...lots of bendin' over, but I think it's very relaxing and very peaceful being up in the mountains! Even though the girls picked alot and they had fun...one huckleberry trip a year is plenty for the girls!!On the way home John thought he ran over this little critter...ugly, little thing! But he didn't...so him and Halle helped it to the other side of the road to live another day!!It was a fun night! Here's what we ended up with... Can you just imagine all the possibilities...Huckleberry Jam, Huckleberry Cheesecake, Huckleberry Pancakes, Huckleberry Milkshakes ~ oh yum! I miss my J...I hope he is havin' a fun time at scout camp! And not being eatin' alive by mosquitoes ~ they love him!! Justin has a football barbecue tomorrow night for the players and their parents! He also asked me if I wanted to "come a little early, bring my camera along and take some pictures for the blog" ~ you bet I do baby!! So thankful for...1) this beautiful area we live in 2) gardens and all the yummy, good tastin' food that we can grow 3) huckleberries