Canning 101

Check it out, I tried my hand at something new. And it left my hands very sticky. I helped Mom Stokes make and can peach jam. Yum! I learned a new way to peal peaches. By putting them in a pot of boiling water for a few minutes you can pull the peal right off. Then I used a chop wizard to cut the peaches to the perfect size. Luckily, Mom tackled the important stuff like cooking and measuring, so it all turned out good. It was actually pretty cool, not necessarily hard but very time consuming. Not something I would want to tackle on my own, but look forward to helping again.

The end masterpiece! We've already finished eating the first bottle.

The New House

I've finally made it to Evanston and have seen my new house for the first time! Everyone who was worried will be relieved to know that Brian did an awesome job and I love it. We're still waiting for some "finishing" touches. Carpet needs to be tacked down in some of the rooms, the trim needs to be put back up, septic system needs to be finished, etc. We'll also wait for power and water to be hooked up before we actually start moving in our things. (Which are currently in Mom and Dad Stokes' garage)

The front of the house! We're going to have a lot of landscaping to do. Anyone have any advice for me?

Carter ran all the way to the new house! The boys are so excited to be living next to Grandma and Granddaddy.

They don't look excited do they?

This was actually the first room in the house Brian showed me. Yes, he blindfolded me and lead me through the house to my very own master bathroom. I'm definitely excited to try out that tub!

The boys have decided that this room will be their new bed room! Both are really excited to try out bunk beds. We'll see how sharing a room works.

The Kitchen is actually a lot bigger than it looks. And it has an awesome pantry.



This is just one of the amazing views from out the windows.

This is what you see out my back door!

The front stairs are one of those finishing touches we'll be waiting for.

Hidden Falls

Johnson Family Reunion

This year I took the kids up to Idaho Falls for the Johnson Family Reunion! I love going and seeing aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents! However the 8 hour car ride to get there makes it so we don't go ever year. I would like to know what parents did before portable DVD players! Quinn has always loved going to Great Grandparent's house. His favorite thing to do is get up before anyone else and go into the flower garden with Great-Grandma. I love the fact that I get to sleep in late.

My grandparents hot tub (or big bath tub as Carter kept calling) is always a favorite with the kids. With over 25 grandkids there is almost always someone in there!Of course if the hot tub is too full there is always the trampoline. I love laying on it at night and looking up at the stars.

With that many cousins it means there is always someone to play with. Including older cousins that give awesome shoulder rides!

We also played a game based off the game show "Minute to Win It." Here Tyson is trying to get a bunch of large pasta noodles on a spaghetti noodle, without using his hand.

We also wrapped people up in a roll of toilet paper.
And one of the funnest games was "bobble head" where you move your head as fast as you can to make a pace counter read over 100. There were so many games and I loved watching them.
We also did a photo scavenger hunt. The family was divided into several different groups. (Quinn, Carter and I were all on different teams) Each team was given the list of things to find and take a picture of, such as a yellow car, street sign with biblical name, ice cream store, playing favorite sport, etc. Bonus points for the most creativity, and if you could get everyone in the group in the photo. It was so much fun, and everyone came back with awesome stories.

The races are always fun. Especially because you get a piece of candy every time you cross the finish line!



At the rewards ceremony Carter got the biggest prize because his team won "minute to win it." He was so excited! Until he found out it was candy and he'd already eaten too much from the races.


Can't wait until next year when the drive will only be 4 1/2 hours!

Fourth of July

We spent the Fourth of July in Evanston this year. This is the first time the boys have been able to watch a fire work show and were old enough to enjoy it. (Usually we are camping, so the last time I remember actually going to a show Quinn was only 4 months old.) And enjoy it they did! We went with Mom and Dad Stokes, & Uncle Casey and Aunt Ashley to a church to watch the show.


It was a little colder than we had anticipated, luckily blankets were still in the car from the camp trip so we all wrapped up!


The city of Evanston allows people to set off their own fireworks on the fourth, so it made for a very impressive show. I don't think I've seen that many fireworks in one place before. I'm not sure who bought more fireworks, the city or the people in town. It was hard to know where to look. It also made driving home interesting as people were using the middle of the street to launch their fireworks. Quinn and Carter can't wait until next year when they get to set off their own.

Flaming Gorge

Our annual Stokes Family Trip to Family Gorge was a huge success this year. Everyone had lots of fun and came back with a story or two.

As the boys get bigger they help with camp set up, which is awesome. They love being big and helping Dad! Unfortunately, this year strong winds collapsed our tent on us. Broke or bent all the poles. Luckily, Mom and Dad Stokes invited us into their camper.

The boys loved sleeping in the bunk beds. So were not upset at all that their tent fell down.

The biggest changed this year, from years past, was that the boys enjoyed the water! Anytime we were out on the boat Quinn would ask us to stop so he could get out and go swimming.


However, we could not convince either of them to try cliff jumping. But I think they liked watching everyone else jump.

Brady jumping. I think he was the only one to jump from that high.

Brian (B.J.) knee-boarding. I missed out on knee-boarding this year, but enjoyed watching everyone else. Especially the wipe outs. Brady landed his front flip! It was awesome to watch. I can't wait to see what new tricks he'll want to learn next year.


I did take one turn being pulled behind the boat with the kids. Which I hope they'll enjoy more as they get older.

Quinn and Carter loved playing with their cousin Cael. Quinn was awesome at making Cael laugh. It was great entertainment to watch them play together.

This year a lot of time was spent fishing. The boys loved it! Even though they didn't like touching the fish. And only Carter would actually eat the fish. It was definitely a highlight for them. And I enjoyed lots of free time reading while they went, so it was a win-win situation for all of us.

Carter even tried out the role of the fish. Decided he'd stick to catching them instead of being caught! He was awesome and held still so the hook could be removed and didn't even cry! Much braver than I would have been. A couple piece of candy later and he was as good as new.

Grandma and Granddaddy will always be the best part of a family vacation.

What camping trip would be complete without S'mores!

What a way to spend the last day of the trip!