My Mamma's gonna be so proud of ME!

Okay, lets start at the very beginning--- two Sundays ago at Stake Conference our Stake President asked all of our stake to have a 3 month supply of food, water and medications by SEPTEMBER 30th. WOW WEE! Have you ever sat down and really thought about what it would take to have a full 3 month supply for FOOD? Talk about overwhelming! I was a little besides myself, but knew that it was something that we needed to do. The spirit was so undeniably strong when President Ostler asked this of our stake. Flint and I sat down and talked about how we were gonna do this and decided we needed a plan, cuz you just can go to the store and start buying all sorts of random things! So luckyfor me one of my good friends mom is the "food storage lady" in her ward and she gave me all sorts of great information. Flint and I made a plan and have been working for the past two weeks to obtain a 3 month supply. It has been a very interesting and a HUGE learning process for me. First we made a menu for two weeks, then figured out what ingredients we needed for all these meals and multiplied it by six...wow it was so amazing to figure out what we needed to have to feed our small family for three months!!! Flint has been building storage shelves, I have been VERY busy learning new things and think that just maybe I have a new hobby...here are some pictures of my most proudest (is that even a word?) accomplishments!

NOPE, not dog food, HAMBURGER! Yep I canned almost 40 lbs of hamburger! It looks so disgusting, but I just don't have a freezer big enough (who does?)for all the chicken, roast, fish, hamburger, veggies, ice cream, etc. for a thee month supply. So the hamburger got the boot from the freezer! I hear that is tastes just like chicken hahaha just kidding, I've been promised that I would never know it was canned when we eat it! We shall see.
pardon the photography, Flint was at a church meeting tonight when I wanted the picture taken!

I also figured out that you can can somethings with the "Food Saver machine", so the experimenting began...
here is some powdered milk...did you know that if you DON'T put a napkin or paper towel in the top of your jar of powdered milk before you dry can it, that it can cover an entire kitchen in a fine dust in a matter of a few seconds? Trust me on this!

potato flakes, pecans, and of course CHOCOLATE CHIPS! (I also did brown sugar, but was too lazy to go get it from the storage closet for a stupid picture)

My food storage would not have been complete without some CHOCOLATE!

YIPEE for me I learned how to can food and now I want to can EVERYTHING in sight!

The next items I want to can is chicken and beans. I really want a pressure caner of my own, maybe Santa Clause will some through for me! I do still believe!

As of today all we lack to finish is more chicken and frozen veggies, and a few more cases of water! YEE HA

HELP...I need help

Calling all my crafty friends, please help your craft challenged friend out!!!
I was just asked to be on a little committee for enrichment activities. I need some ideas for some crafts. (can be Halloween, Fall, Thanksgiving, or Christmas, or just as a gift or any craft idea!) I just have NO idea what new and cool things are out there, so I need your in-put. What did your ward do for Super Saturday etc... You can either leave me a comment or e-mail me at jan@fotosbyflint.com or of course call me! Please let me know ASAP our meeting is next week and I'm clueless.
also...I still work in YW with the Mia Maids, and if you have any Wednesday night activity ideas, they would also be GREATLY appreciated!
THANKS TONS!

I LOVE MY KIDS!!!

Here is a picture of Cooper on his 1st day of Kindergarten. I can't believe that my little boy is going to school. It is all day, so he is gone from 7:45 until 2:15! That is sooo long for him! He has had 3 days of school and everyday he comes home and lays on the couch and says "I'm gonna just relax for awhile" That is SO unlike him! He is asleep every night by 7:30 on his own free will! I'm still trying to figure out what to do while he is at school. He has consumed all my hours of the day for the past 5 years and now I feel so LOST!

He is very proud of his transformer lunch box. That is all he cared about. I kept asking him what he wanted to wear on the 1st day of school and he was like-"who cares! Do I get to take my Transformer lunch box to school?"


Arlee still takes 3 naps so I feel like I have so much free time. I feel like a free woman!!! I even started a BOOK! On Monday, I'm gonna go to HOBBY LOBBY with just a baby...I'm sooo excited! (yes, simple things like shopping without a kid that touches everything makes me happy!)

Here are some pictures of Arlee that Flint took for our friend Kelly. She owns a baby clothes company, and need a picture of a baby in this onesie! I LOVE this onesie and think that Arlee is the best model EVER! Her smile makes me smile!

Kelly's company can be found online at

itsybitsyhearts.com

This is my FAVORITE one!

I took Arlee to her 6 month Dr. visit this week and she weighed in at 14.1 lbs (7%) and is 26 inches long (85%). I guess that means she is tall and skinny for her age! I wish that was the case for ME!!! haha

Colorado

HOME AT LAST

What a crazy summer! Flint and I figured out that since the end of June we have been gone for 21 nights! I am so ready to stay home for a while...until Labor Day!

Our latest trip was to one of our favoritest places in the WORLD! It is this little town outside of Durango Colorado where it was about 55 degrees when we wake up each morning and tops out in the low 80s during the day. Beautiful! We always have a great time at the JACK REUNION. Cooper loves going because there is so many cousins to play with. (unlike my family were his cousins are having thier own kids!) We stayed for nine nights, YES, nine nights in our trailor, and I actually loved it! Its so nice to relax and hang out, with no place to be!

This year was extra fun cuz DeAnn and the twins got to go. It was great having them there! We can't wait until next year!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook