Building a Potato Pit 101

Because I know the burning question that everybody has right now is how to build one. Or maybe instead what you're asking is "What is a potato pit?"

Also known as a root cellar, vegetable pit, or ...BOMB SHELTER (jokes...sorta), it's a handy little storage place for most root vegetables. John grew up with two pits in his backyard and to this day we still drive over to my father-in-laws to steal a fresh garden carrot in the middle of winter! What a treat!

Well this week was the week for us to make our own. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it'd be.



Step 1:

Find yourself a handy man (preferably a handsome one) and marry him before he realizes what he's done.

(If it's too late for step one - don't worry. Anyone can dig!)

Step 2:

Define the area that will eventually become the hole in your yard, and begin shoveling!



Step 3:
Don't stop shoveling.

Even when you have a 2 year old leaning over you asking, "Whatchya doing Daddy?" 100 times. Still, don't stop!

Step 4:

You must make sure that your pit is precisely 6 ft deep. That matters. I don't know why- but it does. Your walls will need to rest on the bottom of the pit and still be above ground by about 8 inches.


Count on the scantily clad "fairy person" to inspect your work several times throughout the process. (It's amazing how much a 6 year old THINKS she knows!)

Step 5:

Beam with pride when you finally reach the required depth and you can chuck that nasty shovel aside.

On a side note: Have any of you ever seen the movie HOLES? We were living that. Except for the fact that it took three days to dig this hole, and my husband is not a delinquent teenager receiving punishment. He actually CHOSE to do this. But I did play the part of the "warden" very well.


Step 6:

Perhaps one of the trickiest parts of this project come when you must find a way to lower the 6 ft structure of walls that you've pre-built down into the pit.

......I suggest this is a good time to just head to the beach with some cousins and let your husband handle it in his own miraculous way.

Heaven knows how, but the kids and I came home to this!




Step 7:

Complete the building of the walls, build a ladder (don't FORGET THAT), and insulate the roof and the top of the walls.

Step 8:

Build a handy dandy trap door, and enjoy how complete it finally is. Sit down and wonder what happened to the week.



Step 9:

Wrap your mind around the fact that you now have a whole yard full of CLAY that your kids can NOT stay off of. Don't fight it! It's likely there to stay for a while.

Step 10:

Be infinitely grateful to your handy man for giving you somewhere to put half your garden in the Fall!

See? Just like I said. Easy peasy.

Unless of course....

...you talk to my husband.

Bad and the Good

John and I recently watched the movie "The boy in the striped pajamas." We'd heard from lots of people how great yet sad of a movie it was. It is a story of a young german boy who resides close to a concentration camp and befriends a Jewish boy who is trapped on the other side of the fence.


I don't know if I've ever watched a movie about the Holocaust without being moved and saddened by the torture some people had to experience. This movie in particular was difficult to watch as it in large part portrayed that period in time from the eyes of young kids. Children are naturally so naive and innocent and that provided such a stark contrast compared to the adult world and ugliness they really lived within.



Our book club this month is reading The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Again an account of a family during the holocaust. Only this time it is a family of watchmakers in Holland who made it their personal work to save and hide Jewish people. It's a true story and unlike the movie above it left me feeling a little bit of hope. They risked their lives to help 100's of people and in the end they were found out and sent to a camp themselves. Corrie Ten Boom was the only family member who survived the camp, and she spent the rest of her life speaking to others about her experience and all that she learned during that time.

It is an incredible journey in which she comes to accept God's hand in all things, and helps those around her feel comfort even in misery. The book is full of lots of suffering and lots of ugliness that could only come from such an ugly time. But it is also full of goodness.

Selflessness.

Courage.

Faith.

Her message was simple.

"When we are feeling poorest- when we've lost a friend, when a dream has failed, when we seem to have nothing left in the world to make life beautiful- that's when God says, You're Richer then you think."- Corrie Ten Boom

What's under your bed?

I have a theory that "you can tell a lot about a person by what is under their bed"!

Do you agree?

For example, underneath my half of our bed lies an entire closet full of folded up clothes waiting patiently for the far distant "post pregnancy" days.

What this tells you about me: Well...that I have nothing good to wear right now, I suppose.

(For the record: Under John's half of the bed? Probably a set of scriptures!)

Well, a couple of weeks ago John and I took the kids to my Brother's house. We stayed with them for one night before travelling together to Drumhellar for a day of fun. Heather made us the yummiest Indian dinner (two different curry dishes) and then the rest of the evening was spent visiting and ...investigating.

For the record- I am not a snoop! (Despite the fact that I'm the daughter of a Private Investigator, not to mention a "little sister" to the T), I was NOT SNOOPING!

Chad called me up to his room to show me some of his watches. ....he likes watches. As I sat on his bed, next to Heather he proceeded to pull out the following:

What does this tell you about my Cop Brother?:

The watches) Either he has an obsession with watches OR he is an entrepreneur at heart, and a skilled user with ebay. Perhaps a bit of both. Because really who else has half a dozen un-opened watches under their bed? (By the way- he'd probably be disappointed if I fail to mention that this watch can tell you how far above sea level you are with exact precision, has a thermometer AND full auto EL.)

The machine gun?) You could also come to the conclusion that my brother is borderline maniac! That's pretty much the conclusion that I came up with until my brother pointed out that the gun has the required safety locking mechanism on it.

Oh good. ...he could be a maniac, but luckily he's NOT a reckless one!

The Rifle) After seeing the machine gun, this had far less effect on me. In fact it kinda tugged at my heart string when Chad reminded me that this was the very first rifle Dad ever gave him. Awe.

My brother is a sentimental old chap.

So there you have it. A pretty fair synopsis of my Brother as you may not know him.

We had a wonderful time with him and his family in Drumhellar. We saw the dinosaurs (the replica kind at least), did a couple of geo - caches along the way, walked the suspension bridge, stopped off to gawk at the amazing decor in the Bass Pro Shop outside of Calgary and wrapped up the day by pigging out on amazing Vietnamese food. We tiredly said our good-byes after all of that and headed to our homes.

It wasn't until a few days later when I was cleaning my son's room that I came across the little drawer under HIS bed. This is what he's been storing:

What does this tell you about Sam?

There is a very distinct possibility that my son could turn out to be very much like his Uncle.

And that wouldn't be such a bad thing either.

In my daughters eyes...

I LOVE to paint! It's one of the very few hobbies that I have actually stuck with over the years despite my "miserable"ness at it.

Take singing for example. It didn't take long for me to realize I couldn't sing.
So- I don't pretend to.

Sports? I was on a basketball team for 1 week. I knew when to give up.

But Art. I love. Despite the fact that I don't know anything about technique and have no natural skill there is something about it that I don't want to give up on.

That said- it has been exactly 9 months since I even touched a canvas or my pencils...or anything related to sketching.

These were two paintings I did last year. How many have I done this year? ZILCH!

It does nag at me a bit. You know, that feeling you get when you know you are neglecting something you love.

Well Earlier this week:

Abby was travelling in a van with some of her cousins and they all were sketching and drawing little pictures together. At one point Abby showed her drawing to her Uncle Chad and Aunt Heather, to which they kindly replied,

"Wow Abby. That's really good. You are going to be an artist just like your mom!"

Now I have to say I really think that Abby could have responded to this in a plethora of ways. A simple "thank you" would have worked; or even a not so humble "yes I know" perhaps.

Instead Abby said this, "Oh my mommy doesn't paint anymore. She's forgotten how to. ....SHE ONLY DOES THAT WHEN SHE'S SKINNY!"

Are you kidding me? Maybe I only paint when I have free time. Maybe I only paint when there aren't three kids pulling on my leg. Maybe I only paint when there isn't 1800 sq ft of garden to weed! Maybe I paint when I'm not nauseous from growing a baby!

But nope- in my daughter's eyes....it's because I'm too big!

Well in an effort to prove Abby wrong I sat down this afternoon with my sketch pad on my lap determined to get back into it.

I got this far before before packing it all up.

I think my tummy is in the way!

One 4 year old boy...

That's right- Sam hit the big...um 4 this weekend! Due to the fact that he has been waiting anxiously for this day for weeks and even MONTHS...the past couple of days have been spent in party mode. We felt the need to stretch things out a bit and make it last for him. You know, a little family party here, a cousin party there... that kinda thing.

Tonight definately took the cake (ha ha) when his local cousins came over for dinner! Sam was so excited to get a "party" all for him that he shaved 3 TIMES before anybody arrived!

We had a great evening with our family - who happened to spoil him ROTTEN! Each and every one of them!

We cleaned up once everyone left, bathed the kids and hurried them off to bed. Sam's eye lids were so heavy it didn't take long before we was sound asleep. The sure sign that he had a good day.

I watched him sleep for a bit and reflected on earlier days when I used to cry and wonder "what was wrong with this child!" He was so busy. So crazy and always into mischief. That was then, back when I was still a "new mom" and all I'd ever had experience with to that point was his sister!

Somewhere along the line, I've started seeing all those things about him that once drove me crazy as strengths. Gifts he has that will help him to be successeful one day, and in the mean time...

just make us laugh!

In short- he is just 100% ALL BOY!


And a pretty great one at that!

Because it's so much FUN!

We just got back from a GREAT trip to Drumhellar,and I'll share some pics tomorrow. During the drive I continued to edit more photos of my sister in law Sarah. It's been so much fun!


Really I wish that I could inherit some of my in-laws genes for myself!

Keeping Busy

Only a FEW precious WEEKS left of Summer!

It`s flying by- and I'm glad we've had so much fun. Definitely more play then work!

My sister-in-law let me take some photos of her this week for practice. She's a classical pianist and performs daily at the Prince of Whales Hotel in Waterton. It only seemed natural that we take the pictures there.

Pretty Backdrop and a drop dead gorgeous sister in law. I really had nothing to worry about!

I'm really excited to spend a few days editing and trying to learn more about all that.

We also will be taking a little family trip to Drumheller!

Lots to look forward to.

We`re at that point where we are trying to squeeze as much as we can into these beautiful summer days!

Perspective

I'm often looking for the best view of Chief Mountain. Often, during the school year, after picking up Abby after kindergarten the kids and I would just drive. I'd chose any dirt road that headed in the direction of this mountain and try to get as close as I could.

I took this picture a couple of months ago-it's about a 10 minute drive from my house and it's one of my favorites. It shows perfectly the view and image of Chief that has become so familiar to me- since I was a kid really.


On a recent family vacation down to Kalispell, I was surprised to really notice the view of Chief mountain from a different angle.

Do you see that tall narrow peak.

It's still the same mountain.

Yet it's not the same mountain.

What makes the difference is simply - where you are standing.

___________

I think there is a life lesson in that thought. But I'm a little bit tired, and my sweet husband just turned on a movie and sat down beside me. So instead I'll just leave this quote, and hope that it sums up adequately why I feel grateful to be standing where I do in life.

"One of the great blessings the gospel gives us is the lens through which we can see with proportion. Special perspective comes from the marvelous and overarching principles of the gospel." -Elder Maxwell

Farmers Almanac?

We woke up this morning to a chilly, over cast and VERY FOGGY day. It's been awhile since we've experienced fog this dense.

As we gathered our toques and drove down to the local grocery store for the annual pancake breakfast, I couldn't help but think that it felt an awful lot like fall...dare I even say ...winter!

As we were visiting with a couple they reminded us of something that even John's mom had once told us. The farmers Almanac declares that exactly 90 days after a fog you can expect to see ...SNOW!

So I'm recording this now, and I plan to test this theory out.

Don't worry- it's not like it's gonna snow tomorrow or anything!

But those of you in the area- November 6th is the Date!

you might want to have your mittens ready

My favorite time of year

John accuses me of declaring EVERY season and EVERY holiday my favorite, but I have to say that the Harvest really really is one of my favorite things about this time of year.

Check this out- how can you not love this?

So far we are enjoying Chard, onions, beets, strawberries, raspberries and other such things.

This past week we pulled out and froze all of our peas. That's no small job- but it's worth it.

It helps to recruit some child labor...ahem...I mean darling neices who actually consider shelling Fun!

It feels really fulfilling to see our freezer fill up with fruits and veggies already.

The other day John and I came very close to putting an offer down on a home in our neighborhood. We've started to feel the need to expand. We found a decent home for a great price that had plenty of room for us- yet when we faced the thought of a smaller yard we just couldn't do it.

This little garden and property of ours has come to be so dear to us and we can't picture starting over anywhere else. We've decided to build here on the front half, preserving our garden and giving us a much larger backyard. I'm so happy that we get to stay and enjoy this.

For the rest of my life!

Considering the fact that John and I have moved 11 times in our 7 years of marriage- I'm really surprised that I'm actually ok with the permanancy of this decision.

What is wrong with me?

Lazy Sunday Afternoon

It's been a busy week. It has, in large part been spent outside in the yard. Much of our garden is ready for Harvest, many of our flower beds have needed weeding, and there has been lots of work to do.

As enjoyable as I find yard and garden work I do look forward to Sunday afternoons. The one day when I am forced to leave the tools in the garage, forget the "To Do" list and without any guilt - just enjoy.

A couple of years ago, one of my sisters gave me this hammock. Actually it was a sister-in-law but from the moment she gave me this hammock I've loved her as deeply as my own flesh and blood.

Many Sunday afternoons are spent in this very spot!

PS: Thank you Sarah!

An update on all the fun!

It has been a Fun FILLED week, and I feel like we are all still trying to recover from it! That's a good thing though.

Last Thursday John and I took the kids down to Glacier for the day. We've spent so much time in Waterton lately and have hardly ever been to Glacier we figured we would give it a try. For anyone interested, annual passes are at least HALF of what you would pay for a pass in Waterton. John was thrilled that fishing came with the pass so we will likely spent a lot more time getting to know Glacier in the upcoming months. It was actually really beautiful down there.

Abby has really taken to fishing and rarely comes home without a fish now. Sam, enthused by his recent minnow catch, refuses to not fish as well. Luckily John and I managed a few casts of our own and the family now has enough fish in the freezer to have us a good ol' fish fry one day.


On Friday evening we loaded up the van with all of our "never used" camping gear and headed out to my Uncles land by Beazer. He has named his property the Diamond Dipper, and it is here that we spent the next few days.

A large chunk of my family on the Toone side were able to come, including many of our cousins from Utah whom we don't see often enough. It was so fun to see all of our kids playing together, and it was especially fun to get reacquainted with so many family that we love. We don't see them often enough!


Jewel caught a frog one morning. Sam doesn't realize he's squeezing the life out of the poor thing. (Remember the minnow he caught last week? He tried to release that and ...well lets just say it wouldn't swim away after.)
Hopefully the Frog fared better.



Perhaps Abby is hoping for a prince?

She takes her fairy tales to heart!



One cool part that the kids LOVED was playing in the River that runs through the property. It is the same River that my Grandma Beazer Toone played in as a child. Some of the adults created a little path of rocks which caused the water to rush through that point much swifter. It didn't take long for the kids to Grab their tubes and take a ride on the river rapid water slide!

A lot of time was spent playing, petting/riding horses, eating well, visiting and enjoying wonderful evening campfire programs with the family. Some of my favorite moments came during the campfires as our kids would start to slow down, stare into the flames and then drift off in one of our arms while we listen to the chatter around us.
Our little family only camped out there one night but we did spent all three days out there.

It was a fabulous time, and I'm so grateful to be a part of such a wonderfully fun, energetic, talented and entertaining bunch of people!

My opinion on "Insanity"

I remember a year ago mentioning to my Brother that John and I had never taken our kids camping.

Never. Not once.
When I asked him if that was "Bad" of us his response was simply, "Well...it is sorta poor parenting..."

It's not that John and I don't enjoy camping. In fact we both agree that it is one of our favorite things to do. It just always seemed like too much work to get the WHOLE family out there.

This weekend all of my Toone family is getting together at my Uncles little spot by Beazer. It's guaranteed to be a great time, and if nothing else we will be able to say that we have done "what every GOOD parent does with their families."

Still before we leave I have to:

Make Rice Krispie Squares
Pack Salad ingredients
Find Kids toques (because it's going to be chilly tonight!)
Find sleeping bags for all (Jess is NOT happy that her sleeping bag does not have diego on it like Sam's)
Buy matches and propane
Fill up the van

Try once again to covince Sam that he must wear underpants while camping
Pack all of our clothes
Towels and Swimsuits
Practice the nose flute for our family number (don't ask:)
Weed the garden- I can't leave until that is done.
Clean the house.

Ok who am I kidding- the "clean the house" part is sadly going to have to wait one more weekend. I don't remember the last time I've dusted.

But that isn't going to happen today.

All of this while dealing with three VERY excited kids who keep asking every 10 minutes, "Can we go YET?"


Here is a bit of truth for you all:

"Insanity IS hereditary. You get it from your KIDS!!"

Have a Great Weekend!

Bright Sunshiny Day

It has been HOT lately. We decided yesterday to take the kids out to try Walley's Beach again and let the kids swim in the Lake. The kids are LOVING the water these days.

Personally though, my favorite part of the day was when I made every one pull over to the side of the road so that we could take advantage of the most vibrant canola field EVER! You know you are a true "blogger" when every thing becomes a "Photo Opportunity" to you!

John was so patient. But that's probably because he knows it's no use. Why fight me on it? :)

I LOVE the YELLOW! It is a color that truly makes me happy!

It was nice to have Luci and her two kids following behind us. She took some photos of us when I wanted to actually be in one. This is her little girl Libby.
I suddenly want to drag everyone I know out here and take more pictures.



We did eventually end up at the beach much to the kids' relief. The mosquitos were the worst ever- but we managed to find a patch of sand where they pretty well left us alone. After watching Abby, Daddy and a couple of his cousins all catch fish recently Sam was THRILLED to finally catch his own. "My First FISH Dad!" He kept shrieking that all afternoon.

He still asks to see this picture.

It was a proud moment for him.

And yes- I think that technically does qualify as a fish.

A couple of days ago I went out to a friends home and took some pictures of her kids. It's been so long since I've taken pictures for a different family it was fun to dust off my computer and edit a bit. My friend and her parents have begun selling the most adorable home made wagons that come filled with home made blocks. They were the cutest little wagons ever and I definitely plan to pick up a couple at the next farmers market! They are hand made. Not an inch of cheap plastic on 'em, and kids can play with it in so many different ways. I saw it used to carry blocks, used to carry a baby sibling, used to transport flowers...you name it!

I wish I could post the really cute pictures I took of the kids but I don't like posting pictures of other peoples kids without their permission.

This collage shows you the wagon, but not so much the cute kids. Take my word for it - they are cute!

Oh yeah and my friend has also started making the cutest flower clips for girls hair. They can clip onto headbands etc and they too are adorable!

So if you are ever interested in a really great home made toy let me know and I can forward my friends info on to you!

************************

Today is a big day around our home. Actually it is a really big day for me. I'm pretty sure that nobody else in my house feels the same enthusiasm. Today officially marks 99 days until the baby arrives!

Not 101. Not 100 days. But 99!

We are talking "Double Digit" territory here.

Trust me- for someone who is currently going through the l-o-o-o-o-n-g-e-s-t pregnancy ever -

this is a really big deal!

All sorts of Families love this place

How many of you have been to this temple in town before? If so, how many of you are aware of the owls that live in the windows?

It's true. My sister Jewel and her kids were the first ones to point this out to us about a year ago. I almost didn't believe them, but sure enough when we parked along the south side of the temple grounds and looked up we could see two owls perched behind the granite pillars up against the windows. That was a year ago.

This is Abby with her cute cousin Kate. Behind them is where we always see the birds.

For the past year these owls have resided here on the grounds; in fact, we sometimes see a third!

A couple of weeks ago our ward Primary Presidency organized a fantastic Sunday field trip of sorts. They rented a bus and transported the entire primary and teachers across town to the temple. For the entire two meeting blocks we stayed there. We took pictures, the kids all touched the temple, and the temple president and his wife joined us. They opened up the visitor centers and talked to the kids about the temple.

President Hansen shared with us the story of those owls, which was a hit with the kids.

He said that over a year ago they were really having a problem with the pigeons in the area. The birds were nesting, making messes, getting stuck in places, and just being a general bother to the grounds keepers and maintenance workers in particular. President Hansen said that this had become quite a problem for them and a problem which they had been unable to find a good solution to.

And then all of the sudden, he said, one day these owls came. Their presence chased away all the pigeons and to the joy of many temple workers, those owls have taken up residence and have not left yet. The temple president was very excited to tell the kids how much they love those owls who are now helping in their own way to take care of the temple.

I thought that was a cute story and it has been fun to watch these little creatures as we drive past. Tonight we noticed a nest up there. At least that's what we think it is. It appears the little owl family is growing still and perhaps even here to stay.

And what a happy Forever Family they must be!

(Picture taken from JungleWalk.com 2009)