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Ty's parents have a small plum tree in their back yard. This year, however, it has decided it's a BIG plum tree. It is putting on so many plums that Pam and Richard don't know what to do with them all! That turned out to be a good thing for us. Last Friday, we went out to Lewisville to make use of some of them.
First, the boys, Ty, and I went out and picked a paper bag full of little, round plums.
The tree was so full of plums that we didn't even have to use a ladder to get to the top of the tree. When we had all the plums we could use, the tree didn't even look like it had been touched! That's how many plums were on the tree!
Zachary and his grandma bent over the sink, washing and pitting plums. It was messy business.
Tristan stirred the sugar and pectin.
Finally, after the plums had been munched up in the blender, Zachary and I mixed the plums, sugar, and pectin together. Ty then poured the plum jam into containers for us to put in the freezer when we got home.
We made 10 containers of freezer jam and we didn't use half the plums we picked. Richard sent us home with a 5 gallon bucket full of plums to do with what we would. We've made fruit leather and we're looking for other recipes so we can find ways to use all the plums.
Last weekend, we went down to a friend of the family's farm in Preston. They have a ton of room and they let us come take up some of it. Mom and Dad took their 5th wheel and we set up a tent in the huge yard. It was very relaxing and a lot of fun. It was also a great chance for me to play around with my new camera. Oh, and Ty took some pictures, too.
There was this great, old barn out back of the house. The kind that makes you wanna explore. You know, if it weren't for the mice and bats and rusty nails. Nope, come to think of it, I'd still love to explore!
Isn't this a great picture of the sunset with the mist coming up off the lake? Okay, actually, upon further inspection, that wasn't mist, it was dust being kicked up by some guys on four-wheelers. And, oh yeah, it's a reservoir and it's empty right now. Still, it made for a great picture! 
Jeremy came up from Hill AFB and brought my adorable nephews. Quite possibly the cutest in the whole land! Declan sure loves his grandma!
Andrew's angel face is impossible to not love. (Uh-oh, notify the Grammar Police!)
If fun can be measured by filth, He earned a 10! 
Tristan is a country boy at heart.
I can't believe the detail this camera is capable of!
Ty took the older kids on a hike up the mountain. It was so pretty there with all the trees beginning to put on their fall regalia. So many reds and yellows and browns.
This last picture really should be put in front of the one with Tristan and Samantha in the trees, but it just makes such a great closing shot.
Last weekend, we met my MIL and FIL, and BIL and SIL with their family up at Zion National Park. To say it was beautiful would be the understatement of the century. After the dry, brown desert that is Las Vegas, it was so nice to see so many colors and so much life. We met Pam and Richard, and Patrick and Susan and their kids at about 10am in Springdale, Utah. We got checked into our motel and while Patrick and Susan got set up in their camp site, we went out to lunch with Pam and Richard. Then, we went into the park. Zion has a real cool set up. You just park the car and get on one of the shuttles that run every 6 minutes. The shuttles stop at 7 locations throughout the park. They tell you about the park and all the different sights. And you can get off and on whenever and wherever you want. Zion is AMAZING! There is no way to describe how colorful and vibrant everything is. You cannot look at the wonder and beauty of Zion and not KNOW there is a Divine Creator. No way did all that just... happen. (I will have to come in and post pictures later. My regular camera has decided to make everything grainy and fuzzy, and I am electronically challenged when it comes to the video camera.- I can't figure out how to get the pictures off!
That night, we all gathered at Patrick and Susan's campsite. It was the perfect venue to end the day. We played cards, roasted marshmallows, and told stories on one another. OH! I totally got vindicated during one of these stories! somebody had told a story about one of the kids getting hysterical about some silly thing and Ty decides he can one-up them. He starts to talk about how last night, he wanted to go out and check some things out in front of the house and I started freaking out. I was bawling and begging and my eyes were bulging and it was just so funny. Everybody was getting a good laugh until I butted in and said, "Oh no you don't!" And preceded to tell them about the 3 gunshots, 20-30 kids with big sticks, cars zooming away, and lots of yelling. You should have seen Pam's face! She went as white as a sheet and stared at Ty open-mouthed. Needless to say, Ty was humbled. Score one for me!
First, the boys, Ty, and I went out and picked a paper bag full of little, round plums.
Finally, after the plums had been munched up in the blender, Zachary and I mixed the plums, sugar, and pectin together. Ty then poured the plum jam into containers for us to put in the freezer when we got home.
