Making Jam

One evening while Bret and I were still in Washington, we decided that we should make some strawberry jam.  Mom was making spaghetti for dinner and Grant and Taryn happened to stop by.  We invited them to stay for dinner and then convinced them to make some strawberry jam with us.  I think we ended up making 6 batches of jam and got about 40 jars.  Bret loves jam and we shared it with my family as well.  We brought the majority of it back with us to Kansas City.  There is nothing that tastes better than fresh strawberry freezer jam!  Thanks to Clark's Berry Farm for the best strawberries in the Pacific Northwest!

We had a great system going.  Grant, Bret, and Taryn were mixing the strawberries and the sugar.  Mom was cooking the pectin on the stove and when the sugar/berry mix was ready, they would yell out "Pectin Me"  The first few batches went really well and then things started to get a little crazy.

We had a MESS but it was TONS of fun!  I was filling the jars with the jam and then Taryn was adding the lids and rings and cleaning up the mess!  Thanks Taryn!

My silly brother!  This is when things started to get a little crazy, but oh so fun!  I hope we can do this next year with babies running around our feet!

Bret and Mom

 

And the final product!  Yummy strawberry jam!  I think I am craving a peanut butter and jelly sandwich right now!  We followed the recipe in the pectin box and it always turns out perfectly.  Thanks for all the help and fun memories!

Family

When we go to Washington in the summer, we spend a lot of time with my mom's side of the family.  Here are some random pictures of different events.  Believe me, these are not ALL the cousins.  There are still TONS of them missing!

Me and Grandma and Grandpa

Amanda and sweet Oliver

Kennedy, Taryn, Jacqueline, Aubree, and Maddie

Saying good-bye at Silver Lake Scouts

Going "Home"

Going to Washington in the summer has always been something I look forward to!  I love my family more than anything and I enjoy being able to spend some quality time with each of them.  The memories, chats, events, and spontaneous adventures is something that I will cherish forever and I hope that the babies look forward to it just as much as I do.  I love spending time with my family, but I especially love spending time with these two cuties!  Jackson and Jessi are a slice of heaven and I am so blessed to have them as my nephew and niece.  They are sweet, fun, goofy, silly, crazy, and all around the best kiddos in the world. 

Jackson and his doggy Max

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Jackson is a pro riding his gator.  I can't believe how well he can navigate it and he is not even 3 yet!  He will be driving farm tractors soon!

Jackson playing in his sand box with Indy.  They became instant friends!

I got to watch Jessi over night while Melissa and Carl spent the night away for her birthday.  I went to check on Jessi and this is what I found!  She is so sweet and precious.  Sleeping beauty for sure!

Jessi eyeing the cupcakes!  She at several of them, or at least the frosting.

Melissa and Jessi doing a dance. 

Kristie and her favorite little man!

Jessi and Jackson.... best friends forever!

Colorado Trip-Memorial Day

On Memorial day weekend, Bret, his mom, Glenna, and I decided we better take one more road trip before our little family of 2  becomes a big family of 4.  Bret's Uncle Gary, Glenna's brother, lives in Boulder, Colorado.  It is about an 8 hour drive from our house so we left on Saturday morning.  Everything was going great until we hit a nasty, and I mean NASTY, hail storm just as we entered Colorado.  I have never seen anything like it before.  My car now has about 30 plus dents on it and I had a few tears, ok maybe more than a few, but I eventually got over it and we made the best out of the trip.  Besides, it is just a car and it can always be fixed.

We had a great time even though it was short.  Bret went to a brewery with his uncle and it was fun to hang out with them and chat.  Colorado is beautiful and we hope to get back there again someday and do some hiking!

Gender Reveal-Washington

On June 8th, I flew to Washington with Bret following closely behind, to share the news with my family!  I am SO blessed with the most amazing, supportive family a girl could ask for.  Even though I have lived away from "home" for about 7 years (I can't believe its been that long) they still treat me as if I have never moved away!  They are amazing and I am so blessed!  It was VERY difficult for me not to share the most exciting news with my family when I arrived on Saturday evening but I knew that Sunday was going to be a great day!  All of my mom's side of the family was there along with a few of my friends and it was the BEST!  My favorite cousin Katie made the most DELICIOUS cupcakes and she filled them with PINK and BLUE frosting.  It was perfect. 

My amazing family in my mom's new house!  It is a beauty!  She has worked so hard on her house and made it to be such a warm, welcoming, inviting HOME!

My amazing sister Melissa and my sweet niece Jessi

We had a wonderful taco dinner!  Thanks to everyone for bringing something to enjoy!

All the pregnant "Wagter" girls.  Kristie Due November 8, Taryn due December 1 and I am due October 25.  Kristie is waiting to find out her genders but Taryn is having a little girl.

Jessi LOVED the cupcakes!

Everyone wrote down their gender guesses. 

What a cutie!

The BEST cupcakes in the world!  Thanks Katie!  Everyone LOVED them!

 

Gender Reveal-Kansas City

June 7th was one of the best days of my life!  I found out that I was having a little boy and a little girl.  We have a fun gender reveal party with a lot of our friends and Bret's family in Kansas City.  We had dinner and then made the reveal with cupcakes.  I had a doctor appointment on Monday, June 3rd and the doctor wrote down the genders and sealed them up in an envelope.  After the appointment, Bret and I went over to my dear friend Tiffany's house and handed her the envelope.  She went to the local cupcake place and had 2 of the best cupcakes I have ever eaten made.  They were white cupcakes with white frosting and they were amazing.  Then she brought them to the party on Friday night!  I was so nervous all week to know the genders, but did not care either way, just as long as they are healthy!

Bret and I each just grabbed a random cupcake and the sweet part was that I bit into the cupcake filled with blue frosting and Bret bit into the cupcake that was filled with pink frosting!  I did a lot of screaming while my mouth was FILLED with cupcake and frosting!  It was one of the sweetest moments of my life.  I am still in shock we are having TWINS let alone a little boy and a little girl!