I can make Fireweed Jelly! I am Alaskan!

Ok, so it has been quite some time but I am fully enjoying my summer in the Arctic! I decided to try my hand at making jelly! Fireweed jelly that is...and I must say it was a success. I will explain what a fireweed flower is...well, it's a flower! and it grows in Alaska and it's hot pink and sooo pretty and I love it! It makes Alaska sooo much more beautiful in the summertime! Colten and I went out and picked the tops of the flowers and put them into a grocery bag. My friend had said to collect about 8 cups so we picked and picked and truth be told...i didn't measure it at all; eek; I just guessed. We made sure to pick the tallest flowers in case the dogs got to the flowers and peed on them! Or so I told Colten!
We then took the bag inside and I rinsed off the flowers and let them set...just because i wanted the bugs to crawl out before i started the process. So I put Colten to bed and then cleaned up and bit and then decided to come back to my flowers. I boiled water in the pot and then added my flowers to the boiling water. They boiled for about 10 minutes or so and then they turned this horrible brown mushy color and so I strained the blossoms and returned the pot back to the stove. I let it boil again and then added 2 packages of pectin...it was the Sure Jell stuff that comes in the little yellow box. I had to add two because the recipe called for it! ha...
After that, I added 5 cups of sugar! Goodness me, I didn't know I had 5 cups of sugar in my cupboard, I thought i used a ton of sugar in some sweet tea, but I never knew what 5 cups looked like! Anyways, 5 cups and I had to add it in small increments, I did 1/2 cups at a time and stirred it constantly...if you don't stir it then it gets lumpy and not dissolved. Once it is all put in and dissolved, then I took the liquid and added it to the jars. I did not do any of the fancy pants stuff with sterilizing and what not to the jars. It wasn't in my recipe. I put on the lids and just waited to hear the "pop" of the jar lids! I got a bit worried waiting for my lids...I wasn't sure if I did it right or not, so I just kept waiting...but eventually, they all popped! We had fireweed jelly and toast for breakfast the next morning and it was soooo stinking yummy! so, that's how it's done!

New Adventures....

So I don't really have any photos to post up this time around because I haven't taken any... I will try to come up with something...this is a shot of some swans on the lake...
I have however been doing lots of great fun things and EATING tons of new things! Chris has been shooting all sorts of things and of course...when he shoots it...we eat it! ha. So he shot a sandhill crane the other day and we cooked it up. We rolled it with spices and bacon and then marinated it and baked it with peppers and onions all cut up...It was actually really good! All the rave around the neighborhood! Then he went camping and brought home some seagull eggs! they are big! and speckled and I didn't really want to try that one! Chris ate it scrambled and him and the boys loved it! He said it tasted like shrimp! ew...I wasn't about to snack on it...
Then he went out and shot a swan!!!! ha, he shot a swan! and yes, it is legal in Alaska to do so. He plucked it and that was funny to see! Then we decided to bake it like a turkey or a goose...well, chris went to work and told me to bake it! ha, So i did! It was ok, I thought it was a bit tough and chewy and the meat is a very dark meat...not like chicken or turkey at all...
So, now duck season is over and i guess the guys will be gearing up for caribou hunting next...
...I must say...I will never go hungry as long as Chris is around...I may not like what I am eating, but I will never starve! ...

My baby boy....:)

This is my sweetest boy ever! He is such a ham and he really loves life! I Had to include these shots of him! He was super cooperative and I love it....

My super cute prom session....

I had the privilidge to take pictures for one of my good friends for her prom! I was completely in love with how relaxed she was and how wonderufl the shoot turned out! It was sooo much fun and I could tell her to jump and hop and skip and she would do all three at the same time if she could've! I had planned to drag her all over the place and make her pose everywhere! I got to her house and saw all the natural surroundings and all the neat textures that I really didn't need to go anywhere! It was great...so we went around her house and she sat on the amazing rock structures and then she sat in the old truck and then in front of every building there was! I loved the laughter I got from her and overall, I loved how things went. I plan to be back there to shoot her senior portraits and I hope they go as well as her prom pics went!

Uncle Casey!!!

I was able to capture uncle Casey and his wonderful self in a few pictures....He is a riot to work with and we were able to cruise the school a bit and get a few shots...I plan to edit some of his pictures and do some crazy fun things with them, but for now...I will post up a few. He will be a senior this year and will graduate in 2012!!!!! Yay! So I plan to take his senior pics for him! Here are a few that I think are good of him...

Hoonah Vacation!!!!!

So we have been super busy this year and we have been traveling all over the place! We went down to Hoonah, Alaska to visit with family and check out the beach and all the creatures that live there! I took this time to work on some of my photography skills as well as take Uncle Casey's Senior portraits...I confess...it rained most of the time and I didn't get many pictures with Casey, but I was able to get a few...
It was a fun and relaxing trip and so I enjoyed it overall....Here are a few ocean creatures that we met along the way....

My absolute favorite is that crab!!!!! he..or she is just adorable!!!! i love it sooo much!


This is a Blenny EEl! My son held this and laughed and kinda cried too! He loves these things!

...and this last picture is a Sea Cucumber and both my sons touched this one! They love their ocean creatures!

???What Happened to March???

I just noticed that the last time i posted on my blog was in February! Yikes! it's now april and I am here typing again! Well, we were gone for the month of March and so we were busy...I plan to give you a sampling of my travels today! So we started out traveling down to our old house in Alaska and visiting with friends and family! it was great...lots to do and plenty of people to chat with...chruch was wonderful and all the dinners with family gave me a much bigger tummy than when we started out! ....I took some pictures of our little cousins and some came out amazing! I also had the chance to do an engagement shoot as well! I am psyched for them because I know some of them were great too...Those pictures are still in the editing phase...but here are some shots from our first leg of the vacation.....

...ok, so I will do a tiny sneak peak of my engagement session and add one picture...but only one!!! It was a blast working with Zack and Hollie and I love them! I look forward to doing their wedding too!!! Yay...and that's the only picture you get until they get their sneak peek!

Ok, so the next leg of our trip landed us in NC...We all joined up as a family and then met up with my mom and family...It was a blast. We shopped and traveled and did lots and couldn't believe how fast the time went. The first day, it was hottttt...then it cooled down and we survived in the lower temps just fine! My son decided to go play in the mud puddles and i told him not to get wet and then next thing i know...he is stripped down to his "Handy Manny's" and running thru the puddle!

...so we cleaned up that little boy and went about our vacation...

We played outside and played inside and shopped and visited with family members and had tons of fun! I hated to have to leave...but here are a few of our highlights from our trip....