Many Thanks

I would like to thank you guys for being so encouraging through this Biggest Loser Challenge! All your nice comments mean a lot to me.

We had our final weigh-in last night and overall I lost 8 pounds and 15 inches! YEA!

After my Thanksgiving setback (gained 6 pounds) I lost 5 pounds which put me at gaining a pound since our last weigh-in. I'm a little disappointed about that, but I'm thrilled with the inches I lost.

Turns out I lost the most inches out of everyone on our team! WOO HOO! The person who won the whole contest lost something like 30 pounds and 20 inches. So while I'm not THE winner, I'm still technically A winner because I'm lighter, thinner and stronger than I was 8 weeks ago.

Our team (The Blue Team) came in second overall and we're very proud of that. I am happy to have met these people and hope to remain friends with them.

Thanks again to all my friends and family for your support and encouragement over the last 8 weeks! I will continue to work toward my goal of 32 more pounds before we go to Ireland. I'll keep you posted on my progress. Here's the "Before" and "After" pics side by side

Ethan's First Day of Public School

Most of you know that I home school my boys. It's not that I don't have faith in the public school system, I just wanted to teach them the first couple years. I wanted to spend some time character building and I really wanted to teach them to read.

This year has been rough with Ethan though. I don't know why, but we've been really frustrated with each other druing school time over the last several months. There was one day that was the last straw. We ended the schoolday with both of us in tears. You can imagine how productive that was!

I decided he needed to go to school. I wasn't willing to be that stressed out about home schooling when I could easily send him to a school that would teach him just as well as I would. (If not better.)

The next day I took Ethan down to the school and registered him. I chatted with the principal about when he should start and we decided right after the Thanksgiving break would be ideal. *insert sigh of relief*

Ethan got to meet his teacher and even got some homework, to be done over the Thanksgiving holiday. (A reading log, some spelling worksheets and a page of math problems.) He was thrilled! He also got a new backpack, lunch box, books and new school clothes for his birthday, which was a week before his first day.

He counted down the days until his first day at school anxiously... as did I. When it finally came, we decided to walk to school because it was a pretty nice day. We waited outside for the bell to ring and I walked him into his classroom. I gave him a quick hug and left in a hurry because I was starting to get choked up. I got myself under control on the walk home.

All day I thought about him and prayed for him. I hoped that he was having fun and didn't get lost or made fun of.

When it was time for the bus to drop him off at home, my sister, nieces and other sons went out to the driveway to see him get off the bus. I was ready with my camera, of course. Finally we heard the squeak of the school bus breaks and it stopped in front of our house. He got off and ran up to us smilling from ear to ear! YEA!

I asked how his day went and he replied in a very serious tone, "Good, but Mama, I have some bad news. The fire alarm went off at school today and we had to go outside. There wasn't a real fire though, it was just pretend."

We all laughed! Apparently I had forgotten to tell him about having fire drills. My bad.

It sounds like he had a good first day on the whole. He's really seemed to get into a routine this week and he really likes his teacher and classmates. WHEW!

Major Set Back

Yesterday was our normal weigh in day, but because this is our last week our trainer said we'd wait until Thursday. Whew!

I'm totally thankful for that because dispite running 6.2 miles on Thanksgiving day, I still gained weight! Can you believe it? Apparently I ate too much pie... oops! But really, can you blame me? Pie is pretty much amazing.

So here we are, the day before I have to weigh for my final total loss and I'm frantic to come up with a solution to my Thanksgiving over indulgence. UGH! I've decided to go for a long run today then go do some weights at the gym tonight. Then I'll go for another run tomorrow morning. I'm even thinking about hitting the sauna... which I hate.

I'm determined to come out of this ahead of where I started. If that means I have to work extra hard to burn off all that pie, so be it.

I'll let you know how the weigh in goes on Thursday. Please pray for me!

"Crazy Runners"

I've always sort of made fun of runners. Not because I don't like them, but because I have always thought running measured very close to torture.

I mean, think about it. Why on earth would you willingly run somewhere when you could, oh I don't know, walk, bike or heck, DRIVE?

What can I say? I'm lazy and not ashamed to admit it. That is until I noticed the ill effects of my laziness. YIKES!

If you're a follower of my blog, you know that I've been doing this Biggest Loser thing. I started off walking on the treadmill because that's really all I could do. Then it got to a point where I wasn't working hard enough anymore. The next logical step was to run.

Really? Do I have to?

I've been running consistently on the treadmill and the street for about 5 weeks. I still don't love it, but I sure love the effects!

A friend of mine talked me into running a 10k (6.2 miles) on Thanksgiving day. At first I thought she was crazy, but then I figured it would be a good way to burn those Thanksgiving Day calories. So I registered.

This is us crossing the finish line!

It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. We took it slow and steady. I think we were one of the last people to finish, but the point is WE FINISHED! I am very proud of that. 6.2 miles may not seem like much, but for someone who has never liked running, it was a big accomplishment. In fact, I'm thinking of framing my race number... ; )

Who knows, maybe you'll see me in the Portland 1/2 Marathon this year!

Making Progress!

This week I wasn't really expecting to lose anything. Not because I didn't try, but because I've gotten used to getting on the scale and not seeing much of a difference.

I was pleasantly surprised though!

When I weighed in on Tuesday I had lost 3 pounds! WOO HOO!!! I almost didn't believe my eyes. My trainer came over when he heard my exclaimation and congratulated me. It was nice to finally see some real results.

Hopefully it will continue... we only have one week left.

Operation Christmas Child

Every year our church participates in Operation Christmas Child. It's put on by Samaritan's Purse http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php/OCC/index/ and they distribute gifts to children all over the world who wouldn't normally get anything for Christmas.

What you do is get a box that's about the size of a shoe box. Fill it with toys and return it so they can ship it.

This year is our first time participating in OCC. Our boys each picked a box at church a week ago. They were asking why we were taking these boxes home, so we asked if they like opening presents on Christmas Day. Of course they all said "yes". We explained that some children don't get to do that because their moms and dads don't have money for presents, or they don't have a mom and dad at all.

They seemed to understand how sad that would be. We asked if they would like to give presents to those children so they'd have something to open on Christmas Day. All three of them said that was something they wanted to do. We then explained that's what the boxes were for.


All week the boys bugged me about shopping for the kids who were getting our boxes. I didn't have time until yesterday. We went to the store together and picked out all sorts of fun stuff to put in the boxes. We chose to give boxes to little boys the same ages as our sons.


Today we sat around the table and packed the boxes up. Each of our boys drew a picture for the boy who will get their box and we included a picture of our family.


We're hoping to continue to do this every year as the boys get older. We think it's a great way to teach them how important it is to be generous.




I'm very proud of how excited our kids were about this and hope they will always feel that way about giving.

A Near Stand Still

This week I worked SO hard! I was at the gym 6 days and worked really, really hard while I was there.

Dispite that, I still didn't even lose an entire pound. UGH!

The good news is that I did lose a pants size and I am able to go faster and longer than I used to.

My friend talked me into running a 10k on Thanksgiving, so I'm working on getting used to running on the street. It's tough, but I think I'll be able to do it. The nice thing about running that far on Thanksgiving Day is that I won't have to worry so much about what I eat!

The Most Amazing Soap!

Several years ago, my friend Susan started a soap company. It's called Greenfield Soap Co. http://www.greenfieldsoap.com/ She makes all her soaps in small batches and will all natural ingredients.

My children and I have always had mildly sensitive skin and it never ocurred to me that it would be improved by switching soaps. Even after Susan told me that I should try her soap I still didn't do it right away. Then I started changing diapers all day long...

There was a short time when I had 3 boys in diapers all at once. *shudders*

I was spending a large chunk of my day changing said diapers and of course washing my hands after the fact. My hands were like snake skin that year.

I still didn't even think about switching my soap until I recieved a bar of Susan's soap at a baby shower as a prize or something. I'm not about to let something go to waste, so when I ran out of my precious anti-bacterial soap I stuck the homemade bar at the sink in it's place.

We've been using "Susan's Soap" (as it's called in this house) for probably 5 years. We use it at all the sinks and in all the showers. It's just that good!

In the last 5 years we've been healthier than ever. Of course we get the occasional cold or stomach bug, but in general it's obvious to me that we have stronger immune systems. (It does help that I'm a hand-washing-nazi too!) Our skin is not nearly as dry as it once was either. AND we haven't had trouble with eczema since switching soaps.

I'm not saying that you should go replace all the soap in your house, but if you're not happy with the liquid anti-bacterial stuff, give Greenfield Soap Co. a try!

Minor Set back

I've been really consistent with my diet and excersize over the last week. I had a minor set back though... a girls weekend at the beach.

Those always include lots of food and very unhealthy snacks. I am really proud to report that I ate small portions of the yummy food and snacked minimally. I definately ate a lot less than I normally would on a vacation.

I did however splurge on some clam chowder, crab fondue and a beer. I'm only human after all.

I only got one workout in all weekend when I was hoping for two. At least I worked out though.

After the set back weekend, I was surprised to discover that I still lost a pound! I put in a lot of extra effort at last night's team workout session and I plan to continue that everyday this week. I love results!

Lookin' Good!

This week has been pretty hectic for me. I still got my 6 workouts a week in though. I also celebrated my 30th birthday so of course there was food that didn't fit into my "diet".

I've gotten used to going to the gym and no longer stare at the equiptment wondering what I should do next.

I can feel my body getting stronger and I'm definately gaining endurance. When I started I could only walk on the treadmill and it wasn't a very brisk pace. Now I can run for an entire 30 minutes! I generally walk for 15 minutes on either end of that 30 minutes of running, but eventually I'll get up to running more.

My diet is still a bit of an issue. Being a busy mom, I have a hard time finding quick things to eat that also fit into that "healthy" category. I do my best though and make sure I take advantage of every second I have at the gym.

On Sunday I wore a black dress to church that I hadn't worn since the Harry Connick Jr. concert. It was a bit tight at the concert, but was loose on Sunday! Every person I talked to told me how great I looked. That made me feel fantastic!

Then tonight I got on the scale at the gym and discovered I'd lost TWO WHOLE POUNDS!!!!! WAHOOO!!!! That brings me up to about 4 pounds lost total. We're halfway through this challenge and I hope to lose a bunch more weight, but I'll be happy to drop dress sizes too! ; )

Disappointment

This week completely sucked for me. I had a really hard time motivating myself to get to the gym. Mind you, I sucked it up and still went, but it was hard.

I didn't have a perfect diet week, but it wasn't a total bust either. I had plenty of tempting morsels set before me that I pretended to not notice.

Then the biggest blow of all came when I stepped onto the scale at the gym tonight. You see, I don't own a bathroom scale. I hate them. I don't need to be reminded of how fat I am every morning. Ignorance is bliss right? WRONG!

I have been at this Biggest Loser thing for THREE WHOLE WEEKS and I've not even lost two whole pounds. Um... REALLY?!?!

As I set here staring at my completely pathetic bowl of soup, I'm really discouraged. I know in my head that this is good for me. I've already paid for the 8 week challenge, and I'm not going to throw in the towel, but it doesn't mean I'm happy about my results so far.

I appologize for the completely depressing blog post tonight. Hopefully next week is better.

Here's this week's picture! I finally got my Biggest Loser t-shirt!

The Biggest Team of Losers!

My Biggest Loser team was very kind the other night after our workout and agreed to let me take a group picture so I could post it on my blog.

These people were all strangers to me two weeks ago, and now I've come to enjoy their company and encouragement. I only hope those relationships grow over the next few weeks.

When I weighed-in I had lost a pound. That's after bumping my workouts up to two hours a day, 6 days a week. I'm staying positive by telling myself it's muscle... *sigh*

I can't wait until we get to the end and get to take another picture together!

A Mommy's Heart

This is one of those captured moments that makes my Mommy's heart melt!

Some Things Are Too Sacred

I've decided that some of the things the diets want you to do are crazy. We only live once right? What's the fun of living if we're being so crazy careful about every little thing that passes over our lips? Not that I think you should eat with out restraint, but there are some things that are just too sacred to NOT eat...

... like coffee...


I LOVE coffee! I don't drink it everyday though. Not because I don't want to, but because I don't want to need it. I love that I can enjoy my coffee everytime I have it, but not feel horrible if I don't get that caffine jolt.

I only drink coffee two or three times a week, and I always drink it the same way. I don't order those froofy, chocolaty, you-can't-even-taste-the-coffee drinks. My favorite way to enjoy my coffee is a 12oz, two shot americano with 3 raw sugars and a splash of cream.


I don't think that's unreasonable when some of those other drinks are close to 900+ calories. Did you know that black coffee is only 2 calories? That means by adding a little sugar and cream, I'm not even consuming 100 calories!

I will drink my coffee how I like it, diet or not!

Week 1 DOWN!!!

I should have posted this a week ago, but I haven't had time. I appologize.

Week one was rough. I feel like I worked out a lot. I was dilligent about working out at least an hour everyday. It was hard, let me tell you! After not doing any kind of excersize for several years, to jump in and start with an hour-a-day, 6 days a week was like torture! And I haven't even started on the diet end of things!

I decided in the beginning that I wasn't going to go on some crazy binge diet just to lose a lot of weight fast. I'm in it to make a lifestyle change.

After talking with my doctor, I've decided that 1,600 calories a day is a reasonable amount.

I've never been much of a calorie counter. In fact, I don't think I've EVER counted a calorie before this thing started! It was very eye-opening. I had NO idea how many calories I was consuming everyday!

I've learned that it's mostly snacking smart. I shop a lot differently now. There are always fruit and veggies in my refrigerator now. I look at the calorie content before I consume anything and am getting pretty good at staying below my daily allotted calorie intake level.

This is my second week picture. At the weigh-in on Tuesday, I was exactly the same weight. I was disappointed at first, but I'm not letting it get me down.

My team is very supportive and encouraging. It's nice having that kind of support system! When one of us is pooping out on the treadmill, we cheer each other on. It's pretty fun!

"Before"

Two weeks ago, my Mom talked me into doing The Biggest Loser Challenge at the Eastside Athletic Club here in Clackamas, Oregon. I didn't really WANT to do it, but I knew I NEEDED to do it.

You see, I've gained about 40 lbs over the last four years. That's right folks... I just got put in the "obese" category. UGH! Since I'm "older" now, it's a lot harder to lose the weight. I can't just walk around the neighborhood with the kids and expect the pounds to fall off. I decided I needed to do something drastic. What I lacked was the motivation. When my Mom approached me about this challenge thing, I figured God was giving me a big neon "motivation" sign.

So, I signed up.

The Challenge is 8 weeks of your team (in my case, me and seven other people) meeting with your personal trainer twice a week. You compete against the other teams to see who loses the most weight.

Of course there is nutrition advise (which is depressing) and team accountability.

Tonight was our first session. My team seems pretty cool. Our trainer is one of those played-football-in-college-jocks, but he was very encouraging when I got on the scale tonight and burst into tears.

My goal for the 8 weeks is to lose 20 lbs. My overall goal is to lose 45-50 lbs. I'd like to have that accomplished by March. (Before our Ireland trip)

One of the fitness motivators I'm supposed to use is a journal, but I suck at that, so blogging is my solution. (Ya know, cuz I like blogging!) I debated about posting my starting weight here, but am completely mortified by it. So, what I will do is post my progress each week on our weigh-in nights.

Here is the "official" BEFORE picture, taken by my biggest cheerleader, Eric.

Kevin and Jennifer

On Friday my brother, Kevin called me and asked if he and his wife, Jennifer could come over and give something to Eric and I. We made arrangements and when they got to our place Jenn said that Kevin had lied and they didn't really have something FOR us, but something to SHOW us.

Okay... sure.

Then she whips out a whole string of ultrasound pictures!!!!

AAAAHHHHHH!!!!

Kevin and Jenn have been trying to get pregnant since they moved back here four years ago. They've tried some of the medications out there, but didn't want to do all the invasive stuff like IVF and the like.

She was in the process of trying something new, and missed one month of medication. This is when she concieved! God is truly bigger than modern medicine! Hallelujah! She is about 8 weeks along.

My family hasn't had a baby born in nearly 2 years and we're feeling severely baby deprived. We're so excited for Kevin and Jenn! They will be great parents!

We had a little photo shoot on Saturday so they could have pictures before the baby and she said, before she gets "fat"... as if Jenn will EVER be "fat". *rolls eyes*

Money Laundering???

I wonder if this means I should report myself to the authorities for money laundering... At least I know George is nice and clean!

Feeling "Artsy"

My brother and sister-in-law asked me to do a portrait session with them this weekend. (Pics to come soon, I still have to ask permission to post them here.) I arrived at their house early and they were both still getting prettied up. As I sat in their dining room waiting I was suddenly inspired. I'm still not enirely sure I love the picture, but it's at least good enough to post on my blog.

"The Grass is Greener"

In May my husband (bless his heart) decided our front "lawn" left something to be desired. His solution was to rip it out and replant. I disagreed, but told him he could do what he felt was best.

He rented a tiller and got after it.
After it was all tilled up, he skipped a couple steps and just threw some seed down, thinking it would be "good enough". He was wrong!






I tried not to nag about the weeds growing so tall. I was embarassed everytime someone asked me what was going on with our front yard, but I tried to explain that it was Eric's project and I was letting him deal with it.

Finally my brother, Kevin stepped in and said he was going to "help" Eric plant the lawn properly. Kevin is a bit of a freak about his lawn and it drove him crazy that our front yard looked like it did. *rolls eyes*

So, they started from scratch. Rekilling the weeds, and retilling the yard. Then last weekend they got several truckloads of compost spread over the yard and reseeded it. It looked a lot better! Even though it was still only dirt.


We've been dilligently watering the "dirt" twice a day. I've even gone out there and watered in the middle of the day if it looks dry. (It's supposed to be constantly "damp" for the first few weeks.)

Today when Eric went out to water, he came running in to tell me there was GRASS growing! I went out to see this so-called "grass" and sure enough, there it was!


I'm really excited that our front yard will finally look nice. Now, if we could only get the back yard under control...

Sweet Memories

I realize most of you are my friends on FB and have already seen this picture, but I'm so proud of it that I had to post it here too. I think it's seriously one of the best macro pics I've ever taken. It may be the subject matter that makes me feel that way though... I'm completely biased!

Oh, Harry!

About two months ago, I learned that Harry Connick Jr. was coming to town. I love his music and tried to talk my husband into letting me go. He looked at the tickets online and we were shocked at how expensive they were. He decided we couldn't afford it. At that point I just sorta put it out of my head.

Then last week I got a text from my friend saying she'd found a screamin' deal on Harry tickets on Craigslist and did I want to go. Um... YES PLEASE!!!

The tickets were still sort of expensive, but I had just done someone's senior pictures and he happened to pay me the exact amount I'd need for the ticket! Eric rolled his eyes and said I could go! WOO HOO!!!

My friend, Micah and I were giddy with excitement through the whole weekend. She picked up the tickets, we made our plans and FINALLY it was time for the concert!

We were so excited that we read the time of the concert wrong and arrived over an hour early. Oops. So we hung out in the lobby at the Schnitz until they would let us into the auditorium. Then we anxiously sat in our seats staring at our watches waiting for 7:30 to get here!

FINALLY the lights went down and the curtain went up and there he was, with his sexy voice, singing me a love song! Oh, Harry!

It was an amazing concert! The talent in the room was amazing because of course, it's not just Harry, he has a fantastic group of sickningly talented musicians behind him. We were blown away. Not only was the music awesome, but Harry was really funny. He had us rolling in laughter!

It was a great experience and I will do my best to get tickets if he ever comes back to town! For now I have to settle for listening to him on my ipod. I wonder if he needs a flute player...

Until next time Harry!

Piano Lessons

This fall marked the beginning of piano lessons in the Banister household. That makes Mama happy!

Piano is something I wish I knew how to play. I'm jealous of people who can sit down and play such a complicated instrument like it's easy.

I realize that my children may not become virtuoso piano players, but they will have a basic knowledge of the instrument. I feel that it's a good skill to have and they will hopefully thank me later for making them take lessons.

So far, they enjoy it and ask if they can practice. We're only two weeks in though! Hopefully they will continue to like it. Just think of all the piano/flute duets we could play!

Check Out Them Pipes!

I recently played at a memorial service in Bellevue, WA. The church had a beautiful pipe organ that we had the pleasure of enjoying during the service.

This is Joel Ulrich, and he playes a MEAN organ!! It was incredible to watch and even more incredible to listen to. I especially love when he added the upper register pipes in the later verses on the hymns.

It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!

I later learned that Joel was the choir teacher at Bellevue Christian School. He also was a BCS grad himself! He spent his entire career teaching at the school before retiring a couple years ago and is remembered fondly by students and collegues alike.



Thanks for the awesome musical experience Joel! Maybe next time it will be under more happy conditions.

Did I Really Say That?!

Saturday night, my husband and I drove down to Salem so we could attend the wedding of some friends. It was a beautiful wedding. In fact, it was one of the most beautiful weddings I've ever been to!

This is Jordan and Leah.

It was one of those situations where the bride is SO gorgeous that you wonder how the groom landed her. They are such a fun couple and even though the ceremony was amazingly beautiful, it was very light-hearted and fun. (The recessional was "The Way You Make Me Feel", by Micheal Jackson!) You could feel the excitement eminating from the bride and groom!

It seems very rare these days to go to a wedding where you know for a fact that the bride has every right to be wearing that white dress. And that you know the couple will do everything in their power to stay together "Until death do us part." It was refreshing to witness.

After the ceremony we were ushered into the reception hall where we sat at a table with some of our friends. They have been married just a little bit longer than we have, and we quickly started discussing the wonderful ceremony.

It's amazing to me how weddings hold a different meaning than they used to. It's so easy to get divorced these days and the level of commitment is so low that you sometimes wonder why couples shell out thousands of dollars for one giant party.

As I grow older and walk through life next to my husband of almost ten years, I've learned to appreciate what those vows really mean. We've really been through the ringer in the last few years, but we did the hard thing and worked through it TOGETHER. The part where the bride and groom say "Richer or poorer, in sickness and health, in good times and bad, 'til death do us part." means something much more when you've actually seen some of those "poorer" or "bad" times.

After years of working together on our relationship and not giving up, I can honestly say that my relationship with my husband is better than I ever imagined it could be. And to think we could have another 50 years together!

If you're having a hard time with your spouse, let me encourage you to stick with the hard times. Seeing it from the other side of trial, I can tell you that it's worth walking through tough times with your spouse. Your relationship will be better than you thought possible!

This is Eric and I on our wedding day.

Are You Jealous? Cuz You Should Be!

In The Dalles, Oregon there's a little coffee shop called Holstein's. I'm not sure how my family came across this place, but it was probably happened upon when we were on our way up to visit my grandparents.

I don't know a whole lot about the place except that they have GREAT coffee. Especially their Mexican Smoothies! I'm not even sure why they're called "Holstein's". And really, I don't care! Did I mention the amazing coffee?

Every year, my Dad's family has a reunion up at a park in The Dalles. We always make sure to stop on our way up to the reunion for our Mexican Smoothies. And since they're still open when we are on our way home, we stop a second time for another round! The staff usually looks at us strange, but they never remember us by the next year.

So, you're wondering, "what is a Mexican Smoothie?" Well, if you've never had one, you're MISSING OUT! It's like any other mocha type smoothie you'd get at your regular coffee joint except that it has these spices in it. I'm not sure what they are... cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves? All of the above? What I do know is that it's delicious! Of course they're SO bad for you, but we only get them once a year so why not pack on the calories, right?

We look forward to our annual Mexican Smoothie Fix every year. This year I get to have them two weeks in a row because I'll be taking the boys up to spend the weekend with my grandparent's next weekend! And you know, Holstein's just HAPPENS to be on the way to their house... bummer...

Do you want to know how to get there? When you're headed east on I-84, take exit 85 and turn left. After that, just follow the signs to Holstein's Coffee Co. You won't be sorry!

This is me drinking my FABULOUS smoothie. Are you jealous? Cuz you should be! ; )

"Knuckleberries"??

The boys asked if we were going anywhere after church on Sunday. I told them that Nana, Grandpa and Grandma were coming over to go pick huckleberries with us. Nobody really said anything for a while, they were just sort of thinking about what that meant.

Then all of the sudden, Daniel pipes up and says,

"Mama? Have I ever had a knuckleberry?"

I laughed SO hard! I told him that it was a "H-H-huckleberry" and no, he hadn't ever had one.

Once my parents and Grandma got here I told them what Daniel had said. Of course they all thought it was hillarious. They will be called "knuckleberries" for as long as I live!

After we picked all our berries, we were eating our dinner at the van. I turned to Daniel to give him his sandwich and was faced with this:

I asked if he'd eaten all of his knuckleberries. He laughed and said, "No Mama!" Because I couldn't see the evidence all over his face?

Have You Ever Had a Huckleberry?

When I was a kid, my Mom used to drag us up to Mt. Adams so we could help pick huckleberries. We used to moan and complain about it because huckleberries are really hard to pick. They're so small that you can pick for hours and only have enough to make one pie.

These are pictures from when we were teenagers.

Picking berries??

If you don't know what a huckleberry is, you're missing out. It's sort of like a blueberry, but smaller and more purple in color. Huckleberries also have the most amazing flavor.

A couple weeks ago I was talking with my Grandma and she asked if my Mom was planning to go pick again this year. Even though she didn't say it, I knew Grandma really wanted to go. So, I told my Mom we should go picking and take Grandma with us. She agreed!

After the two-and-a-half-hour drive up to the mountain, we began to search for the best berry patch. You should know that these berries grow wild on the mountain, so you have to be aware that you may be sharing your berry stash with a bear at some point. This is where the kids and dog came in handy!

The boys ran through the bushes screaming and laughing at one another. I shushed them once before my Dad told me to let them be loud because it scares off the bears. OHMIGOSH! Thankfully, we never did see any bears.

My Grandma, Mom, Dad and I picked for a solid two hours and only got half a flat of berries. Let me tell you that it was worth the hard work! Out of that half a flat, I got four batches of freezer jam and a pie. (The best pie I've ever eaten by the way.)