More Kool-Aid Please!

August 13th weekend found us in Hastings, NE which just so happens to be the birthplace of the ooh so sugary drink that all kids love, Kool-Aid! We went to visit Camille, and partake in all the festivities including a parade, the largest Kool-Aid stand, the Hastings Museum, and waterpark. If the line wasn't so long we would have entered Jarod and Adam in the Kool-Aid drinkng contest as they could have probably set some records! I don't think I've drank that much Kool-Aid in one weekend since, well I don't know if I ever have! If you purchased a mug, you could have free refills all day long. And since they have what seemed like hundreds of different flavors, I felt compelled to try at least some. Pinneapple turned out to be my favorite! Andrew had a great time at the parade.

He was so excited...this was even before he had any Kool-Aid!

One sip of the sweet sticky stuff and it was all over! He wouldn't put the cup down for anything

...not even to smile for a family picture!

CHEERS!

Andrew loved the bears at the museum. He kept going back to talk to these polar bears.

The rest of the Kastl boys were enjoying making dams and playing in the water!

This was the best waterpark I've been to. Oh, we had so much fun! Everyone took their turn going down the waterslides (even my 8 month pregnant self!), Jarod and Adam were doing flips off the boards, Camille, Andrew, and I relaxed on the lazy river, and even Dave and Kathy had a blast in the wave pool. This waterpark is definitey not just for kids. Camille, we will be coming back!

Summer Fun

Time for Canning

I love canning! It's something that I've really gotten into since getting married and moving to Norfolk. When I was a newlywed, enjoying domestic bliss, Jarod's grandma taught me her secrets to making the worlds best salsa. It was the best feeling to be able to take freshly-picked-from-the-garden ingredients and make them into something so delicious. Not only that, but to be able to can it and have enough to last through the year so that I wouldn't have to buy another jar of salsa made me feel so resourseful.

I have since expanded my canning capabilities to strawberries, cherries, peaches, cucumbers, green beans, corn, tomatoes, peppers, and apples. From spring through fall I am busy making:

strawberry jam

strawberry rhubarb jam

strawberry rhubarb pie filling

cherry jam

cherry pie filling

cherry syrup

russian dill pickles

hot garlic pickles

dilly green beens

salsa

green salsa

black bean & corn salsa

tomato soup

hot pickled peppers

applesause

apple pie filling

apple butter

and I'm always interested in trying new things.

This year, our most prized possession, our cherry trees, did not produce any cherries! These cherries are SOOOO good and make THE best desserts and I only have one jar left over from last year to get me through until next spring! GASP!!!!

The best part about canning is the time I get to spend with my friend Jessi. We've shared five years of picking, chopping, stirring, sanitizing, ladeling, spilling, cleaning, listening for the "pings" from a good seal, talking, and helping each other through life. In the beginning we made lots of messes, but now we have a good system going and can whip through three batches of salsa in one night. These last two years she has been very patient with me while I attend to a screaming child and give my pregnant aching body a couple minutes rest.

This year was fun having Andrew help pick the vegetables from the garden and be my taste tester.

I am looking forward to next month when the apples will be ready for picking. Andrew loves my applesauce! I'll have to be sure to can some unsweetened applesause for when the new baby is ready for his or her first solid foods.

Andrew is officially walking!

July 16th, 3 days before his 15 month birthday, Andrew decides to start walking. These pictures are at the train station in the Lincoln Haymarket. Watch out world, now Andrew can really get into everything!