Happy 4th!

Happy Independence Day everyone! We celebrated yesterday and had a great day. We spent the morning berry picking trying to stock up on the blackberries while they are still in season. I think we got 13 pounds yesterday and that wasn't our only trip! I have so many plans in store for these delicious berries. The ones that weren't frozen were turned into jam this afternoon along with some peaches that we got yesterday. I now have about 15 cups of jam in my freezer.


Jam. I love it. Not only do I love the taste of it and put way too much on my biscuits, but I love the memories that come with jam. My dad's mom always used to make strawberry jam for our family (well mostly for me because I consumed the majority of it - sometimes I would share with my dad.) She made wonderful strawberry jam. Even though she lived far away and we didn't see each other very often, I loved that we had that connection through strawberry jam. Fast-forward a few years when we were on our annual summer trip to Alabama. My mom and her mom decided that it would be fun to take the kids (me and my brother) berry picking. Well, I had plans of my own and decided it would be fun to make it the most miserable trip possible for them (I was a little terror child- just ask my family). While the berry picking wasn't enjoyable to me, I did enjoy going home that afternoon and making jams of all different flavors!

[Helpful Note: We got some pretty bad blackberry stains on our clothes while picking them. When I got home I began looking for the best natural way to get it out. I was worried when the first few things I read said that they were the hardest stains to get out. You'll never guess what worked: boiling water. Whoever said you need harsh chemical stain removers was wrong!!]

Last night we made our own pizzas and then went to see some fireworks at Clemson. Our friend Lynn joined us for the evening and she had just purchased her first Digital SLR camera so Carson was able to teach her a lot about her camera. It was a very fun and festive evening!