We came home from our trip to a bountiful harvest in our vegetable garden.

To carry our harvest from the garden to the house, we have been using an old plastic tote that some of Norah's sand toys came in. We grabbed it by chance, because the tote was in the sandbox next to the garden, but it has proven perfect for the job, since it isn't too big or too small, has handles and can be hosed down when we are finished with it.

And, I've ordered the supplies I need to start canning my own tomatoes. My supplies should arrive some time later this week. My good friend Jessica has a lot of experience canning and has agreed to come over one Saturday soon and help me can the first batch, step by step.

In the meantime, we are trying to find as many ways as possible to fit our fresh vegetables into our meals so the tomatoes and other things we've already picked won't go bad before we can use them or preserve them for the duration. And, we are giving many away to neighbors and friends.

Here are some random photographs from our trip to the heartland.

She didn't know her.
But she left a little wild flower
On my grandma's grave.
She picked it and walked right to the spot
And left it there
While her dad and I watched.
She came back to us
Solemnly
Somehow understanding life and death perfectly.
I kissed and rubbed her head.
"It was just a weed," she told her dad.
"No. It was much more than that," he said.

From Tulsa, we traveled with my parents and my brother to Booneville, Arkansas. That's where my dad's parents lived for many years and where many of my relatives on my dad's side of the family still live.

The get-together I told you about was a 50th anniversary party for my dad's sister Joyce and her husband Jerald. Joyce's married name is Baker. The big celebration was held at their daughter's house, my cousin Shelly. Her married name is Bolyard. I say all that to explain the sign below. We stayed at the Countryside Inn and as you can see from the photo below and the whole town was invited to the event.

We met up at Joyce and Jerald's house for dinner our first night in Booneville. It was mostly family... and grasshoppers! There were so many grasshoppers!

Avril sits with her great uncle Harold. He's my dad's sister Linda Ann's husband.

My dad and Dwayne stand around and shoot the breeze with two of my uncles, my dad's brothers Harold and Darrell.

Norah played with some of her second cousins well past dark. Is that what my cousin's kids would be to Norah? Second cousins?

The next day, after breakfast and a pool party at my cousin TJ's house,
we drove out of town to see my grandfather's old house and my parent's land.

This old house is much bigger in my memories. There have been a lot of changes since my grandparents were alive and owned the place. I think there used to be more trees around, shading the property. And I am pretty sure the house used to have a second story porch with columns, making it look much more grand.

This is the hole where we used to swim. The older kids would climb up on the bluff and jump off the edges. We let Norah take her pants off and splash around in her panties. We didn't bring a swimsuit with us and we were in the country, so we felt free to improvise. And, you don't take a five year old to a swimming hole without letting her get wet. That would just be cruel.

After the more formal anniversary party that afternoon, the one the town was invited to, the family came back for a reunion later that evening.

I enjoyed my mom and dad's help with Avril.

My older brother Donnie.

Speaking of my brother, I found his initials written on this slab in my granddad's backyard earlier that day. I think the story is that my grandpa was sealing an old well and the kids got into the wet cement. My dad said that my grandfather was furious about it, but now, it's one of the only things that tie our memories to the property.


My dad stands with his brothers and sisters for a picture below. When I was a kid and we lived too far away to visit, they'd send my dad photographs of them all lined up in their birth order with a space in between them where my dad would be. I never understood why they stood that way. It frustrated me to no end that they didn't stand in a complete line. But, when I grew up, I realized they stood that way on purpose. They were always "leaving a space" where my dad was supposed to be, letting him know they had missed him. So, now, it's always touching to see them all together.

From left to right they are Ronnie, Donnie- my dad, Harold and Darrell. My dad has his arm around his sister Joyce, who was the one celebrating her anniversary, and his other sister Linda is on the right.

My dad's brothers and sisters and all their spouses together. Not sure why my mom is staring out into the pasture...

All the children... that were there. I'm right in the middle behind Vonda.
Some of the kids, including my older sister, weren't able to come.

My parents and Avril again.

My cousin Amee and her husband Marc.

The dance floor.

In the photo below, I am doing the electric slide with my mom and Norah and some of my cousins. I also got to slow dance with my dad. That was pretty sweet.

A very tired baby girl with a very full diaper.

We wanted to just fall into bed when we got back to the hotel.
We had a great time. My family really knows how to party!

Avril wanted to read her book, but we wanted to get some video of her walking, so we tricked her. We pretended to take turns reading through the whole thing and she's young enough that she fell for it.

From St. Louis, we went to Springfield, Missouri. I realize now I must not have taken any pictures in Springfield. But, from our hotel window, we had a perfect view of the big screen at Hammond's Field while the Cardinal's were playing. Norah swam with another little five year old for over an hour in the hotel's outdoor pool as the sun went down and Dwayne had a business meeting. We were able to walk across the street for dinner at Chipotle's, one of my favorite restaurants. It was a quick stop, but it was nice.

From Springfield, we went to Tulsa. I had Chick-fil-a with the girls and we swam in the hotel pool that while Dwayne worked. Later in the afternoon, my parents met up with us. They were on their way to a family get-together in Arkansas. They brought Del Rancho sandwiches for dinner. We ate in the hotel's dining area and then played a complimentary game of put-put on the hotel's course while the sun went down.

My dad and mom playing and reading books with the baby.

Grandpa sits and watches us play.

So much sky!

From Chicago, we went to St. Louis. While we were there, I took the kids to Grant's Farm one morning. There were other things to do in St. Louis, certainly, but this was five minutes from our hotel and they don't charge for admission.

This is a photo of the cabin Ulysses S. Grant lived in.

This fence is made from confederate rifle barrels.

Long horns

Buffalo still shedding their winter coats

Norah fed the goats.

We went to their shows and saw the animals do tricks.

Norah rode the carousel.

Bald eagle

Elephants

Macaw

Turtle

They also had a variety of horses.
I liked this one's spots which look like they are drips of chocolate
that soaked into the rest of its coat.