Holy Tomatoes!

Dear Maizy,

Sunday morning we woke up earlier than I ever care to on a weekend, but we had to get to Grandma Annette's to can tomato juice!!  Grandma Annette did it last year and I told her next time I wanted to help her and here we are a year later.

I did know what to expect, but I had the best time! Well that was until Sienna woke up. She is such a little pill.  I have the hardest time with her.  I was playing peacemaker between you two all day and that exhausted me more than the actually canning - which is no easy task my dear.

Sienna bullies, manipulates and pushes you around and I can't stand it.  She is not disciplined at all and refuses to listen to anyone.  I have a really hard time with her. Ugh!

Anyway, we got started around 9ish.  First you wash all the tomatoes, then you cut them in in fourths, then you fill a huge sauce pan and boil the tomatoes and stir frequently so they don't burn and to work the juice out of them.  Then you put them through the strainer thing and then strain them again and voila you have juice!  You put the juice in your jars, snap a lid on them and then put them in the steam canning thing for 40+ minutes then they are done!  I make it sound easy but there is a lot of work involved.  You also have to wash all the jars and lids, put the jars in the oven until you fill them  - hot juice in a hot jar works best.  

Anyway, we ended up with 70 quart sized jars full of tomato juice.  Grandma, me and daddy kicked butt.  We each helped and did what we were good at.  We had a few mishaps and burns, but overall, it was awesome. 

See...............................

I looked over and you were riding and talking to Scooby Doo - photo op!

"Look Mommy!"  You did this all on your own, it cracked me up!!

Look how adorable you are!?!?!  Sienna was trying to copy you of course.

We got to Grandma's by 9 am and we weren't finished until 6 pm and we still hadn't finished steaming them.  There was definitely a sense of accomplishment and you feel like a pro after. 

After we put the juice in jars - we still had more tomatoes but not enough jars - Grandma took me, you, daddy and Sienna out to dinner.  We went to Red Robin!  It was actually quite tasty and fun to relax and be with my cute family.

Thanks for being such a good girl that day and always.  I hope you and I do things like this when you're a bit older, it's so memorable!  Memories from that day will far outlast the jars of tomato juice.

I love you!

Love,

mommy