Corn Time

This weekend Drew, Heber and I went out to Gothenburg to put up corn with my parents for the winter.  Growing up my family always put up corn.  It was an August tradition as sure as extracting honey! 

I have many memories of being "put to work" husking corn in the backyard of 1615 Lake Avenue.  It was a family affair.  Over the years my parents created quiet a system for this yearly project.  Each year they improved on their designs and now they have one very effective set up. 

As us girls got older (therefore less interested in corn for the winter) Grandma Ellen would rope us back into the process.  In my later high school years I remember husking corn for hours with her in her garage listening to NPR.  That is my family joke about putting up corn...... if you put up corn with Grandma you listen to NPR and if you put up corn with Dad you listen to old country.  This year it was all old country.  However, I would give just about anything to get to sit in Grandma's garage and husk corn again.  She is so missed!

It wasn't until I moved to Omaha and met "city people" that I realized that not every family puts up massive amounts of corn for the winter.  I had so many friends ask about the process.  So this year I took my camera along and took pictures of the whole process for anyone interested!  Be prepared for lots of pictures of CORN!!! 

The first step in the process is to buy the corn.  Living in Gothenburg we have an endless supply of corn.  This year Mom and Dad bought 200 ears or a 1/4 of a pick up load.  This is a MAJOR scale down from growing up.  Normally we would have a WHOLE pick up load. 

After the purchase of the corn is complete it is time to husk the corn.  This is a long process and a fairly dirty one.  Drew enjoyed perfecting his corn husking skills. 

The end product is some really nice looking corn.  If only it stopped here.  :)

While the husking of the corn takes place Dad is busy at work setting up everything else.  We have two burners to boil the corn, two tubs (one with cold water, one with ice water) and a carving station. 

When we are ready to go it is a process that goes for hours.  The corn boils for 3 minutes, soaks in cold water for 3 minutes, soaks in ice water for 3 minutes and then heads to the carving station. 

In case you are wondering this is what Heber did the whole time we worked.  We did learn that he LOVES to eat corn.  Cob and all! 

Once the corn has been cooked it moves on to the carving station.  This is an invention of my parents.  It make the process so smooth.  I remember back in the day doing it other ways and this takes the cake. 

The corn goes on the nail and one person cuts off the kernels with an electric knife.  Another person scoops the corn to the hole and down into the bucket.  Brilliant! 

Finally the corn is scooped into freezer bags.  We flatten the bags for quicker flash freezing and also they are easier to store.  When placing them in the freezer they need to not overlap until they are completely frozen.  This means you need lots of freezer space. 

Overall it was a fun weekend with my parents back home.  I love walking down memory lane and having good corn in the winter is PRICELESS!  Here is a final picture of Drew and I.  Don't mind my hair or outfit.  It was very cold (first time putting up corn in the cold) and on corn day no one does their hair! 

Henning Steamboat Vacation

Once all the wedding guests had gone home, the bride and groom were on their honeymoon and the centerpieces were all packed away, it was time for a Colorado vacation!!  Drew's Aunt and Uncle were so gracious and let the Henning family use their BEAUTIFUL Steamboat condo for a week.  It was such a wonderful gift to the family and a vacation we had been looking forward to for a long time!

We loaded up the cars and headed out to Steamboat Colorado for some rest and relaxation.  The vacation was filled with lots of laughter and memories that will last a lifetime.  I felt so blessed and thankful to God that Marcia was healthy enough to go on the vacation.  To be together as a family in Colorado truly seemed so far off a year ago.  It is amazing the healing power God has provided Marcia's body over the last months.  It was truly a celebration vacation! 

The first night we arrived we got to watch the hot air balloon rodeo.  Right out back of the condo five huge hot air balloons set up.  They lit up the night and were very beautiful.  The following mornings we also got to watch the balloons fly overhead from the condo deck.  There is nothing like a steaming cup of coffee, morning Colorado air and watching hot air balloons pass in the sky!

One of our favorite activities while in Steamboat was a family hike up Fish Creek Falls.  It as a beautiful hike where we got to see two beautiful waterfalls.  It was a long hike up but the whole family made it to the upper waterfall and it was totally worth the hike! 

During our time in Steamboat we biked, tubed down the river, shopped, visited the hot springs, went to the rodeo, ate amazing food and had a blast as a family together!  It was a wonderful vacation the Henning family will always treasure!

 

 

 

Family BBQ

This summer has been like no other!  We have been so busy with a wedding, vacations and fun in the sun.  It has been a summer to go down in the books for so many reasons!  Things are finally settling down and I need to quickly get my blog up to date! 

The main event of our summer was Rita and Alex’s wedding!   They got married on June 29^th and everything was absolutely perfect.  Rita and I got to spend so much time together planning and preparing for their special day.  I will always treasure the time we got to spend together.  Especially now that she is living in another state (more on that later).

The first event of the wedding weekend was our family BBQ.  On the Thursday before the wedding Drew and I invited all of the families in town to come over to our place for a casual BBQ.  I woke up early and put a 17lb pork butt on the traeger and we completed the meal with all the normal BBQ fixings.  Thankfully my parents were in town and were such a HUGE help in getting ready for the event!

We had 26 people in town so we opened up the garage door and put picnic tables in the driveway for extra seating.  It was of course hot but for the end of June we got a very nice day.  It was such a special time for everyone to spend quality time together.  It meant so much to our whole family to have everyone come to town.  It was also the first time all four Evenson girls were in one place!  Finally!!

The happy couple just a few days before they tied the knot!

Jackie and Eli having fun at the BBQ.  

 

Grandma Nana with Eli.

 Father and the bride.

Grandpa Harold and Grandma Betty came all the way from Hawaii for the wedding!

 

Together again!

 The night was filled with lots of laughter and celebration for the happy couple!  It was a great way to kick off the wedding weekend.