Makin' Jam & Playin' in the Cottage

My cousin Jessie was married this past Friday and so Tori and I went up for the big day, and to support my uncle Vern. Mom flew in and my great-aunt Helen and her husband also drove in for the event (other family members came as well). Helen wanted a 4-generation group picture, and this is as close as we could get since my grandma passed away several years ago.
Bryan has been finishing half of the basement, so I thought I would post a couple pics of our favorite part - "The cottage" playhouse under the stairs. As you can see, Tori is already having a ball playing inside. (This is a shot of Tori helping dada put up sheetrock inside and taking measurements.)

This is a front shot of the playhouse with sheetrock. We're planning on painting it to look like red brick, putting shutters on the outside of the windows and having a porch light on the left-hand side. There will be shingles on the top part of the roof. We might be playing inside more than Tori :) Vern helped Bryan with the electrical work, so now Bry is a pro!

My great-aunt Helen picked a plethora of peaches from Vern's house and decided that I needed them, so after making 6 batches of peach freezer jam, I thought I should make another flavor...here is Tori helping me make raspberry jam (super easy, but not quite as cheap as the peach jam with free peaches!)

Notice the big black pot??? This was one of the treasures Vern gave to me when we were up at his house. There are a lot more suprises, but I can't spill the beans, since Bry hasn't seen them yet :) The pot will be perfect for Halloween though because we can put candy inside or make homemade rootbeer in the cauldron. So many possibilities!