Annual Salsa Making Extravaganza!

Oh, we had a fun weekend! Let me start by explaining for those of you who aren't familiar with this annual event which this year was dubbed "Salsapalooza"! Keven's mom, her kids and grand kids (and often others) get together and can homemade salsa! It is SOOOOOO good! Usually this event takes place on Labor Day weekend which is awesome not only because of the LONG weekend for everyone but the ripeness factor of tomatoes. That is VERY important! And we do it at Vonnie's house (Keven's sister) in the middle of NOWHERE is SE Colorado. When I say the middle of nowhere I mean... if you were to point on the map of Colorado to the "middle of nowhere", Vonnie's house is in the middle of that. It's the perfect location! She has a mother-in-law type kitchen in her basement and tons or room for the little ones to run and play! PERFECTO! Betty (Keven's mom) and Vonnie (Keven's sister) traditionally do the hard work of going to a neighboring town and picking the tomatoes. And I mean TONS of tomatoes. Last year they made something like 170 pints (or was it quarts) of salsa, so we're talking no small feat!

So, I guess I'll start with the trip down to Vonnie's. It was a good trip. We got about 3 hours 20 minutes into the 3 1/2 hour drive when we had a flat tire! We were obviously in the middle of nothing! This was actually great because we let the kids out to walk around while Keven put on the spare tire. Just an idea of how desolate it is, one car drove by in the entire time that it took him to replace the tire. Oh, and Marlie was freaking out, afraid that we were NEVER going to make it to Vonnie's. Keven told her to start walking toward some trees to look for water and I told her it's a good thing we had our tent so we could live in the pasture! Oh that poor child! To top it off, Dani got bit by a deer fly or something while we were waiting and flipped out! God knew what He was doing with the tire holding off until we were close. This mama wouldn't have made it without hitting the roof I'm afraid! Then there was Hannah, not a bit worried and as cool as a cucumber!

My man being THE MAN!

Marlie in a huff! Oh, I am so glad I captured this!

No worries!

Not long after we got to Vonnie's, Keven caught a lizard that the girls has a blast with. Hannah played with it for hours, literally!

I am convinced that no matter how old brothers get the old adage always applies, boys will be boys! Keven and Dave are big UFC fans! So, when they get together, especially in the wide open spaces, UFC-type fighting is a must! Oh, those boys! Oh, and Dave thought he got a bruised rib, my hubby has scraped up arms, and they were both sore the next day! I guess it was worth it!


Some pictures of the kids later on in the night watching Junglebook. They all got along fabulously!

(L-R) Dani, Marlie, cousin Julia, Hannah - laughing their faces off!

(L-R) Dani, Julia, Marlie, Shane, Jasmine & Hannah

Needless to say, no salsa making took place on Saturday. But, Vonnie and Betty did pick a lot of maters!

So, Sunday morning most were up and ready to make salsa! I on the other hand slept until 7:30 which is almost unheard of for me! Thank you dark basement!

Dave and Betty hard at it!

Vonnie, Dani & Shane washing tomatoes!

Tyler and Dani helping

Some pictures of the kids having a blast on the swing!


And, the grand finale of Salsapalooza 2008......... THE THEME SONG!

Keven and his niece, Michelle, are two peas in a pod. You would think they were siblings! It's amazing. Well, they came up with the brilliant idea of composing a theme song for Salsapalooza! Michelle even brought out her trumpet from junior high and added this musical talent to their song. Think "Salsapalooza" Nacho Libre style.

Serious song writing taking place!

Dani trying out her trumpet playing talents!

Now for the lyrics:

In the late summer of El Nino time,
You drink cervesa with the salt and the lime.
But something is missing, oh, what could it be?
There is no flavor, no spices, no nutrients for me.

Salsapalooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooza!

In the middle of nowhere, the hot peppers grow.
They'll clean jew sinuses, blow fire from your hole.
El madre will work jew fingers to the bone.
Salsa making make us stronger, our haunches will be toned.

Salsapalooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooza!

The salsa is the bomb, your tongue shall call out its name.
It always makes you wiser, it can bring you fortune and fame.
Your nostrils will flare like a bull in a fight.
It cures the cancer, and E.D. and AIDS it will smite.

Tortilla! - Cilantro! - Poblano! - Frijoles! - Habanero! - Chihuahua! - Con Queso!

Salsapalooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooza!
Salsapalooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooza!

Now for the video! I am so bummed that I only got the first verse recorded but I ran out of memory on my camera! So, here's a taste of the silliness. Michelle's camera has the whole song so hopefully I can share soon!