When life gives you lemons, or when your parents lemon tree is brimming with unpicked lemons....we made lemonade. The best thing about this lemonade besides the wonderful fresh flavor was how simple it was to make. I think the hardest thing was picking the lemons (Mimi, Mike and the girls did that part) lemon trees have very long and pointy thorns. Paige and Megan were very good lemon squeezers. Megan even had a cut on her finger, and braved it out.
When I announced that I was going to make lemonade my dad gave me this look with raised eyebrows that pretty much said "that sounds like too much trouble". Maybe he was recalling the "great grape juice fiasco of 1984"? That's another story for another time.
Well he must of liked my lemonade because when I gave him a taste from my first glass he didn't give the glass back until it was empty! We made two batches of lemonade, I made the first and Mike made the second. We even brought some to the cookout at Shann and Steve's, it did not last long enough. We had just enough lemon juice left over from the first batch that Carole made her yummy lemon bars, they didn't last long either!

Ingredients

Makes 2 quarts

• 4 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 cups sugar
• 3 1/2 cups water
• Lemon peel strips, for garnish (optional)

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups lemon juice and the sugar. Bring to a boil, stirring, until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat, and let syrup cool.
2. In a pitcher, stir together lemon syrup, remaining 2 cups lemon juice, and 3 1/2 cups water. To serve, pour over ice, and garnish with lemon peel, if desired.