Garlic Harvest

We harvested our garlic today! 🧄

Pear Harvest

After church today, we harvested pears from our pear trees. The kids helped pick & sort. We ended up with 544 good pears -- over 100 pounds! The not-so-perfect ones will go to the chickens, and the bad ones will go into the compost pile. We're inching our way towards sustainable hobby farming! 😃

Camping Trip to South Dakota

We camped in South Dakota for three nights, and spent about four days enjoying all the sights! We visited Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Bear Country USA, Wall Drug, and the Badlands. It was HOT, so we ate ice cream every day. 🍦😁 We picked up some crafts for the boys to do at the Native American gift shop, and we also picked up some pocket knives with the boys' names on them. Everyone had so much fun! I'm tired and sore now, but it was absolutely worth it!!

More Camping & Badlands

Our camping trip to South Dakota was so much fun! Bear Country USA was a hit, as well as the Badlands!

Start of the Journey

We're camping in South Dakota with Grandma Becky Behymer Layton and Grandpa Terry for a few days! We're seeing the sights, and having lots of fun! We have plans to visit Mount Rushmore, and maybe the badlands and some caves. Making memories!

Becca: Performing Artist

Becca, my true artist, has finally decided what her next adventure will be now that she has graduated high school. She's going to study Theater at Normandale Community College this upcoming fall! And, her sister's apartment is only 3 miles away from campus, so guess where she'll be hanging out on a regular basis? 😉 We're excited to see where her talents lead! ❤️🤎❤️

Homeschool Plans

It's time to start planning our upcoming homeschool year! Heart of Dakota is our core curriculum for the twins & Dan (with extensions). Sam likes to work independently, so he has his own classes, some with online teachers. We're looking forward to another year of exploring God's creation & HIStory with our kids! 💙💚💙💚

Date Night

Last night was for the kids; tonight is for us! Time for a date! 💓

Celebrating Independence

Eric put on a good show for the kids tonight! Happy Independence Day, everyone!! 🇺🇸

More Wild Black Raspberries

Today's pickin's from our wild raspberry patches! The weather cooperated this time, and we got almost 8 lbs. Time to make some jelly!💜❤️💜

Monarchs on Milkweed

Some of our Monarch butterfly caterpillars have grown up! 🦋😃

Peace

Wild Black Raspberries

We picked some of our wild raspberries this morning, until the rain started. Maybe next week we can get more. If these don't get eaten right away, I might be able to make something with them! 😁

Lunar Beauty

I had forgotten about the full moon, and would have missed it completely if I hadn't gone out late in the evening to check on my gardens. The moonlight really added to the beauty of the farm fields! It was such a peaceful night. 💙💜💙

First Harvest

First harvest of the season...kohlrabi! I'm trying out some new things this year. I've never grown okra or watermelon, either, so it will be fun to see how they turn out! I'm also growing traditional veggies like potatoes, onions, garlic, peppers, tomatoes (14 plants, what was I thinking?!), beans, peas, beets, acorn squash and pumpkins. Looking forward to some good eatin'!

Father's Day 2021

Happy Father's Day to the best husband & father we could ever ask for! He's always willing to go the extra mile for us. Whether working at his job, or working on our homestead, he's unstoppable! However, he also takes time to play & have fun with the kids. We love him so much!!

Very Hungry Caterpillars

Monarch butterfly caterpillars are all over our milkweed! It's amazing to think that once these guys are done transforming, they might stop at my Dad's house in Texas before overwintering in Mexico. 🦋