Veterans Day 2025

Happy Veterans Day to all who have served!  Here are some baby-faced pictures of Eric & I back in the 1990's.  Military life was sometimes challenging, but I have fond memories of those days.

Bringing it In

This has been our last week to bring in the final harvest (potatoes) and finish figuring out what to do with everything! 😁 Sir Reginald II enjoys playing on one of our wood piles, and I enjoy resting by the fire after homeschool, farm chores, and work.

Our Anniversary

Off we go to celebrate our anniversary weekend! 27 years of wedded bliss! 🥰

Free Range Chickens

Happy, healthy free-range chickens produce the best eggs!  They turn our wild land into something tasty and nutritious. 🍂 ❤️🍂

Buttercup Squash

I'm glad my family likes buttercup (winter) squash, because we grew 68 good ones this year!  The rest are going to the chickens. 😁

Like Grandfather, Like Grandson

The older Dan gets, the more he looks like his Grandpa (my Dad) when he was younger. 💓

New Transmission for the Van

We always take our big van on major road trips; however, our recent trip took a different turn.  Right before we were supposed to leave, I was taking our boys to Big Woods State Park to hike with a friend.  The van started acting strange on the road, and I thought maybe I hadn't put it into gear correctly.  It struggled up a hill, and when we got to a stop sign, I put it in park and put it back in gear.  I tried to accelerate, but no progress.  I revved the engine a few times (my big mistake) and then realized something was majorly wrong when the engine light started flashing.  I called Eric, and he came out to take a look.  It turned out that a transmission fluid hose had broken.  Since I had kept trying to accelerate, I basically ruined the transmission.  We got the van to a shop, but there was no way it would be ready in time for our big trip to Oregon.  We brainstormed what to do.  Finally, we decided to take Eric's car for the trip (he gets great gas mileage!).  However, we could only fit three of our four boys in the back seat (Becca had already made plans to fly out).  We asked Sam what he'd like to do, and he decided to stay home and take care of our little farm while we were gone.  He did a fantastic job of keeping up on everything with the house, land & animals!  He also did extra things we didn't ask him to do, like trim trees and mow the lawn.  I'm so thankful for a responsible son!  And our younger boys did just fine in Eric's car.  They read books most of the time.  Also, like Eric said, it was better that the transmission went out a few miles from our house rather than in the middle of Nowhere, Montana!  Life is often unpredictable, but God is always good!

Badlands

We're exploring the Badlands on our way home from our 10-day trip!  The kids are awestruck.  So many memories made. ☺️

Eric's Grandma's 90th Birthday

We're celebrating Eric's grandma's 90th birthday, his aunt's 70th birthday, and his sister's, brother's, and cousin's 50th!  Lots of family fun! 😃💓

Almost to Oregon

Good Grub

We've had some amazing food on our trip out West! ❤️

South Dakota

It's been a rainy, wet trip so far, but we're on our way to Oregon!  At least the rain cooled things down. We stopped at Wall, South Dakota for some great food (the best maple donut in the world!) and the attractions! 😃

Monarch Butterflies & Majestic Bees

Monarch butterfly caterpillars enjoyed our milkweed earlier this season, and now the adult monarchs are feasting on our goldenrod (along with the bees)!  Our cats enjoy watching me take pictures of the pollinators. 🦋😁🦋

Sam the Lumberjack

Sam the Lumberjack has been splitting wood for us over the past few weeks! 💓 We have plenty of trees waiting to be used. Looking forward to wood stove weather!

Prolific Produce

Today's haul from two different angles.  Got it all harvested before the rain! 😃👍

Exploring St. Paul

Our kids spent the day playing tourist in St. Paul with their cousin!  They said it was like they had the whole city to themselves since everyone must be at the Minnesota State Fair.  They even got to explore the Wabasha Street Caves!