Holy Harvest, Batman

After I was asked to be the decorating committee (I did not leave out the word "on," I was asked to be the entire committee) for a women's conference at our church, I decided since it was in October, and I didn't really have a budget, that I'd plan ahead and plant some stuff. So plant some stuff, I did. Mom and Dad and Dan were gracious enough to let me use some space on the farm, and Mom and I planted gourds, mini pumpkins, giant pumpkins, sorgum (probably spelled wrong, don't care) and Indian corn. It got sprayed, nearly died, but survived to produce a whopping harvest. Except the corn, but oh well.

Mom and I planted in May and harvested in September. It was like a treasure hunt...digging through all the vines to find the little gourds within. We had a lot of fun. (Thanks for all your help, Mom.) I left the giant pumpkins and picked those a few weeks later (thanks, Dad, for carrying those behemoths to the truck!!)

When it was all said and done, the back of Scott's truck was stuffed with our harvest...tons of sorgum and five rubbermaid tubs full of gourds.

After I got home and unloaded, the kids help me wash all of the gourds and then we moved them all into the living room. (I have a very understanding husband, by the way...it was days before we could walk in the living room other than through the little pathway winding around the gourds...) The kids had fun playing with them - created gourd families and gourd towers...very entertaining.




While I was waiting for all of the gourds to grow, I shopped garage sales and second-hand stores for baskets (about 60 total) which I spray-painted chocolate brown (2 coats) and then filled those with gourds and sorgum. I also had about 20 vases and 20 mason jars that I filled with weeds (beautiful weeds, but weeds, nonetheless...they were VERY cheap...I cut them out of a ditch). And of course, I forgot to take pictures of the event. But, I hauled some of it home after I sold a bunch of it at the event, so you get the idea.





Dad also let me whack down some of his field corn to make corn shocks (although, being the Iowa boy that he is, I had to go into the field, not cut on the edges, so it wouldn't show...) I added a little foof that Mom and I found at Crafts Direct. Great store, in St. Cloud - it's like my mother ship, calling me home. Come visit sometime, I'll take you there. And give you some gourds to take home!

26.2 X 11 = A Whole Lotta Miles

Scott recently finished marathon number 11!! We all packed up for the weekend and went to the Twin Cities in early October for the Twin Cities Marathon. It was a beautiful day and we even made it to the finish line in time to see Scott run by. (He's in the blue shirt.)
He trained with a friend in Willmar, who was running his first marathon...we'll see if it's his last.We are so proud of him and had a great weekend. (We even ate at PF Chang's...twice. That's what we get for letting the kids pick! It will be awhile before I want to go back; it was a lot of Chinese.)

The Hills (Part 2) and Beyond

I never finished blogging about our vacation to the Hills, so here goes. Scott and Jake did their annual crawdad hunt and feast (ICK!!)

They like to do crazy things, so they also decided to do a little rock jumping at Horse Thief Lake. It was REALLY high and I am not the world's best photographer, but if you look really, really close, you can see Jake on his way down.

We all decided to hike to Hippie Hole one day...it's a little off the beaten path, but worth it once you get there. There's a little waterfall into a deep pool and everyone jumped...except for Mom, who is a big ol' chicken. Bok Bok.

Then it was on to Family Camp at Hidden Acres in Iowa. Mags participated in the sidewalk chalk contest.

Jake and Scott paddles their hearts out in the canoe race...

...ran a 5K (Jake's very 1st!!)

And of course, Jake once again caught a mongo bullfrog for the frog jumping contest. One of these years, he's going to win.

And then it was home again just in time for the first day of school. And while we've had the nicest October EVER, September was not so nice, so it was jackets and pants and gray skies on the first day.

And now another month and a half has flown by and I'm still way behind on my blogging. I will catch up, I promise. On a good note, I have been accomplishing other things. Which I hope someday to have time to blog about.

Happy Birthday Maggie-Doodle!!!

Eight years ago today, my itty-bitty Maggie Doodle was born. What a day. It has been an amazing eight years with our little girl. Take a look back...

(I apparently didn't go digital until a couple of years after she was born and was too lazy to scan anything in...sorry, no baby shots.) Anyway, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAGS! You have been a huge blessing!

Adopted & Black Hills Part 1

Little Orphan Annie is an orphan no more. Our babysitter adopted her - YAY!! She watched her for us this past weekend; fell in love and the rest is history. No more midnight feedings for me. Yippee!

On to other news:

After the wedding, we decided a little R & R was in order, so we headed for the hills. The Black variety. We decided to do a few new adventures, so we hit the Mammoth Site in Hot Springs.

A very interesting place to visit if you ever get the chance. We learned a lot and....

...Jake even got to help with a demonstration! On our way back to our cabin, we drove through Custer State Park and could not believe the wildlife we saw.
We saw buffalo, prairie dogs, mountain goat, elk, antelope, coyote, deer and even some wild turkeys. Very cool.

Unfortunately, the photographer dropped the ball on a few of the animals. Sorry.

Scott and Jake got in some hiking - Jake hiked Hearney Peak for the 1st time - woohoo!! It's a LOOONG hike, so we were quite proud of him. Maggie and I went to Old MacDonald's Farmyard while all of the hiking was going on, and then we decided to take a nap - our kind of vacation!

Stay tuned for part II!