Field Trip - Posted by Emily

A couple weeks ago Dad got a ticket from our state representative to go see the State of the State Address by our Governor at the Capitol. He decided to take the whole family along for a field trip. It was really amazing! We went to the Capitol a number of years ago, but the only thing I remembered was climbing up the spiral stairs to go see the golden horses. I don't think Ben and Jonny remembered anything. We went on a very educational 45 - minute tour, which was great. The Capitol is 105 years old and at that time it cost 4.5 million dollars to build! It is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO beautiful! After listening to the Governor speak and wandering around for awhile, we went outside and took pictures on the Capitol steps. It was magnificent. My favorite things were the domes, the spiral stairs, and the pillars, not to mention everything else...the beautiful granite and different stones, the golden horses, the big beautiful rotunda, floating stairs, and so much more. Enjoy the pictures!...I must have took several hundred! :)

Winter Fun on the Farm

The first year we moved out here we bought a snowmobile in anticipation of enjoying riding it across the countryside, but the winters have been pathetic ever since, and our snowmobile had done nothing but collect dust. But finally we have the kind of winter I remember having as a kid - lots of snow! Here a few pictures of some "winter fun on the farm".

Emily is the one who took all the great pictures! :)

Two-Day Snowstorm

My sister was here visiting during our two day snowstorm. We all enjoy having her at our house, and the children are always trying to figure out how to get her to stay longer. She is living in the Twin Cities right now, so we are hoping to get to see her more often this spring and summer.

While she was here, us girls tried to get outside everyday for a walk, something Emily and I do regularly. We walk our four wheeler trails through the slough, and the terrain provides a good energizing workout.

This week the two-day snow storm gave us an even better workout! After tromping through about 12 inches of snow and even deeper drifts, I could feel my shirt saturating with sweat under my heavy winter gear. Who needs a health club membership when you have so much snow? :) Jackson, our faithful guard dog, who always joins us for our walks, and insists on taking the lead every time (I guess that's his way of protecting us), knew better than to break the trail in such deep snow. He happily brought up the rear. :) So the rest of us took turns being first. :)

Even though life is busy with school right now, I am enjoying the quietness of winter. I love the relaxed evenings by the fire playing games and reading books. In less than a month life will kick into high gear again and stay that way until about November. We're putting together our seed order now and will be starting some seeds under lights soon. Then in March we will begin tapping trees along with preparing for baby chicks to arrive, and of course we will be lambing and kidding in the spring.