Spring to Early Summer 2016

 This was Mother's Day. We took our traditional picture on the grass with the kids and I, but I really liked this one best that included their special Dad too!

Evan's creation keeps getting better!

 The last post I did was when Lana qualified for state track.  I love that Jeannie left Lana a comment of congratulations on that post.  This was the two-mile award stand.  She had a great run!

 Muffins for convention. :)

 Catfishing just a few miles from home!  It was a good time.  We caught a few "kitties," about 3-4 lbs. if I remember right... Very fun to catch.

State Qualified

Lana qualified the two-mile last week with a time of 12:01.54!

Projects and the Grand Canyon

Maybe I've done a post called "Projects" before.  I guess we do a lot of projects around here. 

Rob's major winter project was his tractor cab.  He created the whole thing from scratch.  Quite impressive I must say!  And, it seems to be working somewhat as "winter insurance."  The purchase of the tractor did a real good job with that last year.  Now maybe the cab will work for another year or two!  We had a lovely winter.


As I'm putting the picture on, I'm remembering - he did use a golf cart roof... so it wasn't quite from scratch. :)

Lana's winter projects included a quilt for her cousin's baby and an FCCLA STAR event called "Sports Nutrition." 

My projects have involved photo books, sewing projects (like the aprons below), and some basement redecorating.  Unfortunately, I don't have an "after" picture ready of the basement yet.  It may be awhile, but we are making progress!

Oh... part of the basement project has been picking out furniture.  After going to several furniture stores and being sadly disappointed by quality and price, we got together and planned out what we wanted... and it was made by my handy husband!  He also made two end tables out of the same type of weathered pallets.  I love them!

Evan possibly takes the cake for the most projects this winter.  He has done some work on his pickup, built several items for the school, did a minor overhaul on a four-wheeler, etc.  He recently opened an Etsy shop, and it seems like he is always fabricating something.... We are excited that he will be working at a dairy this summer! 

Lots of projects going on.  I guess it's kind of what keeps us going around here.  We did take a little break from projects and skipped on down to hike the Grand Canyon for a few days.  What an awe-inspiring experience!  I really should do a separate post on it, but I don't have much confidence that I'll get that done, so here is my favorite picture from our time there.

Nature Does It's Thing... around the world!

I've always had a weakness for growing stuff...  Even growing up in a rather dry climate with limited water....  I was always trying to coax some miracle out of the dirt. 

That's what these things are - miracles!  We heard last week about when we give thanks for our food to remember that we can't even create a green bean!!  (From nothing that is...)  God put the miracle in the seed, and we can grow it, sure.  But, could we create one?  Nope!  So, we give thanks for our food.  We need miracles.  We depend on them, and I enjoy them.  A lot!

In Australia, I took quite a few pictures of flowers and beautiful foliage.  Even though it was Fall time for them, actually just beginning winter, there was beauty all around us.  I will spare you the majority and share just a few...

 I know this picture (above) isn't particularly beautiful, but I took it because it is Aloe Vera - just growing right in a nook under a deck.  Just like - wild!  This is a wonderful healing plant.  I grow one in my house for when we get a burn.

 These two pictures (above and below) were taken in the Bunya Mountains.  This was a rainforest.  SO fascinating!  There were actually those vines hanging down like Tarzan hung from.  :)  And these plants below just start growing on any old tree.

 I've grown this flower (above) at home.  Love these!  These were in a garden at my Sister-In-Law's brother's home. 

And this was down by the Brisbane River.  This was an amazingly beautiful area.  We thoroughly enjoyed all the beauty of the country.  I feel like we barely scratched the surface, but sooner or later, you start missing home...

 So, 2 1/2 weeks after we left home, we came back to this! 

 And this...

 And my peonies even waited for us!

 So... lots of beauty at home too.  It was actually a really nice time to come home.  Stuff was growing everywhere.  I had planted my whole garden before we left, and it had all come up and was just needing a little weeding. But, I enjoy that.  It was a good way to beat the jet lag and a good way to witness little miracles up really close.

Swallowed up?

Each of my Sisters-in-law have done such a nice job of updating their blogs, and I enjoy them so much!  I don't know why I always have so many excuses in my mind not to post stuff... I take so many pictures - even beautiful pictures that I love! And then I don't do anything with them. Or I do something with them way later - which is what is happening now!

Anyway, I called this post "Swallowed up" because the main excuse at the time was our Australia trip.  These things happened BEFORE that!  So, here goes...

Lana had her last piano recital in April.  It's hard to see her friend beside her on the bench as they play their duet, but there are four hands!  And when the video zooms in you can see the numbers on the back of each of their left hands... they had a track meet together the day before!  I was happy to hear that they will play duets again for festival this year even though Lana is no longer taking lessons.

Speaking of track... That is Lana in green just passing the finish line at State in the 2 mile.  She qualified for State in three events.  She didn't place in this event, but gained a nice PR.  I was amazed at her self-discipline to hold back the first few laps, and then she started picking off runners one by one.  It was a fun race to watch!

And in other happenings, Evan drove his Rod and Resto' Beetle to school on the last day.  Needless to say, it was quite a sensation in the parking lot that day!  Even the teachers had to go out and check it over. :)

So, that was mid-to-late May.  Then we headed to Australia, and I already posted about that!  Yay!

Becoming Reality

I've dreamed for many years of having a greenhouse.  In our brutal winter climate, it is doubtful that we can grow things year-round in a greenhouse unless it is heated.  I don't want to break the bank with the electricity bill, so we opted for a greenhouse/garden shed combination that will include some insulation and some heavy-duty polycarbonate glazing...

Harvesting year-round will likely still be a dream, but extending the seasons will shortly become a reality!

My hope was to have a shed that will look pleasing as well as be functional.  Good thing I have such a talented husband and son!  They are building this thing from scratch...Amazing!!

Thanks to Grandpa for lending a hand with concrete.

Taking shape...

Part of my justification for this project was so Evan could learn all this stuff from his dad.  It's so nice to have real reasons, right?  After all, we know that a few gallons of garden produce over the years will NOT pay for this structure...

Part of the payment for this indulgence will be the room full of warm sunshine in February...  I can't wait to experience that! Oh... the smell of dirt in that sun-filled room as well...

And Evan has had some excellent experience with building - with a very good teacher.

This picture was taken from the inside looking out.  The glazing is triple wall, so not perfectly clear, but warmer and stronger than a thinner variety.

It will be a learning experience for me to garden in this new environment.  I can't wait to give it a try!

The Land Down Under

Our trip to Australia was too special not to post!  We enjoyed every bit of it...

High above the Brisbane River...  This bridge tour was over 1,100 stairs.  I didn't take this picture.  I was in the park below. I feel almost like I experienced it because of the stories and pictures! 

We had some beach time along the Sunshine Coast.  Beautiful!  And this is their winter!  :)

...and no, my fellow North Dakotans, this is not snow!

We enjoyed stunning views from a house in the Bunya Mountains.  We went on a lovely hike there and had this amazing adventure below...

This was one of my favorite parts of the trip.  It felt really cool to have those beautiful birds so close!

Lana spent a lot of time between her cousins in the back seat.  We did lots of traveling by car.

We tried lots of new fruits - including this beautiful dragon fruit.  Other fruits we tried were:  passion fruit, custard apple, persimmons, papaya, Lady Finger bananas, quince and figs.  Yum!

Here we are at some relative's house - comparing football ways.  Evan went to a tournament to watch Sam play. 

New Friend!

 The moon is different there.  Instead of the Man in the Moon, they have a rabbit!  You can see him hopping on the left side. His ears kind of curve toward the top center of the moon.

We were on Australian ground for two weeks.  The last few days there, we took public transportation to a resort on the coast and had a few days to relax.  Call it tradition - Lana buried Evan in the sand.

At one of the train stations, heading back to Steve's...

And after a night there, we headed for home!  It was a bit strange leaving there in the morning, because we weren't tired until we landed in LA 14 hours later.  So, it was bright day-time, and we were ready to sleep!  Let's just say, it took some time to recover, but the trip was well worth it.  Well worth it...  :)