Time Flies By

2011 wasn't a super eventful year for us; however, there were some fun things we did, as well as some big projects we accomplished on our farm.

 Last March, Matt and I went skiing with my family.  We stayed in this beautiful cabin and had a wonderful time RESTING and having fun.

 While we were gone, the kids stayed with Grandma Carmen and Auntie Mary.  Grandpa  Bob was on a test trip for Polaris, but the girls had fun with the kids.

 We went camping a couple times.  This was the last time; it was in August and not very good camping weather; we had fun anyway, though.


 Mark L., Nikki, Matt, Nathan, and I did a big baling thing this summer; we baled a couple thousand straw bales to sell for a little extra income.  It wasn't tons of fun, but it's nice to be able to make a little extra money.  Of course, the kids were tons of help, too.

Adina became very proficient in helping on the farm.  She loved baling! (Not really....but sometimes the only thing that worked was to take the kids with us, so they had to deal with a little extra tractor time.)

 Adina celebrated her first birthday.  We had a big party at our house with lots of family - cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-aunts and uncles.  The weather turned out perfect, which was wonderful, since our house is kind of small for everyone to fit in at once.

 Matt's parents, Bob and Carmen, celebrated their 40th anniversary on July 3rd.  Their children threw them a big party on the 1st, and they had a great time seeing and celebrating with everyone.  Congrats, Bob and Carmen!

 Matt and I celebrated our 4th Anniversary on August 25th.  Four years of happy, wedded bliss. :)

 Mom, Nikki, and I spent many hours canning salsa, tomatoes, bean pickles, etc.  We love canning - especially all together.
We don't love when Jacki drops her box of salsa down the basement stairs, though. 

I won't ever repeat that.

I promise.

 Clarence has turned into such a mini-Matt over the year.  He loves everything about farming, working cows, and helping his daddy.  He has a lot of energy like his daddy, too. 

His life revolves around cows. 

Whether it's actually helping Matt, playing with his toy cows, or fencing Adina and I in in the kitchen with chairs as his fence, he never stops thinking about cows.

 We love our cows. :)

 We finished a huge fencing project this fall.........

It was a lot of work........

We're glad all we have left are the cross-fences and hooking up the waterers.

The cows have enjoyed grass all fall up until today, when we finally got enough snow to really cover all the grass.  They like all the extra room, too.

 And, we had a lot of great help from these two cute  kids.

 Matt dug up dirt in the back of the house and we poured cement for our addition.  However, since it snowed today, I might be waiting until spring.  We'll see.......Be patient, Jacki!

 The were cute little horses for Halloween.  They loved eating candy and eating more candy.   Adina really indulged that night.......every time I looked at her, she was eating a different kind of candy.

Good thing Halloween only falls one night of the year!

 Clarence celebrated his 3rd birthday.  He loved it - especially when we sang "Happy Birthday" to him...he requested it over and over and over.  We had his party at mom and dad's cabin because there's more room there to house everyone indoors. 

 Clarence participated in his first Christmas program at church.  He did such a good job and was so cute to watch!  After that, we had the grandparents, aunts, uncles and new cousin, Harley, over for brunch.

 Cousin Harley Larson was born December 9th.  We love having a new baby in the family - and he's so good!  And cute!  I love holding him - he doesn't move - and he's so tiny!  It's crazy how fast they grow.

Clarence loves holding Harley every time he sees him.  He's such a nice big cousin!



Our 2011 flew by. As I look back at the pictures, I can't believe how little Adina was just a year ago.  She  was chubby and tiny, didn't walk, and didn't have any hair.  Now, she follows Clarence's every move, has gobs of hair (not really), and has really stretched out.  And Clarence  - he had wild Einstein hair, was so little, didn't talk that well, etc.  Now, he's such a little boy.  He's potty trained, looks like a big boy, talks about going to school, is naughty, then nice, then naughty, then nice, etc.  He's three....I can't believe it!

Have a great New Year's Eve!  See you next year!