Day 220

Today I want to remember the love that my children have for their friends.

Madi has her very best friend spending the night (in her words).

Isabelle fits in so well with our family, which could be attributed to the fact that she loves all the animals around the farm almost as much as Madi does.

She was so excited to help us get some feed for the kids' calves!

It was so refreshing for the kids to have a friend along who showed such excitement for something that has become more of a chore to them.

They became excited about feeding calves again too!

Thank you Isabelle!


It was all going great until this BIG {scary} animal came along...doesn't she look so SCARY?!

Isabelle got scared and started to whimper a bit (when our overly friendly dog decided to lick her a happy greeting).

Tanner immediately said, 'Don't worry Isabelle, I will protect you, take my hand.'

Seriously? This is my son? The one who pesters his little sister and brother mercilessly?!

I turned around to tell him that he was being so nice and this is what I saw..

My heart melted! Right then and there.

I saw my son not as the almost 7 year old kid he was, but as this grown up young man....

Oh my.

His little brother didn't think it was so cool ....check out this face he was giving Tanner while all this was going on...

I can just see what he is thinking....'what are you doing Tanner?!'

And just when I thought Tanner was being so mature, he decided to show off a bit for his crush...

Ok, so he is only seven.

This little piece of our day made me smile, and is definitely something that I don't want to forget!

Day 219

This is what the kids and I found outside our front door this morning.

Aren't they so sweet?!

I loved that they were all scrunched together in one itty bitty little bundle!

Day 218

I have been super busy this year creating photo books for our family and I have to say that it has been about a million times easier because I have been blogging about so many photos and days in our life.

I am extremely passionate about capturing everyday life, especially that of my family..

I know that years from now I am going to look back at this time and want to remember all the little moments, the ones that slip past my memory.

And, without trying to be too morbid, I want my kids to remember this time together too in case something happens to me, so that they know how very much I love them!

So, since I was lacking in creativity for a photo of the day, I decided to show you one of the many books that I have created this year.

This one was super easy to make, since it didn't involve too many elements other than photos (which was no problem to find since I take thousands every year!).

I would love to try and do one of these every year, it was a lot of fun and I LOVE the finished product!

Day 217

Wheat harvest is nearly finished, and fall is right around the corner.

The kids and I went back to school shopping and it was bittersweet.

I am excited to get back into a routine but sad that I have two kids who are going to be gone all day at school.

I have been finding myself saying this a lot lately, but where did the time go?!

So, until these last precious weeks come to a close, I am going to be documenting what is left of our summer!

We brought Travis supper in the field and stopped to play for a little bit.

Tyson was pretty happy he brought his combine with!

For him, there is nothing more fun than playing on an empty trailer.

Pure J.O.Y.!

Tanner and Madi were busy climbing straw bales and jumping off them.

And, YES, she is BAREFOOT!

She forgot her shoes and when I told her that she had to wait in the van, she had none of it.

The stubborn-ness in her puffed out her little chest and said very matter of factly, 'It doesn't hurt!'

And then the boys got into a little rumble when they found some old corn stalks to throw at each other.


Travis spent a lot of time fixing our old baler (he has had it since college and it has baled some 90,000 bales...CRAZY!)

Hope you're having a happy end of summer like we are!

Day 216

We had such a great weekend hanging out with my mom, grandma, and sister!

Our first stop was this great retro park that I used to play on as a kid!

I love that they haven't torn it down!

The kids had much more fun playing on the old equipment versus the new stuff sitting right next to it!

He looks a little freaked out, but he had a BLAST on this slide!




Both Tanner and Madi had fun showing off their skills on the monkey bars!


I have fond memories climbing to the top of this football structure! I wish that I could find a photo of me doing this too!

Angela's little guy wanted to get in on the action, he was attempting to 'pull up' and out of his carseat!

After awhile, we ventured down to the lake and threw some rocks in the water.




The kids were even gracious enough to 'pose' for some photos!



Happy Monday!

Day 215

We live on a dairy farm, and I don't often post the photos I take of our cows on here, but this time I couldn't resist!

This gal was giving me such eyes while I watched her eat some hay the other night that I couldn't help but take some shots of her!

Sometimes taking photos of our holsteins is a good challenge for me!

Day 214

I am going to let the photos tell the story of our day playing in the straw..

This is a good life!

Day 213

My little farm boy.

He is growing up so fast!

Last summer, he was sooo scared of the cows, and this summer...

well, he isn't exactly scared anymore!

He climbed right into the big calf pen after his big brother and sister and never looked back!

I think he is a little too fearless for this mama!

Day 212

I saw the idea for this 'YOU ROCK' sign on pinterest (surprise, surprise, right?).

As a mom, I want to work on being more positive with my kids and I thought this little sign was a perfect way to do just that!

I realize that two of my kids can't read, but that doesn't mean that they can't recognize their names and get excited to see it!

I just have to remember to update it when I catch them being good !