Finally......

after 4 tries to get to grandpa's house -- we made it on our 5th attempt. Seems like the weather would change, a front would come through, and then the weather went to pot.  So here are a few pictures of the home place for those who would like to see. 

Also, we are planning a party for grandpa August 23rd on his birthday! We hope all our friends and family will be able to make it so he can celebrate his 90 years on this planet!  Please consider the time out of your day to help him celebrate.... I know he would love to see you all!  Oh yes, we are trying to keep this a secret so don't spill the beans.....

Grandpa and Bruce with the old 4-Wheel drive pick up. What a beautiful day it was!

Sick Birthday Bear

Celebrating your birthday should be fun and full of excitement and good food, but poor Konnor has been sick since Thursday, his birthday, with a high fever. Thought I'd post some cute pictures of him as we keep him in our prayers.  Poor little guy....

 We brought him his birthday gifts from us and Aunt Carrie and Uncle Shawn..  He did muster a little smile at his new bots and other gifts but wasn't ready to get up and play just yet.

Here's hoping he is up and playing very, very soon!  He's had a really rough go on his 4th birthday!

Endless Winter......

I normally don't mind the seasons in Kansas, but man... here lately the WINTER - is taking a bite out of all of our patience! I know the Minnesota Papon's are way tougher than us! Anyone on the farm knows how hard a bitter winter can be: endless chores to keep the animals warm, fed, and content is indeed a big task!  But when the temperatures remain well below freezing for so long: it tests even the most seasoned rancher.... Baby calves are born in this weather here in Kansas so dealing with frostbite and death and sickness is always a concern. The horses are staying in the barn - today is their first day out simply because their tank is frozen solid! The cattle has a propane heater in their tank so they seem to be fairly content! We are hopeful that in the middle of next week we will be above freezing.

However it is not all negative. We have received 9 or 10 inches of welcome snow and it did come down beautifully! But the following days rearranged it all -- that seems to happen a lot in these parts! The pictures below reflect just some of the landscape! I really never took the camera out to visit the horses and the cattle but they are pretty gross from the lot! Papa and I cleaned out the horses stall today and it was certainly nasty from tracking in snow, etc. Mucking the stalls isn't my most favorite thing to do... LOL! However Papa and I managed to complete that job!

Not sure how we are having any melting, but here are the icicles to prove it!

Emmy has been a little out of sorts..... Stares outside - plays with all of her toys, follows me around, basically doesn't know what to do with herself and does NOT want outside at all!  Guess we are all getting a little cabin fever. Better go drag out the seed catalogs because March isn't that far off. Actually about 30 days till we typically plant our spuds and onions... Seriously - right now that does not seem possible!

I am READY for some fresh produce though!  and I'm hoping the gutter garden produces like this again!  Wow, that was awesome.... Until then, stay WARM!