Uh-oh!

Uh-oh is Owen's new buzz word...it is said hundreds of times a day now, sometimes appropriately but mostly just because it is a cool word to say! Other than uh-oh he also says ball, choo-choo, ta-da (always said at the right time), and kitty. He is learning like crazy and loves to copy his cousins good and bad habits.

Playing in mommy's boots

Cool, new seat

We still split our week up by Jake working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and me working Tuesdays, Thursdays, and every other Saturday so Owen gets a pretty fair share of time with both of us. Despite the little time we seem to all have together as a family we made it to Bryce Canyon in March, Moab in May, and Oregon in June. The latter part of summer was spent playing at the park and going to the zoo with family and friends. We just celebrated Thanksgiving a few days ago with my family at Deborah's house then Jake took Owen to his families while I worked the day after Thanksgiving. Now we get to look forward to celebrating the Christmas season!

All in time

At this time 2 years ago... getting ready to leave the comfort of our homes to learn the ropes of farming.
At this time 1 year ago... getting ready to give birth to a precious little child
At this time now... in awe that our little man has almost been with us for a year.

How is it that time can travel so fast and yet stand still at the same time?

Parenthood changes you. Forever. It is the best and worst of times, it conjures up emotions that you never knew lived in you, and it makes you see life through a new set of eyes.

Remember

It's been two years since we made the fateful roll of the dice which took us WWOOF'ing to Wyoming in 2010. A lot has happened since that time, much of which would have never happened (or happened very differently) if we had not chosen that fork in the road. We met some very cool people and have been impacted by their time in our lives...unfortunately I found out that one of the people we WWOOFed with lost her life on New Year's Eve...so I dedicate this post to her, as well as the reason for me starting this blog in the first place...growing roots.

It is so easy to forget in day-to-day life how much of an impact the people who come into it can have. One thing that I loved so much about our time out of the rat race and truly living in each day was meeting new people who weren't just a quick acquaintance, they became a part of your life. You worked with them each day, all day doing hard manual labor and actually seeing the fruits of your labor together. You cooked with them (or took turns cooking for each other), played cards, saw the beauty in nature, and played when the work was done...you lived side-by-side learning how hard it really is working the land...you really lived. A few weeks with people in this situation almost seems like years in the city life. Even if you don't see things eye-to-eye, you share a bond that can only be made over hard work. So, for all of those who became a part of our lives during our WWOOF'ing days...thank-you...

You will be missed Jessica.

The very beginning of a high tunnel (hoophouse)

Taking a much needed break

Chillin' after a yummy dinner

Being fed good food = amazing

Eat...eat...eat...

Decontructing an old barn to make a chicken coop

How to move a chicken coop...or how not to