Chief

We are selling one of our younger horses, Chief. He was our first baby horse we bred and raised on the ranch. The buyer is a really nice lady from Ohio, that trains mounted police horses and wants to buy and train him for that. I will be sad to see him go but I know he will be happy to have a job.

Happy Birthday Austin

Happy Birthday Cowboy. I can't believe you are 7 Austin! We love you so much!!!

Wild About Bats

We went to "Wild about Bats Northwoods Adventure Program" this morning to discover the secret world of bats and how these animals are beneficial to us. It was a fun morning with friends!!!

Grace and Mea displaying their hard work

Grace learning about how many types of bats there are

Working hard

Mea and Grace exploring animal sounds

Home Sweet Home

The box stalls are almost finished in our barn. It has been a very long road. There is about 2 days more work and then countless hours of varnishing to do but it will all be worth it. It will be so nice to have it completed.

Dakota and Pistal are excited too...

Signs of Fall

Grace, Ava and I were on our way home from our evening walk and we were playing I spy signs of fall. We have always told Grace that God paints the trees in the fall as a gift to us. She was excited to see some of the trees have started to be painted. I was worried because it has been so dry we might not get the color but I was wrong. God is going to bless us again this fall!!! :)









Ava hanging out

Manic Monday

Today was Ava's 6 month Apt. I forgot the camera in the madness of trying to get to her apt on time. So when we got home from the apt I took a quick picture of Ava. She is the exact length Grace was at 6 months (27 inches) but she is only 15 lbs and Grace was 17 lbs.

Ava was so brave during her shots today. She only cried a little after the second shot. Grace held her hand and told her "don't cry Ava I am here for you"! Thankfully Jeff was there I can't watch that part.



Still smiling even after having shot's today

When Grace got up from her nap today she was ready to rock climb our sand hill. She is too daring for her age.

Here is Grace's little followers. It is funny how they follow her everywhere!

County Fair Fun

Grace and I met up with Hank, Jen , Mea and Henry at the Bayfield Co Fair on Sunday. What a great day for a fair. I love this weather. Mea and Grace had a blast.
I think Grace and Mea rode the Merry Go Round more than any child at the fair...



Grace sure likes characters...


What is a fair without shaved ice. Yes they had purple for Grace and Blue for Mea, right down to the little blue and purple umbrellas!

Happy 86th Birthday Grandma Trautt

We love you so much!!!

Happy 75th Birthday Grandma Evavold

You come a long way Great Grandma... We Love you so much!!!

Check up

Grace had her 3 year well child Appointment today. It is so cute to see her interact with Dr. Van Pernis. He treats her so well. We are so lucky to have him in our lives. We found out today that Grace is still growing tall. She is now in the 99th percentile for height. She has always been in the 90th but she has made another jump. It looks like she could be a lot taller than me. Maybe she can play middle hitter on the WI Badger Volleyball team.:)




Dr. VanPernis showing Grace her height and weight charts


The monkey and frogs are still in her ears from her last 2 year check up

Beautiful Day

Well we are finally done making hay!!! That means there is more time for riding horse and biking!!! We ended up with 320 round bales 200 squares. That would be more than enough for the winter but with the dry spell in the late summer there would be any second crop to put the cattle on. I think Joe and Jeff are selling some of the cattle. Which means less work this winter.:)

Jeff and I got to enjoy some riding time in the evening. I just love these fall like days and evenings. The horses seem to like this weather also.

Special Olympics

Those of you who know my family know we have a hard time just hanging out by the beach. We are an active bunch. We had our own Olympics at the cabin. My sister and I organized teams and events. We had kayak races, swimming race, raft race, and much more. It was a hit and sure to become an annual favorite!

Loony Tunes

We were hanging out by the lake and all of a sudden we saw what we thought was a loon catching a fish or mating with another loon, only to see it was a loon fighting another loon. It was a rare moment and kind of sad. The smaller loon was pretty badly hurt and would have died. Amy however being the nurse she is helped the hurt loon and we called the DNR to come rescue the loon. Not very many people have been this upclose and personal with a loon it was really amazing.

Up North

I got away from the excitment of cabin life to keep up on my blog. Grace dosen't ever want to leave. I am loving this also but I am missing the olympics. Thank God for TiVo. There is no TV or cellphone service out here, but there is internet:) It is amazing how you come to expect these things.

6 Months Old

Ava is 6 months today!!! Half a year has gone by what a half a year it has been. We love you little Ava Marie. Thank you God for blessing us with two beautiful healthy children

Look at those two little teeth.

Ava and Grace Update...

Ava officially has two bottom teeth that came in at the same time about a week and a half ago. She is sleeping through the night after a couple nights of tough love. (She was soothing herself with eating at night) She doesn't like the Nuk. She likes to snuggle into a blanket. She still won't take a bottle but she will drink out of a cup. Ava loves to eat solids in the evening but not in the morning. Her favorite fruit is bananas and anything else mixed with bananas. She loves to drink water out of my water bottle. And she can smile, laugh, and babble like crazy. She loves people.


Grace is surprising me everyday. Her mind is amazing. She has the worlds greatest imagination and she has a great memory. She knows all of her colors, numbers up to 25, alphabet, and so much more. I can't take the credit for that she just loves to learn. She loves to run, we have to run 2 miles (to grandmas) almost everyday. Grace calls it getting her energies out. She helps me with the chores on the farm everyday she is getting a lot better with this part. Grace is a great sleeper at night and likes routine. She loves the color purple, and the number 8. Oh yeah she loves to get dirty.

Baking with Grace...

Grace and I decided to bake up some goodies for the cabin. For those of you who don't know we are headed up to Grand Marias to the Norwester Lodge. My family is all coming up there. We have two cabins next to each other. We are so excited for this week.



Grace is really helpful when it come to baking. I measure all the ingredants and she pours them in...

oh yeah and ends up eating half the batter.

Day of Fun with my Best Friend Mea...

Thank you for the fun at the fair. I had such a fun time it was hard to come home. I love Mea and her Nana and Bumpa. I can't wait for the next adventure...

Horsing Around

After we finished square baling today we went on a horse ride. This was the first time I have been riding since I was 3 months Pregnant with Ava!!! It felt good to be on Trigger again. And Jenny came riding with us. It was her first time since she was 5 years old! She did great. I have to say a special thanks to Pat and Steve Brilla for asking Grace to go with them to the Saxon Co. Fair. They were taking Mea and they called to see if Grace could go also. She was so excited to go. And thank you to Carol for watching Ava while we went riding. What a great day!!!




Grandpa took time to teach Ava how to drive the Case

Grandpa making sqaure bales.