Why are we screaming?: 2011

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Another year and the evolution continues!

One year ago, we were in major transition, moving more than halfway across the country, at Christmas, with an 7 month old and a cat. To say it was a trying few months would be an understatement.

Of course we moved to Bismarck during one of the most trying winters that saw us having snow until May. This was not the best thing for my fragile, west coast, psyche! Back home, I could have been gardening by March, but not here. Mother Nature makes you watch your seedlings grow indoors until late May, and possibly even June. On more than one occasion I could be found sitting under my grow lights, "getting some sun" and watching things grow.

Life took a turn for the greater of course as we found our practically perfect house on a couple of acres, made some friends and started settling in to this new phase of life. We planted a plot at the community garden and learned much about bugs and weeds this summer. The devastatingly short growing season taught us that frost blankets are a must and one should heed the warnings of said frosts arrival.

Our latest news involves starting a small family farm and selling at the local farmers market in 2012. Having never considered myself entrepreneurial, this could get interesting! Currently we find ourselves gorging on sustainable agriculture information and brainstorming on names for said farm. Who would have ever thought life would have taken this path, but we are certainly excited about it and look forward to sharing our story with you.

From the Martin family to you, happy holidays!

What have we been up to?

Yes, yes, I know. The point of a blog is to put things on it so people will read it and know what is going on in your life. I have been bad at keeping up my end of the bargain I realize. So, here is a plethora of information for you to enjoy!

July - we grew, we talked, we cooked, we gardened, we want to be a rugby player when we grow up!

What can I stir?

Do you think it's me?

August - more gardening, hiding in pillows, working on my words

You can't find me!

If anyone can figure out what she was saying here, I will give you a quarter!

September - stained the decks, getting better at talking, first hard freeze, done gardening for the year

October - first marker experience, decorated pumpkins, decided to be a garden gnome for a day, went to California for a visit

This is how you draw, right?

Garden gnome

This looks like a good spot for a break.

You people are tiring me out on this trip!

November - First pair of hard soled shoes, 18 month doctor appointment, seeing how winter clothing fits.

Now you just try to keep up with me!

Shoes go on your hands too

Dad's hat and gloves fit perfect!

December - So far we like laying on the floor and attacking the Christmas tree. Hugs for the cat are becoming more frequent and Dad is traveling too much, but Christmas is almost here and that means some serious family time is in our future.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Avon Walk 2011

Some of you may know that I participate in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer event every other year. I took last year off for obvious reasons, but am back at it this year. I have walked in San Francisco three times previously and selected the Rocky Mountains walk this year as we were able to drive to it. The Martin's along with Grandma Margie had an excellent time in Breckenridge and points in between.

Day one had us driving through South Dakota and Wyoming on our way to Ft. Collins, CO. The joys of our first trip to the park were experienced in Bowman, ND.

Ella wanted to make sure my day pack for the walk was up to the task.

It's a little big

Can I put my water in here too?

We figured that since we were so close, we just had to stop and New Belgium and see what those guys were up to. So, on day two:


We discovered that they slide

From there we trekked up to Breckenridge to get used to the altitude before the big weekend. The walk started in Keyston and would around Lake Dillon to Frisco on day one for a total of 26.2 miles.

I walk for....

Not too shabby in the scenery department

Getting closer

10 Mile Canyon - Frisco

.2 to go!

Yahoo, now I can take my shoes off!

Day two went from Frisco to Breckenridge for another 13.1 miles. My feet suffered the most as usual, but it was a beautiful walk and I had the best pit crew out there!

More great scenery

Jon Hockhalter lookalike

Almost there

I did it!

Best pit crew ever!

I would like to thank all of my sponsors for helping me reach my fundraising goal. For some reason I let my husband talk me in to doing it again next year under the premise of "getting back on schedule", getting to see Washington DC and his company on the walk. Oh, what have I done! If any one wants to meet us in DC the first weekend of May next year, let me know!

First boat trip!

The Martin family was invited to Wilmot, SD last month to spend some time with the Struck/Backes families. As a result, Ella enjoyed her first boat ride on a pontoon!

This life jacket thing is not my favorite

This one's a little better

Hey, Jer, can I drive? I haven't been drinking.

Gardening

Not knowing where we going to be for the summer, I signed up for two plots at the community garden in Mandan. Mandan is the next town west of Bismarck and I picked their garden because they had bigger plots. I bought way too much seed and signed up for a seed testing program with NDSU so I needed some space! Of course if we had known we were going to move as far as humanly possible from Mandan (and still be in Bismarck) and have 2.5 acres of our own, I may have rethought this. I planted most of my garden the weekend before we moved and then pretty much left it to fend for itself.

Ella needed to make sure the dirt tasted good enough for our veggies!

Freshly planted garden

OK, dirt is good

Things they are a growin'

Things got a little out of hand when I didn't bother to weed or mulch for a while, but they are back under control and we are quite excited about what we are seeing.

Of course my biggest help is my little side kick with her dirt eating, seedling plucking ways. Of course my husband a brother have been a huge help as well.

We're Homeowners!

Yes, yes, I know, two months is a long time. Here I am and promise to make up for it. As mentioned in a previous post, Kevin bought us a house when Ella and I were on California. We moved in Memorial Day weekend which was very strange for us since we are usually at Strawberry Music Festival during that time. Nonetheless we pushed on through and were able to get all of our belongings in one place for the first time in a really long time. It was like Christmas in June, finding all of the stuff that had been packed away and forgotten. Ella and the cat are ecstatic with having so much space and stairs to slide down (at least Ella is).

Friday, May 13, 2011

It's My Party And I'll.....

Prove I am my mother's daughter!

Yes, someone turned one last weekend and it is hard to believe it has been a year. Her first experience with chocolate, and sugar for the most part, started off slowly, but escalated quickly as you can tell.