Another Day at a Farm

Last weekend we spent our time with Gary and Julie on their beautiful farm. Today we went to see the Hall Family Farm. They just built a new milking barn that is pretty impressive. Jerry took time out of his busy day to give us a tour.





The kids loved feeding the calves. Jaden especially seemed to enjoy it. He's at a great age for this sort of activity. The calves are quite active and don't hold very still while they eat, so it's quite a job to keep the bottles in their mouths. Jaden had to work at it for a few minutes, but was then able to do it by himself.

How grateful we are to the Hall Family for all that they do for us. Thanks for letting us come and experience a bit of your life with you!!

Visiting Gary and Julie

Greg's brother, Gary, lives in such a beautiful place. They have a large farm in the Palouse area of northern Idaho. The ground is not flat there. There are either rolling hills of farmland or higher hills of lush timberland. Gary and Julie built a new house a couple of years ago, and we were anxious to see it.

Of course, I knew it would be beautiful. Julie is incredibly talented in decorating. She is also very talented at cooking and entertaining. We were treated to some delicious meals.

It is a long drive to their home--about 8 to 10 hours depending on which route you take. But, it was certainly worth the trip. We loved every minute of it.

Gary and Julie took us sight seeing on Saturday, which was fun. Coeur d'Alene is beautiful.







Gary and Julie's new house has a most beautiful view of their farmland. The first sunset shot was taken right from their back deck. Inside the house is perfectly decorated. Sorry, these indoor photos aren't the best.

Rejuvination

It seems that lately I've had a bit more free time.....(could it be I got released from my Relief Society calling?)

It has been a time for me to take a deep breath and relax a bit. I have really been enjoying working on genealogy again. I think that the new family search is going to be amazing. Greg's sister let me log in on her account until our stake gets authorized to use it. I even went to the genealogy library for a class. I hope to take many more there. They have a very nice computer lab for their classes. Working on the genealogy is something that has been eating away at me lately. We recently had a lesson on it in Relief Society. One of our ladies is a missionary at the Family History center and she said that only 2% of the members actually work on their family history. When I heard that I knew that I had better do my part to bring that number up!!

I also am enjoying teaching primary. I can't believe how in depth the lessons are for 9 year olds. I have to study hard to prepare. This week the lesson is on Baptisms for the Dead. They are learning what vicarious and proxy mean.....I don't think I knew that when I was 9!! They are also learning that the baptismal fonts in the temples are in the basement to symbolize being buried. I was worried about not learning as much being in Primary, but preparing these lessons are going to teach me so much. There are many scriptures for me to study each week in preparation.

Greg and I have been talking about getting new bikes for a while. On Labor Day we took the plunge. I got one of those retro type bikes that allow you to sit more upright. I think I will love it. I have been out on it every day this week.

Today we took them over to Grand Teton National Park to try them out on the new bike trail that was opened there this year. The path is about 8 miles long....from Moose to Jenny Lake. It is very nice and we had a blast. I didn't know if I could make it for 16 miles...but I did!!

Here are a few photos showing the trail. Grand Teton National Park is my favorite place. Greg and I have had so many wonderful days together there. How blessed we are that we can go there for day trips. We love the outdoors but camping and sitting around a campground just isn't what we enjoy. We like to be active and enjoy really beautiful places, so this works out just perfectly for us. I think we have been there so many times that our car could go there on autopilot. The new bike trail will certainly be an activity that we will do again. If anyone is interested, if you ride your bike from the visitor's center, they are not charging admission to bicyclists going past the entrance gate. So, you can bicycle in for free right now. I guess it's only temporary, though, so you might want to call the park and check should you decide to try it.