Wow, is it really September already? I can only believe it because the school supplies have been purchased, summer vacation has come and gone, and I am going through some version of hell as the kids showing signs of spending way too much time together with their increased bickering and sometimes outright, gut-wrenched brawling. If it weren’t for these obvious physical signs of summer coming to an end, I would not believe just how fast it has gone by. When summer vacation began I, like most parents, went through all the things we could do together, activities the kids could attend, and day trips to be taken in some organized, well-planned way. When I started to talk to the kids about my plans, Kai told me he just wanted to have a relaxed summer. He didn’t want to plan each day, schedule his way through camps or sports, or feel like we were running from one place to the next. I felt a sheer sense of relief when he approached me about this, because, I know it’s going to come as a big surprise, I am not your average “soccer mom”. I like being at home, immersed in crafting, playing with the kids, hanging out with the chickens, or even just cleaning the house. While Ani would be happy going here and there all day long, the rest of us are generally homebodies. Not to say we don’t like to go out and explore either close or far from home, but we can always find ways to happily occupy ourselves on the farm.
And so we did! Some of our favorite activities from the summer were spent very close to home. Ani was able to take weekly horseback riding and care lessons from one of our neighbors. We could not have been more grateful for this opportunity because our little country girl is horse-obsessed! When they approached us in the spring we had already been researching opportunities for lessons and camps in our area. Not only can horseback riding lessons get very costly, but, even more concerning to me, was the fact that we would spend a lot of money getting her on a horse for 30 minutes a week for 5 weeks and then what? We have 2 horses on property, but they are not ours, and nobody rides them, or ever has to my knowledge. What would she do with her new found knowledge, not to mention the big dent in our bank account? So when Mike and Sandy offered to let her come to their ranch 2 days a week and ride for an hour we were thrilled. When they said they would only accept cookies and beer for payment I almost hit the floor. And the best part was we can walk to their house. We can’t walk anywhere from our house except to our 5 neighbors within a half mile. The whole thing seemed almost too good to be true, but it actually only got better from there. We were able to spend a lot of time getting to know these neighbors. And next door to them we met even more new neighbors who, get this, have a son the same age as Kai! What?!? Kids in our neighborhood? And he happens to be equally obsessed with Minecraft and Pokemon. Enough said. Ani is amazing with horses, blowing the minds of even these seasoned horse trainers with her fearlessness of these beautiful giants. Kai has a new friend that he can visit in walking distance, and we have new faces popping by unannounced to drink beer and chat. Have I mentioned I love it here? Ok, now you know.
The kids have officially been in swimming lessons for about 4 years. Kai started in Baldwin when we first moved to Erin Prairie and Ani shortly thereafter. For about 2 years they took lessons at the medical center fitness facility. It was great to get them used to being in the water, but with the short lessons and no real follow-up, they didn’t really learn to swim. 2 years ago we joined the Centre, a community center with a beautiful no-depth entry swimming pool in New Richmond. We can use the pool anytime, and I have also been taking yoga classes consistently 2 days a week from a wonderful instructor. We started swimming lessons there, and with the follow up of going on our own 1 day a week, the kids came a long way in a short time. Ani, being her fearless self, kept moving up in her class level. Kai, my uber cautious kid, had a lot of issues with fear of deep water…until this summer. With the help of lessons 3 days a week for 4 weeks and being invited to use one of our (other) neighbor’s in-ground, outdoor pool (complete with diving board) anytime we wanted, he has become a swimming superstar! The kid who would not venture out of water where he could touch 3 months ago now enjoys jumping into 12 feet of water, off diving blocks and boards, and has no fear of waterslides. I am so proud of him and feel this is his biggest accomplishment of the summer. All that time spent hanging around the house led to plenty of time to go up to our neighbor’s pool on a whim and find comfort on some pretty steamy summer days. And, yes, we have the best neighbors.
At the end of July we took a week long road trip to visit Chris’ sister, Tabetha, and her husband, Rob, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Tabetha has been asking for a couple of years if she could take the kids on her own for a couple of days of fun and Auntie bonding time. Of course we were all for it! We got there on a Friday, left the kids on Saturday, and Chris and I got to spend a few days exploring the area sans kids. We spent one night in Colorado Springs with some young friends doing “all things Colorado”. For Chris this meant drinking local brew, hiking, shopping, and hanging out in downtown Colorado Springs. For me it included all those things…and then some. Hey, when in Rome, right? I am going to put my 2 cents in on the “weed culture” that is Colorado. We went to this amazing little town called Manitou Springs, just about 10 miles from Colorado Springs. This is the nearest town to Colorado Springs that allows the sale of marijuana for recreational use. I was expecting the culture to be a bit more like what I remember in Amsterdam in the 90’s where we could take a walk down the street and, when it started to rain we would duck into a coffee shop. Upon entry, we would stop at a window with various varieties of greenery in clear bins, choose what we wanted having no idea what any of it meant, and struggle to not look too American as we fumbled our way through rolling a joint sitting on a bean bag at a low-lying wood table. That was not my Colorado experience. According to some reports from those who might like to squash the hopes of many Americans who would like to see this incredibly useful substance gain national legal status, the way the edibles are packaged are strongly geared towards kids. Again, not at all what I experienced. The dispensary we ended up in was touted, like all the dispensaries I looked up, an “Alternative Therapy Shop”. Every edible, drinkable, or otherwise ingestible item was packaged in what looked similar to a prescription container or a wellness product. The smokable, loose leaf stuff was set out on tables with names, descriptions, and samples for sniffing. I let my local friend choose, and he simply told a floor associate what he wanted, the guy punched it up into his Ipad, and we waited at the pick-up counter. It was simple, organized, and we were given clear instructions of what our options were when we entered. I can see how the economy is positively affecting this small town with its many shops, galleries, and visitors. Colorado for the win!
After saying good-bye to our awesome millennial friends who are adventuring their way through their post-college 20’s, we headed up to Breckinridge for some “us” time. We walked around that amazing town in the rockies, eating and drinking our way through the downtown area. We had the best chicken wings ever at Downstairs at Eric’s restaurant. We took a ride up to the ski lifts on the gondola, drank great beer at the Breckinridge Brewery, and stayed in a sweet hotel with many hot tubs. On our way back to Colorado Springs we took a drive and did some hiking through the Eleven Mile Cayon, only after a long and bumpy accidental detour. That is a beautiful area with great tunnels, river, and mountains. We thoroughly enjoyed our short stint without the kids, but could also see bringing them up to Breckinridge for a family vacation in the future.
We spent the following day visiting Bishop’s Castle with the whole family. I have a practice of only putting things on a my “bucket list” when I am about to cross them off, so I was able to add and accomplish climbing to the top of the castle with Tabetha! What a cool place! It was built by a local man with a chip on his shoulder regarding his perception of an overbearing American government system. The castle itself is extraordinary, but I still found the handwritten poster board signs around the castle the most entertaining aspect. He had one that made clear it was him and not his father who built the castle, one that detailed his legal struggles (an eventual success) with a government that told him he did not have the right to build the castle on private property, and a fun one that stated driver’s licenses were unconstitutional. We got some great photos, had a picnic in a nearby town park where we all enjoyed some river hiking and rock hounding, and returned to the house for our last night with Tabetha and Rob. It was an amazing vacation!
We spent the following day visiting Bishop’s Castle with the whole family. I have a practice of only putting things on a my “bucket list” when I am about to cross them off, so I was able to add and accomplish climbing to the top of the castle with Tabetha! What a cool place! It was built by a local man with a chip on his shoulder regarding his perception of an overbearing American government system. The castle itself is extraordinary, but I still found the handwritten poster board signs around the castle the most entertaining aspect. He had one that made clear it was him and not his father who built the castle, one that detailed his legal struggles (an eventual success) with a government that told him he did not have the right to build the castle on private property, and a fun one that stated driver’s licenses were unconstitutional. We got some great photos, had a picnic in a nearby town park where we all enjoyed some river hiking and rock hounding, and returned to the house for our last night with Tabetha and Rob. It was an amazing vacation!
Chris spent the summer teaching and gardening. He, again, impressed us all with his ability to grow our food to last us many months into the winter. We had an abundant crop of asparagus and raspberries already growing on the property. In 2 garden spaces, Chris is growing tomatoes, onions, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, celery, beets, cauliflower, cabbage, kale, lettuce, squash, pumpkins, beans, and peas…and I’m sure I missed something! He has been persistent on keeping up with the harvest by freezing, canning, and making cucumber salad on a regular basis. We’ve enjoyed a number of visitors coming out for a farm-made dinner and some social time. I have found it can be really challenging to coordinate schedules with friends in our crazy, high speed society. Between juggling family schedules, work, and vacations, what starts with planning an evening with friends in early June, finally comes to fruition in mid-August. Taking advantage of a flexible schedule is one of my favorite things about the homestead lifestyle we’ve created. Once the kids go back to school, I go back to weekends full of festival activity, days practicing and planning for yoga classes, and preparing for the busy upcoming holiday selling season, and Chris takes on his regular class load. I will miss the carefree days of summer, and thank everyday my little boy who opened my eyes to the joy of spending our time free here, on the farm, doing what we want, everyday.
We closed out the last weekend of pure freedom entertaining 2 of my closest college friends, one from Minneapolis, and the other venturing our way from California. My friend Miriam was originally planning to attend Nevada’s infamous “Burning Man” festival, several days of party-infused adult fun outdoors in the desert. Knowing she was probably disappointed when her plans changed, we decided to recreate Burning Man, Erin Prairie style! Although we didn’t go with our original plans to dress Morgan in a tie-dyed speedo (complete with leather fringe) and dance around a fire nearly nude, we did build an effigy out of recycled cardboard, dressed him in pants and a necktie, built a bonfire in the burn barrel, a sacrificed him in the name of Burning Man. I think we did Miriam proud in our local display, and we all had an excellent time!
We closed out the last weekend of pure freedom entertaining 2 of my closest college friends, one from Minneapolis, and the other venturing our way from California. My friend Miriam was originally planning to attend Nevada’s infamous “Burning Man” festival, several days of party-infused adult fun outdoors in the desert. Knowing she was probably disappointed when her plans changed, we decided to recreate Burning Man, Erin Prairie style! Although we didn’t go with our original plans to dress Morgan in a tie-dyed speedo (complete with leather fringe) and dance around a fire nearly nude, we did build an effigy out of recycled cardboard, dressed him in pants and a necktie, built a bonfire in the burn barrel, a sacrificed him in the name of Burning Man. I think we did Miriam proud in our local display, and we all had an excellent time!
And so comes fall! I hope your summer was full of fun, adventure, and plenty of down time!
Cheers,
Angie
Cheers,
Angie
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