getaway...

we had a mini-vacation a couple of weeks ago...here are some of the memories we made...destination: maple valley farm...one hour north...and even longer back in time!!  maple valley is an off-grid farm owned & operated by one of the NEATEST families...i fell in love with their kids...and we all fell in love with a slower pace of life...my cousin told me if i ever ran away from home, this was the first place she'd look! :)

this is the outside of our cabin...a couple hundred yards down the road from the farm house...

 

yeah, soooo cheezy, but had to take this for the people who know me....if i had some calico on, i would bear a STRONG resemblance to carloline ingalls, dont ya think?

 

i only PRETENDED to cook on top of this baby...i heated up two meals, and doug perked some coffee - not quite as fast as a coffee pot from home, but boy - did we ever appreciate that first cup!!!

 

gone fishin'

 

dawson could fish all day...it's a little late in the season - too cold - for real good fishing, but they had fun!

me milking besse...i dont really remember her name...oh, anna....that girl had the patience of job showing us what to do and answering all our questions!!! love that girl :)

this family literally just got back from a family vacation to the smoky mountains, and jumped right into farm life - plus 4 more people :) they were very gracious and SO HOSPITABLE!

(on a side note: dawson just got done hauling 5 gal. buckets of water to the chickens, trying to keep up with buddy - who is about 5 years older...so cute)

dodge wanted me to report: milking cows IS A LOT HARDER THAN IT LOOKS! but we thought he did pretty good :)

 

feeding the calf

 

my absolute most favorite part of the whole weekend: our family sharing breakfast with their family...it was soooo yummy! french toast, bacon, eggs & coffee...it was such a treat to eat in such a cozy place and get served too...i wish i would have gotten a pic of all of us sitting down to eat...is anybody else humming the walton's theme song right now?...i am :)

 

the guys in matt's deerstand...just cuz.

 

matt & buddy were plowing the field...pretty cool to watch...

one of the most fun surprises...a bed time snack...i was expecting bread & butter (which would have thrilled me)...but INSTEAD...we get a huge container of homemade popcorn (doug's very favorite thing to eat at night)...cider...and an apple crisp waiting in our woodstove oven...c'mon! thats just awesome!! it was soooo delicious!!

as far as surprises go, this took the cake...as we were walking home from chores on the last night...doug notices a deer running in the field...we all freeze...then realize the deer is RUNNING RIGHT TO US! the kids were flipping out (very quietly of course)...and then i realized it was betty...a deer that was kind of hanging out by the farm...she hadn't reappeared since their vacation, so it was a surprise to see her!

she came right up to the boys and hung out with them a few minutes...it made their night!!

 

we had such a great weekend...loved the slow pace...just hanging out

thanks matt & angela (and all your kiddos)....we hope to be back soon!