As is tradition, the Harley family joined us Christmas Day to eat lots of food and fellowship. The day was great!

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!
-HeidiGrace-

Christmas morning I awoke to the sound of Micah's new train set... 

...the smell of a delicious breakfast...

...and the sight of these beautiful red stockings. 

Wednesday afternoon we went in search of a christmas tree...

...and after much searching we found the perfect one!

That evening Dad took Mom out for dinner and the rest of us kids had a pizza/tree decorating party! It was great party and why do we do it every year you ask....tradition!! ...ahem-sorry, just had to quote that movie as we recently watched it. ;)

After indulging ourselves in delicious Leonardo's Pizza, we (girls) set to work decorating the tree.

Ah-great times. 
-HeidiGrace-

Once again we had a glorious Thanksgiving celebration spent with family! This year I felt like we did so much in such a short amount of time (two days). Thursday morning we started off on our 3 1/2 hour journey to Southern Oregon with  plenty of delicious snacks to enjoy along the way and a short detour through Corvallis, OR (home of the Beavs! :)) where Mom and Dad gave us a tour of the beloved OSU campus where they met.
(Click on the photos to make them larger)

After arriving in Deadwood and reuniting with our beloved relatives-the women set to work preparing the Thanksgiving Feast while the men set themselves in front of the television to watch their yearly fill of football. :)

Then, after the long wait, the delicious feast of turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, stuffing, pickles, olives, etc...began! And boy was it amazing and very satisfying. :) 

Before it got dark we got outside to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful fall weather...

After it got dark we all gathered inside to enjoy eating more food (dessert! :)), watching the guys play the traditional poker game, and just hanging out and relaxing. Twas very, very fun- love my family! :)

That evening, after a random-last minute decision, Maria, Elise, and I packed our bags and headed off to spend the night at our Aunt Tricia's so that we could wake up the next morning at 4 a.m. head into Eugene with her and our cousin Makenna to do some BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING!! :) Yeah, it was painful getting up that early on vacation, but so worth the fun that was had going to Fred Meyer's, Target, and IHOP for breakfast with some of my favorite people. :) 

All the fun though had to come to an end. So after finishing off our visit by taking more walks, going on a run, and shooting some guns, we all headed home where we finished off the evening by watching "Brave" together.
What an amazingly enjoyable and exhausting Thanksgiving. 
Every year, even though you can get easily distracted by all of the activities that surround the occasion I'm reminded of all that I have to be thankful for. God is very good.

-HeidiGrace-

Mom was cutting Micah's hair today, so I thought I would take some pictures of the cute fella! This was the result...

Haha-he's quite a kid! :)
-HeidiGrace-

Quote of the day: “Some days I just feel like doing a happy dance…for no apparent reason, just because…because I think my life is awesome.”- me

September was a good, but challenging month. Between starting up school, learning how to milk a Jersey cow then attempting to help that same cow recover from an awful case of Pneumonia, hosting our last church field day, celebrating birthday parties, processing chickens, spending time with friends and family, sickness, sleepovers, grocery shopping, helping my parents with running the house, and selling our farm products, I have stayed quite busy. Below is a collage of some pictures from beautiful September-we couldn't have received more amazing weather than we did! (click on the photos to make them larger)

Ah-good times! Looking forward to what the month of October holds!
Now off to enjoy some Harney and Sons tea!
-HeidiGrace-

Last week our family went to the beach for a day along with several other friends from church. It was a very enjoyable time had by all as we climbed the big sand dune, played volleyball, tried out sand-boarding, ate chips and onion dip, and froze our toes in the ocean. 
Good times.
Go here to view pictures from the day.

On Sunday my little nephew Henry turned two. So Camden and Sarah hosted a fun little birthday celebration for him. The celebration/day included delicious food prepared by Sarah, a fun Sunday afternoon walk, watching Henry open his gifts, and much more.

Also, the other day I went out and took some pictures of our garden which, thanks to my brother Caleb, is doing wonderful! 

All for now. How's your summer been so far?

It’s kind of tradition at our household to go down to Deadwood, where my grandpa lives, every summer and help him put up his hay. The highlights of the trip this year included...

-the car ride down
-fun times spent with cousins
-sugar…lots of sugar.
-lots of hay, sweat, and grime
-a visit to the beach
-laughter
-walks
-etc.

this is my sister. her name is maria.

she's classy, talented, dramatic, and funny. 

and one of my very best friends.