Snow, SNOW and MORE SNOW!

So Sunday, the snow started o fly ONCE again, and we were stuck home. Heres one of our HUGE snow piles. Nathan has definately gotten use out of the tractor and loader this winter. Madison is on the very top.

Nathan and Clay on a snow drift, about 5 feet tall.

Madison and RyLee playing

Today the temp is in the negatives, with horrible wind chills. I can't wait for spring!

Makin' Cake!

Here's some pictures of the girls reapping the benefits of helping make cake--eating the batter:) RyLee likes to get dressed up, nothing like bringing back the good ol' cat eyes!

When the homeowners are away....

The friends will play! So this happened in December, but I thought some of our "John Deere" friends would like to see what ended up on our mailbox. As some of you know, we drive RED tractors. This goes to show what people will do to get a green machine on our farm. Our friends Matt Wulf and Tom Evans went above and beyond with their painting and welding talents to decorate our mailbox. For those of you who need help making out the words, they added "Fishback Custom Farming-Go Green"

As you can tell--FLASHBACK! Here's Nathan and I in Des Moines at the Iowa Farm Bureau Annual Meeting. This is our third year serving on the Iowa Farm Bureau Young Farmer Advisory Committee, we'll step down from the appointed position in July. With myself serving as Secretary this year, I had the honor of providing invocation to the Young Farmer Luncheon in front of 400+ people. I don't mind talking in small groups, but large presentations and I don't get along very well:( Atleast I didn't pass out!

Here's Justin Dammann our Chair, far left, and IFB President Craig Lang, far right, presenting the Young Farmer Achievement Award to Brent and LuAnn Johnson and their daughter Kaeli. They served with us on the IFBYFAC Board our first year. Congrats guys!

Our first swim meet

Today we packed up the car.... And traveled to Muscatine to watch our niece and nephew, Stephanie and Kyle, swim at sectionals to see if they would qualify for state.

Nathan and Clay

All of us watching the swimmers
Nathan holding Clay-Larry Sr holding Tessa-Larry Lee and Brenda-Madison and RyLee

Stephanie swimming

Kyle swimming

Aunt Brenda holding Tessa

The Fishback cousins

Madison-Clay-Kyle-RyLee-Tessa held by Caitlin-Stephanie

It was a lot of fun-a nice day getaway to escape home and the negative windchill temps. Congrats to Kyle and Steph who'll BOTH be going onto state in MULITPLE events!

Tessa all pooped out on the ride home

One last cup of coffee....

On Thursday morning I had my last cup of coffee in a lovely place with two wonderful women, Lexi and her mom Judi. Lexi and I have been friends for a LONG time, like 18 years....aaaahhhh that makes me feel old! And her mom, Judi, lived in my dream house, a large victorian home here in Washington. A house I remember having halloween costume parties in the garage, slumber parties in since junior high, making fetticini and chicken with Lexi in high school, and having coffee with Lex when she'd make it back to Washington from college. My how life has changed! I just want to cry typing this!
Well, to my sadness, and since my husband is a farmer and I won't be moving to town anytime soon, Milt and Judi sold their big, beautiful, memory filled home to a great young family. And when I saw the sold sign, the emotional strings tugged.....and I'm not even their daughter! I called Lexi and told her I had to have ONE MORE CUP OF COFFEE with them, even if I had to sit on the floor or a box, just to see the view from their AMAZING kitchen over looking their snow covered victorian gardens. And visit. It was wierd to walk thru the empty rooms, but funny to see the perfectly packed and labeled boxes and seran wrapped furniture. I told Judy she should have a a moving/organizing show on HGTV.
Tessa joined us, and Milt stopped in too. And we enjoyed one last cup of coffee....

The Groundhog saw his shadow:(

So, Mr. Groundhog saw his shadow on Feb. 2nd (Happy Birthday Aunt Ashley). As the snow was melting away, who knew in 24 hours there would REALLY be 6 to 12 inches of the white stuff?! The lovely weathermen can't always get it right. But they did. An early school dismissal on Tuesday and TWO days of NO SCHOOL. The kids are standing on the scooped sidewalk, and the snow piles are huge! Miss RyLee was having a bad morning, so she opted not to look at the camera. Attitudes, attitudes. Here's Baby Tessa all bundeled up!