Fun At the Farm

The kids and I took a trip to Illinois last month to celebrate my grandmother’s 80th birthday with my extended family. Though the car trip was long, it was well worth the effort. Grandma lives on a farm in the middle of farm country. Transplant her farm up to Washington, and it would be my ideal final land…there is plenty of room for a large garden, a nice size pond, some timbered area, and planted fields that would make for great grazing area.

I always enjoyed my trips to the farm growing up and I feel somewhat of a connection to that place. My hubby always asks why I feel so attached to the farm, and I think I can finally say that no matter where we lived (I moved frequently as a child), my grandparent’s farm, and my other grandmother’s house “in town,” never changed. They were sort of like a constant in our ever-changing lives.

Now that I’m older, I feel even more of a connection to my grandmothers and their way of life, because in many ways, it is their “traditional” ways that I find myself yearning for. I am teaching myself to can vegetables; we are cooking most every meal from scratch; and trying to live as frugally as possible. I only wish I lived closer so I could glean more from my experienced grandmothers.

My kids thrived in the wide-open spaces, catching lightning bugs, picking up sticks for our bonfire, and running until they were nearly wiped out. Jolie asked if we could move up to the farm. I share her enthusiasm for the country…and cooler temperatures.

Here are some photos from our trip.