En route: Virginia

I should start this post by saying that we are still alive, and that I do plan to continue updating this blog. We are slowly settling into life here and absolutely love it (granted we're still hermits and don't get out much, but we've learned to stay awake past 8pm). The harvest season began last week - very early for southern Minnesota. For Jonathan (and Ramont), this is pure paradise: tractors, trucks, and combines every day. More photos to come on that.

But first, a few snapshots from our week in Harrisonburg, Virginia in early August. We were glad to have the chance to spend time with Ramont's folks and brother, who live there, as well as his visiting sister and her family. It was good to (re)introduce our kids to their grandparents, although they were a bit shell-shocked by the whirlwind of good-byes and hellos over several weeks, and stuck pretty close to us. Thankfully, there will be better opportunity for bonding in October when they come to visit us. One highlight was a beautiful, shiny red Radio Flyer wagon from them. There will be many, many more photos featuring this awesome wagon, as it plays a major role in our daily activities here on the farm.

Uncle Radell was a hit with Jonathan - both for being a fine caballo and for his tractor. The photo below shows a new method being tested of digging potatoes with a one-row plow. It seemed to work well (even with Jonathan driving...). Radell's vegetable fields look amazing again this year.

And Anna learned to crawl in Virginia! It wasn't pretty at first: one leg folded, the other stuck out straight. But she soon got the hang of it, and is now cruising all over the place quite efficiently. (Confessions of a bad parent: the other day as I was getting supper ready, Ramont asked where she was. Under the table playing, I said. Well, no. She had made her way almost to the top of the stairs. The most unusual part was that she hadn't made a sound while doing it.)

And finally, in Virginia we said good-bye to our fellow Bolivia MCCers, traveling companions, friends, and heroes of our children - Andy and Cassie Herringshaw. We probably wouldn't have made it to the U.S. without them (though they would have made it puke-free without us), and we were fortunate to be able to attend re-entry retreat with them AND also hang out with them for a bit in Harrisonburg. Cassie can put Anna to sleep like no one else, and both are just great for Jonathan too. Thanks to them, we even got to take a nap or two during our travels. We're all missing them now, but look forward to a visit in December.