Home again...and home again!

Matt and I are just back from a lovely weekend visit to our MN home and family. We had some errands to run, but we mostly spent our weekend enjoying the lovely weather, changing foliage, amazing coffee, even more amazing friends and family, and each other. My parents graciously agreed to keep the little ones with them, so this was, as one mama friend put it, "A real DATE!" We even went to a concert, and I didn't cook a single meal during our trip, which virtually sealed the date deal.

Perhaps the highlight of the trip, though, was having the opportunity to just talk--uninterrupted, in-depth, honest discussions with each other, and with people whose opinions we sincerely value and respect. On our ride home, we agreed that we felt renewed, which is just what a couple heading into the harvest rush needs!

This week, weather permitting, soybeans will start coming off the fields in earnest. Matt's excited for this part of the farming process, but a bit nervous, as well. He'll be learning how to handle a combine--a big, expensive piece of absolutely critical farm equipment. To harvest soybeans, the combine is fitted with a head that runs along the ground (soybean plants are about knee-high when fully grown), making it even more necessary for a farmer to be vigilant; a rock in the header can bring harvest to a total standstill, and it is incredibly frustrating watching the sun shine down on a defunct combine! Dad called the combine 'doctor' this past week to troubleshoot and fine-tune one of the combines:

Stay tuned this week for more photos of the harvest, as well as some fairly ridiculous (and always hilarious) shots of the kids!