Romantic Get-away, part 2

On our farm trip, we actually did have a couple of hours to do something fun and romantic.  Although, I DO think farming is awesome and I love stuff that has to do with that as well.  We got to go to Monterrey Bay and see the aquarium and spend some time at the beach.  We love being at the beach and watching and hearing the waves roll in and crash on the rocks.  It was great to be together, and I really am thankful to get to spend time with the man I love.  He is so good to me:)

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Romantic Get-away

If you are looking for a romantic get-away, Nathan and I have the perfect idea:  a John Deere tractor junk yard!  Seriously, how much better can it get?  :)  haha
We took a trip this month to California to pick up tires for the farm equipment, a set of hay rakes, and made a stop at the junk yard.  We always joke about how romantic that is.

 We did see lots of neat farms.  Most of what we saw was very brown and dry, but here are some of the green farms we saw.  The big workers signs in the fields just cracked me up.  I thought they were pretty neat.  I guess they put them there to help people realize where their food is coming from?

On the way home, while towing the hay rakes, we did have some vehicle trouble-as usual.  In this family it just isn't a good trip unless you have some real adventure with breakdowns:)  As we were going over Donner, the truck lost power, and Nathan figured out that the fuel filter had gone out.  He got to change it in the Boomtown parking lot in a driving rainstorm.  He was sopping wet.  I felt really badly for him.  I was freezing and I wasn't even wet.  He is an amazing man!

Gardening and Starting Hydroponics

After many years of wishing, I finally decided to try hydroponics.  I don't know much about it, so it will be a trial and error process, for sure.  I am starting with one bucket.  I washed the dirt off the roots of the plants and placed them in the hydroponic rocks.  The is a little pump in the bottom that aerates the water, and I added nutrients to the water.  The ph of our water is about 7.5.  I think it's supposed to be around 5.5-6.  We will see how it goes.  The other plants are still alive, for the most part.  I had to take a couple of containers out because I couldn't keep the aphids down.  The ladybugs didn't help like I had hoped.  But, we have some peppers for fajitas, a little lettuce, and a few mouth watering, fresh tomatoes that taste like tomatoes instead of cardboard.  The Gerber Daisies are still blooming and I am saving the seeds for spring.  The geraniums are blooming away and I am hoping to take cuttings and propagate them in the next couple of months.   It only takes a few minutes a day, and I like being able to do a little gardening in the winter.

Christmas Eve 2013

We had a rather unusual Chistmas Eve this year.  Nathan got a pool table for Christmas and we had to redo the floor before we set it up.  Jared, Jesse, Brent, and Jonathan took up the tile and put down the new floor.  They did an awesome job, and we are so grateful for their help. We have been having lots of fun with the pool table.  ;)

  Yes, this room is in severe need of a new coat of paint:)  Ewww!

 Natalee is not sure this is a good idea.

 Jed isn't quite sure about this-what is going on?   Obviously nothing he needs to help with:)  haha

 I put texture on the lower half of the wall, since it had wallpaper in the past (used the plastic bag method).

 Got the floor clean, screws all out, and ready for flooring!  Yea!

Finished project:)  A friend teaching us how to play the real way:)