Harvest is almost done!

What a week!

Wow--what a week it has been. Let's just say it's been so busy it's hard to believe it is over already!!! It's been a couple of weeks since I've been able to post anything, but I hope to catch up here in the next week on what is going on. Sorry I haven't gotten back to those of you following the farming side of the blog--we will try to cover where we are at in the harvest process this coming week. For the most part the beans have been done for a good couple of weeks except for a very small amount over by Rushmore that were late-planted wet spots. The guys are working on the wet corn pile right now and Eric is discovering that the corn yields are looking quite well so far for this year. From what I understand the beans that people had around Luverne ranged anywhere from 35-55 bushel/acre depending on soil type and if you got the few August rains that came through. I'll have to check with Eric where our beans ended for an average. I think they did do pretty good since we got a couple of those nice rains in August : )

It's looking so pretty out right now. The trees are such wonderful different shades of color and the lawns are about the greenest I've ever seen for this time of year. I can't believe I'm still mowing as much as I do (or should), but I'll gladly mow if it means keeping this beautiful lawn around for a little longer!

It's been a busy week for all of us. I went back into work this week to help out with taxes and to train my replacement on payroll, etc. When you are trying to get yourself and 3 kids ready to leave the house by 7:15 you really need to start your morning early : ) I will be glad to be at home this week and get caught up on stuff in the house and around the yard, but I did enjoy my time back at work. You forget what adult conversation is like sometime when you spend a lot of time at home in the fall!

Matthew is still loving school. He is soooo proud of all the stuff he takes home from Kindergarten. We love looking at all his papers and it is so exciting watching him learn new things. I'm so glad he enjoys school even now when he knows Dad is out harvesting corn without him.

Kierra loves "school" as well. She wishes she could go more often than once a week, but that is all I can handle right now : ) It's so hard to believe how fast she is growing up too. She is so smart--she continues to amaze me with what she all comprehends. I'm afraid she will be a very "smart" teenage girl someday too.

Caleb continues to be just a very happy little guy. He has his fussy moments like all babies, but he is so laid back most of the time and is so much fun to be around. Hard to believe he is 4 months already too.

Well I need to get some sleep--a lot of late, short nights here lately so we'll work on some postings and pictures next week......

Kindergarten Connection

Well Kierra is officially going to "school". Something she has been asking to do since Matthew started going to preschool last year. So we signed her up for Kindergarten connection classes which are held every Monday morning. Her first day was this past Monday with Mom along for the first time. We had to make a breakfast stop at McDonalds first and enjoy some naughty rolls : )

Kierra absolutely loved her first day of "class". It helps that she gets to wear her princess backpack and see her friends there. She is posing in a couple of the pictures with friends J.T. and Lindsie.

I sure hope Miss Debbie, the teacher, has a lot of patience for the 20 kids that are in her class. I think from what I could see that first day is that there is a lot of energy in those kids : ) It seems that she will have a really nice class of kids to play with and hopefully learn a little something too!

Pile #2 almost complete

Well, it looks like the guys will be almost done with the earlage (spelling?) pile tomorrow. So that means move on to wet corn or beans early next week. From what I could hear over the radio (that is usually my mode of staying informed since I don't see the hubby much these days : ) ) it seems the corn yield is looking pretty good with all the nice rains we've had this spring and summer, even though it was late in getting planted. Kierra, Caleb & I got to ride with Eric for a couple loads yesterday so we got to experience the earlage process and see Daddy too! We rode with Eric in the field that is behind Marybeth and Grant & Rebecca's places--the field you could get lost in. I think Eric drives in circles when he plants that field. I honestly don't know how the trucks even find the chopper. All I know is I'd be lost in that maze of corn....

Farm Projects, etc.

Chopping is done!!!

Well, as of last night the chopping is officially done. The pile was tarped last night so the guys are ready to move on to the next item on the harvesting list. There were 6 guys out last night tarping the pile. Eric and his brother Grant, Josh Ossefoort the hired man, and the Ahrendt brothers--Brad, Troy & Jeff were all out to help. The wind was a concern earlier, but it seemed to go down enough not to be too big of an issue. It looks like next week the guys will be starting on earlage/wet corn/beans, etc.......Oh, well that time of year I guess. I've attached a few pictures of the pile/tarping process.

Our Blog

Well, here I am learning to set up a blog for our family. I never thought I'd get into something like this as I assumed it was something for "computer tech-happy individuals". I guess I got hooked on blogging from my sister, Tricia, so I blame her for getting me started on this : )

Here's an update on what's going on at the Binford household:

Matthew started Kindergarten a few weeks ago and loves it. We were a bit uncertain of how he would handle going off to a new school and be away from Mom and Dad for the whole day, but he seems to be doing well. It helps that his cousin Tabi is in his class. I believe they stuck pretty close together the first few days of school until they got comfortable in their new setting. Matthew is really liking his teacher and told me recently that he likes school better than riding his bike and even better than feeding Caleb his bottle! Wow--I guess that means he really likes it.

Kierra is our dancing princess! I don't know why I even bought clothes for her this year as she is changed out of whatever I put on her by 9:00 a.m. She has a favorite purple dance dress that she basically lives in. She even wears it out to the tractor along with her high heels, bracelets and necklaces. Lucky Dad to have a princess riding in the "carriage" tractor as she likes to put it. She has a bit of a fit when I have to actually put the dress in the wash and has to wait for it to dry. I guess that is when she just puts on her standby outfit--her swimsuit. She then is a gymnist for the day. Wow--she is one active little girl!!!

Caleb is a little over 3 months old and is such a honey! He has been termed my "good" baby. He is still pretty content and gives out lots of smiles and even a few giggles now. It's amazing to see how fast he is changing and how much he loves to interact with all of us. The older kids get a little too excited for him at times and he will let them know with a wail of get out of my face : )

Eric is busy with chopping. I believe I just heard on the radio now that they are just hauling in the last load. I will post some pictures of the pile soon for all you farm-happy readers. It's been a push to get it done as always, but they have been blessed with really good weather this week and have had few breakdowns these last few days. I'm always glad when we can check that off the harvest list. So I guess that means 2 weeks down and only 2 months to go.......

I'm adjusting to being a stay-at-home mom. I thought at first maybe I would get a little bored or stir crazy, but so far I keep wondering where all the time in the day goes. I am loving being with the kids and am trying to get settled into more of a routine now that school has started. It has been going quite well, even at night, with getting the kids to bed on time without Dad's help. So with that I better get some real work done so I can go to bed : )