Organic Valley Milk Farm

My Godfather Dennis Cline and his family are organic dairy farmers in Decorah, IA. They've just completed a big expansion of their milking operation and held an open house yesterday for the community. We had to wear disposable "boots" in order to tour the new milking parlor, but we thought we all looked rather spiffy!



As always, Abby loved the calves (and they her)!

Abby is standing in the milking parlor where the cows will stand. Notice that the milkers are below, which allows a farmer to farm much longer in that it is easier on the knees -- no kneeling.

We even got free Organic Valley milk and string cheese!!!!!! Abby chose the chocolate milk and was surprised when I allowed her to have it.

I don't know how long this link will work, but if you are interested in reading more about the Cline farm click here -- http://www.decorahnewspaper.com/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubSectionID=12&ArticleID=14023

And to learn more about the best milk money can buy -- Organic Valley milk -- check out www.organicvalley.com.

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a relaxing Thanksgiving dinner at Aunt Lisa's house. Grandpa Engelhardt said a prayer and then we went around the table and said what we were thankful for. Abby's reply, "I'm thankful for fake chicken!" (Fake chicken for those of you not in the know is delicious and is made from TVP -- textured vegetable protein!)

Abby's First Movie Theatre Movie

Will and I took Abby to see Happy Feet at the movie theatre in Decorah on Sunday afternoon. This was her first movie theatre movie and she was very excited. She picked out M and Ms as her treat and was kind enough to share them with Mommy and Daddy.

The movie proved to be pretty scary for a three year old, but Abby enjoyed it none-the-less!

For those of you in the know, technically this was not Abby's first movie theatre movie. While on maternity leave, Amy Jones and I went to a couple movies with Langston and Abby in tow. In fact, I think it was at a movie that Langston and Abby first met!

Princess Kitty

Last night after Abby went to bed, Will and I decided to catch up on the news, but then Princess Kitty (Mira) decided that I'd read enough!

Ashley's Visit

Cousin Ashley came by for a visit today. Ashley is a sophomore at Viterbo University in La Crosse, WI.

And yes, that is laundry that Ashley brought to do!

Cooking

I've added some videos using You Tube and will continue to periodically add others. I think that you actually need to be logged in to your account on You Tube to view the videos. If you do not have a You Tube account, go to www.youtube.com and set up a free account. I think if you leave the sight without logging out, it should allow you to view videos on Abby's blog whenever you visit. And remember to have your sound turned up to hear the cute things Abby says!!!

Abby worked really hard making her dinner tonight. I thought she was making soup, but when we showed the video to Will and I told him it was a video of Abby making soup, she said, "No, actually, I was making porridge."

Snow!

We got our first snow of the year today -- 12 plus inches! It was rather strange in that two days ago we had temperatures in the mid seventies.

I've added some You Tube videos and will continue to periodically add others. Simply click on the arrow and it should play. If the video window only says "loading" you may need to set up a free You Tube account at www.youtube.com.

Refrigerator Art

Abby made this painting of snow flakes in school today and it adorns our refrigerator. Unfortunately for us, Abby said she made it for Vernetta Cline, so I suppose I will need to put it in the mail.

Hair Cut

We simply can't keep Abby's hair out of her eyes -- she refuses to keep barrettes or hair bands in for more than 30 minutes or so.

So, it was time for another hair cut. I'd heard about a place that has a fire truck for kids to sit in and Abby agreed to check it out because "Carissa needs a hair cut!" (Carissa is Abby's timber wolf). The fire truck turned out to be a red convertible, but Abby agreed to the haircut anyway and lucky for us Jamie (the stylist) agreed to trim Abby's and Carissa's hair!

Go Minnesota!!!

We are delighted that Minnesota is sending another woman to the U.S. Senate -- Amy Klobuchar! We are also delighted that Tim Walz won our U.S. House seat! He's a public school teacher and an Iraq vet and seems to be an all around good guy!

And we are proud to live in the state that will send the first Muslim -- Keith Ellison -- to the U.S. Congress!

Go Minnesota!!!!!

A Day for Art

Abby never shows any interest in what she wears, but today she insisted on wearing this dress over her shirt and pants. I was actually pleased that she expressed an opinion about her clothing and since we were going to art museums, I figured it didn't really matter!



We spent the day in Minneapolis at two great art museums -- the Walker Art Center and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. A museum staffer at the Walker gave Abby paper and pencil to create her own art. Here she is inspired by a Mark Rothko (a personal favorite of both Will and Lynette)!


(The pictures were taken with my cell phone, so are of a poor quality.)

Abby Packs a Lunch

Today was Abby's first full day at Montessori (I'm now full-time with the ELCA). She was so excited and was eager to help make her lunch!



Abby -- carrying her new lunch box -- couldn't get to the car fast enough!

I felt sad about being away from her for so long, and thought about her often during the afternoon. When I picked her up, I asked her teacher how the day went. She told me that Abby had a great day and even asked why she had to go home! So much for a mother's feelings!