2019 FFA Banquet

These boys received their Discovery degrees at the spring banquet.

Nathan competed in Ag Mechanics.

The Freshmen received their Greenhand Degrees. Landen competed in Parliamentary Procedure, Land Judging and Ag Mechanics.

Northwestern Area FFA 

Y Tournament

Since Nathan's team had less than a handful of games this past winter due to weather, they played in the Aberdeen Y Tournament.

The 7th graders placed 3rd in their bracket.

The freshman team also had a successful tournament and placed 2nd in their bracket.

NSU Science Fair

Both Landen and Nathan placed 1st in their respective categories at our local Science Fair this past year, and so earned a trip to the NSU Science Fair.

Landen won a U.S. Air Force Award for his project that tested the shape of ship keels.

Nathan did not place at NSU with his project that tested different types of manure fertilizer, but he was on the Northwestern Quiz Bowl team that placed 2nd.

Spring flooding

We had a few days of rushing water as the snow and ice began to melt.

It had been several years since we have had flooding around our farm. The worst part is the inconvenience of not having our usual roads in and out of the farm. We are thankful for the moisture, though, and that nothing was damaged.

Grand Canyon

Perhaps--maybe--an equally grand experience in Arizona was the Grand Canyon. :)

It was the 2nd time we had found ourselves within driving distance, and so we decided that this time a road trip was in order for the day before we returned home. 

Our trip started with a forest of saguaro cacti near Mesa, progressed into a forest, which still held snow, and even included mountains. 

We thought it might be hot, as the forecast for Scottsdale was in the 80's, but we learned that the Grand Canyon doesn't share the same forecast. The day was cool, and the rim of the canyon still had snow on it, too. After finding a place to park during a busy day at the canyon, we did a little hiking around the rim.

The colors and scenery changed several times as we hiked around a small part of the south rim and then drove farther east. It was even prettier in the later afternoon as the sun highlighted different areas.