Another Farm

(Zoe, Noah, and Jack with Bella Pasto)

I love this town. I am so lucky to be raising my children in such a small community. We have the best of both worlds. Out here in Fernley we can still see the stars at night. When standing out in my front yard I can hear cows mooing and I can hear the train as it passes through town. People raise livestock and grow huge gardens. My neighborhood is quiet. Most neighborhoods have their own park. We have a Walmart and a Lowes. Wild Horses roam the streets. If you get tired of the remoteness and slower pace of life, Reno and Sparks are just 30 to 40 minutes away. There you will find all sorts of shopping and a variety of restaurants along with other venues for entertainment.

One of the many reasons I am happy to be living here is for the people I am able to associate with. One in particular is my friend Circle. I've known Circle for at least half of my life. We are guessing we first met each other back at good old Camp Ritchie. Where we attended Girls Camp as part of the El Dorado Stake. Camp Ritchie is located on the Bear Lake Reservoir in Pioneer California out on highway 88. I spent a week there every summer from just before my 12th birthday until I turned 16. I even had the opportunity to return as an adult and be a counselor to a group of 13 year old girls. Circle and I saw each other regularly during our teenage years at various stake functions. We even had the opportunity to work together in the Relief Society Presidency of the Young Single Adult Ward.

I was so excited when she moved into my ward just over 2 years ago. I was even more excited when I realized she lived in my neighborhood, just one street over. I have learned so much from her. She taught me how to can pickles last summer and Dan credits her for getting him into canning. She is an amazing Relief Society teacher. When she was my visiting teacher she was willing to watch Zoe and Jack, so I could help out in Noah's classroom. We have had many wonderful conversations about raising children, wanting more children, and the struggles with adding to our families. I think she gets me on levels that some women just don't or can't understand. Basically she has been and is a huge blessing in my life.

Recently she invited me and the kids over to her Husband's Aunt's house. She sits with his elderly aunt Alice every Friday. She thought the kids and I would enjoy picking apples and plums and feeding the cows. I thought it could be a fun adventure and was looking for something to do with the kids. It was going to be a long weekend. Dan was going to be in Utah all weekend attending the baptism of 2 nephews and a missionary farewell for a 3rd nephew. I was going to be a single parent until late, late Sunday night. So, I loaded the kids in the car and headed over to the address she gave me.

I wasn't expecting it to be as amazing as it was. There was this little old brick house on a large piece of property. There were several mature trees... A huge garden... Lots of fruit trees...Cows. ..Tractors... Old Cars...Old Trucks...(all with the keys in the ignitions). ...Bales of straw... Shade...Green Grass...Grape Vines...An old swing set. Circle put it best, it would be a great location for the show "American Pickers". If you looked hard enough you would probably find some amazing treasures. The kids had so much fun exploring.

Jackson loved eating the plums. Zoe was brave enough to feed a cow. (I love the look on her face, she wasn't ready for the slime)Noah wasn't as brave. This was as close as he would get.Jackson thought the cows were amazing. He would smile big every time they would moo. By the time we left he was mooing right along with them.Noah and Zoe ran around with Bella for hours. They got along fabulously, no fighting. At one time Bella wanted to impress the boys next door so she told them that I was her mom (Circle was in the house) and that Noah, Zoe, and Jack were her siblings. It was really cute the way she begged and pleaded with me to play along. She is such a sweet girl. She is an only child that so badly wants a brother or a sister. I hope it happens for her someday, she'd be an amazing big sister.

It was a very peaceful afternoon. It is one of those locations that make you forget that you live in the desert. We stayed until it was dark. The kids were having so much fun. We came home with fresh picked green beans from the largest bean plant I've ever seen.

( The plant seriously towered over me. )

We also managed to bring home some plums, some apples, a pear, a cucumber, and a zucchini. The kids and I were sad to leave. I had to promise them we would visit again sometime.

It was so nice to spend time on "Another Farm," as my kids referred to it. The only problem is, now they want to own a cow and have a larger garden. Oh, to have that much land. My kids would be thrilled to be farmers. That's one of Dan's dreams too. I think I am finally warming up to the idea, just don't tell my husband. It is kind of fun to tease him about this fantasy of his.