Big 12 Champs

Matt and I had a busy November with Thanksgiving, KLA Convention, and the KSU vs. Texas game.  It's been great catching up with family, friends, and colleagues. 

College Roomies

Brian and Peggy Lawrence our good friends from college

The field after the big win

Next stop, Phoenix, Arizona at the end of December. Matt and I are looking forward to our vacation to the Grand Canyon, Four Corners, Petrified Forest, oh and yes the Fiesta Bowl will be one of our stops as well. Can't wait to see some of you there!

Undefeated Wildcats

KSU vs. Texas Tech | 55 - 24

Joe, Tara, Matt, and I made the trip to the Little Apple to watch our favorite team.....the K-STATE WILDCATS! We got up early on Saturday morning to do some last minute shopping and then we were off tailgating. At first the weather was a little chilly but that didn't stop us. We enjoyed our time by playing washers, grilling spicy chicken wings, and having some cold ones.

 

In the stadium, we had great seats, sitting near the south end zone, in row 3. We even got to see "Optimus Klein" score a touchdown. The stadium was sold out which made the atmosphere loud and intimidating to the other team.

 

The picture above is an action shot of the field goal that was blocked during the game. Matt was a great photographer by watching the game through the lens of the camera. It was only the beginning of the fourth quarter and we snapped this shot of the Texas Tech Red Raiders mascot looking defeated.

   

 We look forward to seeing another game in Manhattan on December 1st to watch K-State play Texas. This will be an exciting game at the end of the regular season... winning against Texas could help our bid to the National Championship. GO STATE!

Home Cookin'

Matt and I love to cook! Since we've been married we have continued to try old fashioned, do it yourself recipes. First, all I wanted to learn was to make homemade gravy. After a few trial and errors, I have finally got it! I actually make biscuits and gravy on a pretty regular basis. From there we learned how to make chicken fried steak and fried chicken.

My Grandma Combes was a great cook. When I think of her I always think of food. Especially her homemade doughnuts that we would have every Halloween as our TREAT! They were always big and fluffy, sure to satisfied everyone's appetite.  So that's exactly what I did next, made doughnuts. I'm no expert and I still need practice but it's a place to start.

 If you read the Suede Sofa, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say Live-It List. On my list for 2012, was to learn how to make pies. Sometime around the first of September after buying fruit from the Colorado Fruit Truck I started my journey of pie making. Since then, I have made pies, pies, and more pies! First a peach, then peanut butter, and 2 apples.I'm not going to lie - they were pretty darn good!

As I would make my pies I would continue to send picture text messages to my parents and sisters. As always they wished they lived close so they could drive over and have a piece.  One weekend in October my parents drove to Leoti for a day trip. I couldn't pass up this opportunity to make a pie. This time I took it a step further and made Dad a homemade chocolate cream pie. Let's just say the 4 of us had the pie eaten in a day - it was that good!

Making most meals and desserts from scratch does take time, but it is well worth the effort. If I don't learn how to do this, what will keep our grandparents traditions going?? So, with that said, the taste of good home cookin' isn't going to stop with me!

Building Project

To help us with our seed business we decided to make a large investment in our future by buying some land and building a new shed just west of our home. Looking back a few months ago it was still just an idea and today it has become reality. On August 16, materials for our new shed were delivered and since then the view from our front door looking west has changed dramatically.

Before View

After View

Let's take a step back and show a few pictures along the way.

Step 1: Drill a well

Step 2: Dirt Work

Step 3: Completed shed pad and approach

Step 4: Shed materials delivered

Step 5: Broke ground

Step 6: First wall was built

Step 7: Trusses were added.

Step 8: Metal was put on sides.

Step 9: Complete roof

Step 10: Add porch

There is still plenty to do such as pouring concrete, plumbing, electrical, finishing the office.....and the list goes on. We can't thank the Morton Builders enough for their hard work! This has been an exciting project to see come together and we look forward to the day we can start using it!

Business Building...

In the fall of 2009 Matt began selling  Garst Corn and Milo to a handful of local farmers.  Little did we know that it would grow into a full-time business.  This year has brought along with it quite a few changes, the formation of  an S-Corporation, a website, and a building project.  This week check out our 4th annual plot tour and the website... stay tuned for a future post about our building project.

Preparing for a plot tour is always stressful.  First of all is the trip to Garden City to shop for all the ingredients needed for Jenny's good home cooking.  Also thanks to Diana for getting the baked beans and brisket ready.

 

 The plot tour went off without a hitch... although we would have welcomed a rain, the storm passed us with less than a sprinkle.

Don't forget to take a look at the new website that Jenny and I spent about 6 months creating (www.redbarnenterprises.com). We are really excited about the finished product!

A Glimpse Outside Western KS...

One thing I have always enjoyed is going on vacation, luckily Jenny enjoys it too.  We have had some great trips to Mexico, the Great Sand Dunes, and many others, but to me none have been as awesome as our recent trip to Yellowstone.

Jenny and I at the Northwest entrance of Yellowstone.

Now getting to Yellowstone is no small feet, in fact from SWK (Southwest Kansas) it is nearly 15 hours of driving, some of which is across the barren deserts of Eastern Colorado and Wyoming, and some through the most scenic mountain range I have ever crossed, the Grand Tetons.

Grand Tetons, Jackson Wyoming.

Growing up the words Yellowstone and Old Faithful were interchangeable to me. Old Faithful was the one thing I always thought of when I thought of Yellowstone.  Needless to say there is much more to see, in fact over 2,000,000 (2 Million) acres more. Waterfalls, bubbling mud puddles, scorching hot water pools, elk, moose, bald eagles, buffalo and even more.  It was absolutely amazing.  In fact the only thing that disappointed me was Old Faithful.  Although she is Old and she was Faithful, shooting off exactly at her estimated eruption time of 7:05pm, the show was well just like you see it depicted in the movies, and the picture below.

Old Faithful, 7:05pm.

Although our trip was mainly to see Yellowstone, we did hit a few other places on our way to and from including, Jackson Hole Wyoming, Grand Teton National Park, Beartooth Pass, Red Lodge Montana, Hell's Half Acre, and Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade!

I can't wait to see where our next vacation takes us, maybe Africa??

Take a look at these, just a few of the nearly 1200 pictures we took while on vacation!

Artists Paintpots

Mammoth Hot Springs

Grand Prismatic Spring

Bull Elk

Yellowstone Lake, near Fishing Pot Geyser

Lower Falls, Artist Point, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone

Bull Buffalo

Yellowstone traffic jam.

Wolf near Buffalo Herd

Buffalo Bath

Baby Buffalo

Beginning of Beartooth Scenic Byway

Clay Butte

Near the top of Beartooth Pass

Jenny trying to reach 11,000 ft elevation.

Cheyenne Frontier Days Parade

Yard Work

One project always leads to another....this time it was yard work. Tearing out a few bushes with plans for new ones lead to landscaping our entire front yard. After many months of bare ground we can finally see the finished product. 

Before

During

Our yard might not be your typical front lawn, but it has character. Our main vision for doing this was to conserve water and minimize maintenance. With the help of our landscaper...aka Matt Long, it turned out great!

After

After