Post Christmas

After Christmas, we packed up the family and headed to Ben's grandpa's farm.  It's really one of my favorite places to be.  AT&T users don't get cell phone reception there, and there's no interent - so you have no choice but to be unplugged.  And I find that I have nothing to do but be with my family.  Do you know how freeing that is?  It.  Is.  Nice.  

Anyway, on the interstate on the way to the farm, I was on my phone looking up something when Ben said "hey, I think that car in front of us has an Ethiopia sticker on their car."  I looked up half-heartedly as we were about to pass them. I think I told Ben that he was wrong, that it was a Congo sticker.  Oops.  As we drove past them, I glanced over and thought I recognized the driver.  From a blog.  I tried to look in the back seat to see if there was a cute little Ethiopian boy, but we were going so fast, ahem, that I couldn't see anything.  As we were zooming past I said "Wait!  Slow down! I think I know them."  Ha.  Ha.  Ben asked me how and I told him that I knew them from a blog I've read for years.  He didn't think that was really knowing someone.  Ha ha! 

By this time, we'd already passed them so Ben had to slow down to try to get them to pass us.  They did, and as they pulled up next to us I saw my internet friend :) and started waving.  Apparently, she and her husband noticed our Ethiopia sticker on our car and were discussing who we might be - so she was checking us out as they passed us.  She recognized me as well and we started messaging each other via facebook and decided to meet at a Starbucks on the highway.  I couldn't stop laughing.  I mean, the odds of this happening?  Slim to none.  We were meeting in a different state than either of us live in.  Funny stuff! 

Upper left: The sticker that started it all

Upper right: Me and E (The camera adds 10 lbs. to me and I had two cameras on me, soooo.)

Bottom: Our cute little Ethiopians! 

So fun to meet each other in real life.  And it wasn't even weird.  You know, we know a lot about each other!  And I feel like I know her little guy.  He's the cutest.  And our kids all played together.  So fun.  Such a sweet little surprise on our road trip!

After we met up with them, we headed on down the road to the farm.  

It was coooold down there.  

Even so, the little cousins still rode in the back of the truck through the field.  

It was 25 degrees out.  Crazy kids. 

 We got to the pond back in the trees and it was mostly frozen over.  The kids (and adults) had fun throwing rocks and trying to break the ice.  

My hot husband and our cute kids.  

Mom of the year here forgot to pack Eli's coat.  Which is why he's wearing my vest on top of a borrowed jacket from a cousin.  (Although in my defense I kept taking stuff to the back door to be loaded, and it kept getting carried off by a certain two year old.  Yep.  Passing the blame.)

The group headed back to warmth!

Ru and I on the hunt for a Christmas tree.  

Just kidding, we were really just taking pictures of ourselves while everyone else was on the hunt.  This girl loves to have her picture taken, and I love trying to train her to smile instead of giving me a strained look with her eyes closed.  

She's a happy one.  

Ben and our brother-in-law cut down a cute tiny tree for our Christmas celebration with the family.

 And down at the river, one of the favorite places to be at the farm, the kiddos found a tiny pond (it may not be called a pond, it might be called a tributary or something.  What do I know?  I'm not a scientist.) that was so frozen you could ice skate on it.  

And ice skate they did.

Thank goodness Eli got a coat for Christmas that day.  Grandma and Grandpa saved the day.    

Even though it was cold, it was fun to be outside.  Technology free.  It really makes you feel like you don't have a care in the world.  And that's a great feeling to have.