Life on Fast Road

Our First Tea Party

2012-01-21T15:02:00.000-07:00

I have the most wonderful memories of tea parties with my Grandma Ruth when I was a little girl. They weren't fancy. We didn't dress up and have a fancy tea set. But I loved them. We had such fun! Grandma's kitchen had floor to ceiling cabinets with great pull out cutting boards positioned at different heights. One was just a couple feet off the floor and the perfect height for a tea party table. I don't remember what we drank, probably fresh milk or whatever other drink was in the fridge - ice tea, lemonade or water. It didn't matter. (oh, another memory - she always kept water in a glass jar in the fridge. I don't know what kind of jar, but it had a funky shape.) Grandma did a lot of baking and usually we enjoyed whatever she had made. She always said I must have a special radar because when she was baking, I usually showed up at the door. What can I say! We would set chairs by the little pull-out board, have our drink and snack, and visit away. What a special lady.

For years I have been looking for a special tea set to use for tea parties with my granddaughters. This started well before I ever had granddaughters, and I was just hoping for the day. All the sets I found were either too cutsie, too foofy, or just not right. Recently my friend, Patti, gave me a tea set, and it is exactly what I would have picked out if I could find it! Its perfect. It reminds me of Fiesta ware with its rich, fun colors.

Today Natalie and I had our first Tea Party! We had planned to do it a few days ago, but the weather turned too cold. Today is much warmer with beautiful sunshine. Amy has been preparing Natalie for the big event all week. We were both pretty excited. : ) She picked out a soft, fluffy scarf from the dress up basket, picked out one for Nana, and off we went to see what goodies we were to have for our party.

First we had to pick out our cups and saucers.

having our tea and snacks

we only had a couple of spills

thanks, Papa, for coming in to take some pictures and have a bit of tea with us.

love my girlie girl!

Heidner Family Photos

2011-09-14T22:09:00.001-06:00

Here are the Nelson Heidner kids:

back row: Loren and Dale

front row: Ken, Marilyn Hilkemann, Tom

birth order is Tom, Don (my dad, who has passed away), Dale, Karen (who passed away as a baby), Loren, Ken and Marilyn.

Siblings with spouses:

left to right:Ken & Jane Heidner, Loren & Marian Heidner, Arlen & Marilyn Hilkemann, Dale & Irma Heidner, Tom & Margaret Heidner.

Tom & Margaret Heidner family (sorry, I don't have a pic of them with all the kids & grandkids together)

left to right: Les, Jay, Margaret, Tom, Susan, Vivian

Don & Velma Heidner family

left to right: Rhonda, Greg, Kayla, Dave, Judy, DeeDee, Warren, Natalie, Amy, Aleah & Tony

Loren & Marian

Ken & Jane Heidner family

left to right: Madalyn, Kelly, Esther, Lori, Ian & Paul Lynch, Ken & Jane, Bonnie, Corbyn, Natalie, Steve, Galen & Brendan Heidner, Naomi, Moriah, Olivia, Jeff & Toby Heidner

Arlen & Marilyn Hilkemann family

left to right: Nicky, Mike, Holly & Mason Hilkemann, Arlen & Marilyn, David, Callie, Silas, Dawn, Anna, & Sadie Hilkemann, Michelle, Jaycee, Joel, Ryan & Zach Hilkemann

My apologies if I messed up some names. We loved seeing everyone who was at the reunion, but greatly missed those who couldn't come. Hope to see you next time.

Our 2nd Nelson Heidner Family Reunion

2011-09-14T20:26:00.000-06:00

Three years ago we had our first Nelson Heidner Family Reunion at Beacon Bible Camp. We had a really good turnout, tons of fun visiting, getting aquainted with new members of the family, both kids and in-laws, playing games, and hanging out. So much fun in fact, that we decided to do another reunion in 3 years.

The time has arrived!

This time around the reunion was held at Lustre Christian High School. We had a good turnout again - about 75 family members. It is a really neat mix of ages. When I was growing up, family reunions were for the "old people". LOL Its so fun to see all ages gather together. Nelson Heidner was my dad's father, so the reunion is for all of his kids, grandkids, great-grandkids. I think I counted the right number of generations!

my cousin, Jay, and I got people registered and signed up for activities, rooms, family photos, etc.

Each family took turns preparing a meal. Ours was on Saturday night. We started smoking pork butts for pulled pork sandwiches on Friday night, checking it every couple of hours during the night. Judy, Rhonda and I made coleslaw and baked beans, Judy, Rhonda & Amy made cookies for dessert. We also had watermelon slices, veggies and ranch, chips.

We had some delicious meals at the reunion. There are some really great cooks in the family, and it was like sitting down at each others' tables sharing a good meal, great conversation and "family". Of course some great recipes were exchanged too.

Quite a few signed up for a FastFAB tour. Tony's welding business, FastFAB, builds hopper bottoms for grain bins. There was a lot of interest in seeing the building process.

another activity - horseshoes! Greg Heidner & Dwaine Wall

Whenever Heidners get together, there are always games. Favorites include Dutch Blitz, and Grandma Ruth's favorites of Rummifun and Scrabble. Here Brenden and Bonnie play Jenga

and usually a puzzle comes out.

Along with the fun and games, we do some serious visiting. Uncle Dale had a video he showed one night which included home videos from when his family and alot of our cousins were little, and also pictures and video from past reunions. It was fun to see, and pretty special. There are a few most precious loved ones who are no longer with us. How nice to see them again. Thank you, Dale.

Early Birthday Party

2011-09-14T16:29:00.000-06:00

With a family reunion starting the next day, we welcomed Rhonda, Kayla, Greg, Dave & Judy on July 1. We had an early birthday party for Rhonda after supper. Her birthday is July 23, and since we all live so far apart, we take advantage to celebrate birthdays whenever we are together and a birthday is somewhat near. The previous summer I found an artist from Sidney, MT at the Fort Peck Art in the Park. Afton Ray-Rossol (see The GalleRay on Facebook) does beautiful art glass. I had bought a couple mugs for myself, and got Judy a couple of them for Christmas. When I told her about the goblets I had seen, we decided to order four of them for Rhonda. Her kitchen is decorated in a grape theme, and she enjoys wine, so a perfect match!

Rhonda showing her card, with Kayla beside her.

we pulled off a great surprise. They were a hit!

cheers!

We start them young on Fast Road!

2011-09-14T13:35:00.001-06:00

Natalie- 19 months old - June 30, 2011

Warren's dad, Harvey, built the mailbox stand many years ago. It turned out really cute, and makes it easy to give people directions to our home! We tell them to turn on Fast Road, you'll see a tractor mailbox! Over the years we have decorated it, mostly with scarecrows and Santas, straw bales on the ground with corn stalks, pumpkins, etc. Here is a layout I did many years ago.

Amazing!

2011-09-14T12:20:00.000-06:00

We had some pretty intense thunderstorms this summer. There has been a lot of hail in different areas, some flooding, and big winds, but Thank the Lord, we haven't had much damage on our land. June 29 was one night with an incredible storm. We were outside taking pictures of the cloud right above the house (see the light on the corner of our house?) when a big wind hit. We tore into the house to slam windows shut as the dirt started blowing with a vengence. We later learned that some of our neighbors were in their basements taking cover. I have to admit, it didn't even occur to me... Not sure what that means...

8:29 p.m. just before the wind hit

Here are a few more photos of the same storm as it rolled in and hit our area.

7:56 p.m.

7:59 p.m.

8:13 p.m

8:15 p.m

8:24 p.m.

8:25 p.m

8:27 p.m.

8:28 p.m.

8:31 p.m and as it moved on...

Addilyn

2011-09-09T19:49:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple adorable photos of Addilyn. They were taken by Bloom Photography, who is contracted by the hospital to take newborn photos. They posted about 25 on their website of Addilyn, and Craig & Lindsay got a cd of them. These are a couple of our favorites.

Addilyn Mae Fast - 1 day old

Soggy

2011-08-05T14:42:00.000-06:00

I know this is a common sight for some of you, but here where we are used to it being pretty dry, it was enough to make us stop in our tracks! Literally, we stopped the vehicle to take a picture... This tree was a lone tree along the side of the Frazer road.

A new grain elevator is being built between Frazer and Nashua along hiway 2. What a year to be doing that! They have had a hard time getting the building done, but it is slowly going up. They had hoped to have it finished and open in time for harvest, but they are running behind schedule. Just recently the ground had dried out enough that they were able to start the dirt work for the railroad track line for loading the grain into train cars. There was a bad thunderstorm and hail that went through that area a couple of weeks ago, and now it is very wet again. These pictures were taken back on June 8 as we drove by. I need to get some current ones!

June 27 - Warren's dad, Harvey, on the west end of the site. One bin is up. Last time I was by, there were 3 grain bins up.

We Have Fought the Good Fight,and Finished The Course

2011-08-03T22:22:00.000-06:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, It was a bit of a battle to get the crops seeded this year. We are glad that the record snowfall didn't melt so fast that it all ran down the coulees and washed out the fields. Most of the snowfall did melt and was absorbed into the ground. However, the challenge came in May when we had an unusual amount of rain. Our normal annual rainfall is about 14 inches. In May alone, we had over 11 inches! Add that in with the precipitation from the melted snow, and the ground was saturated. This made getting the crop in a challenge to say the least. They seeded peas at the end of April and throughout May as they were able to, then went on to wheat. Here is a peek at the consequences of trying to seed with a deadline looming, and the ground is too wet.

the neighbors had trouble too - everyone had troubles!

The weird thing is, it wasn't just in the low spots that they got stuck. guys were getting stuck on the sides of hills, on top, anywhere... We heard stories of tractors driving into fields and water spurting out of gopher holes... Fact or Fiction?

It wasn't just tractors getting stuck. Spraying was challenge as well.

one of the fields that was too wet to seed. this photo was taken on June 17, too near the deadline of a crop being able to be planted, come up, grow, produce a crop and be harvested before fall frost would damage it.

Alas, all is not lost! As I type this, Warren is in the combine, cutting peas. The wheat that was able to be planted grew with good moisture, and is making its way through July & August's dry, hot weather. It would have been nice to have more rain in the last couple of weeks, but we aren't complaining. God has provided a crop. Hopefully we make it through the thunderstorms and into harvest. Things are really busy around here.

Family Farm

2011-08-03T21:49:00.000-06:00

Its really quite amazing when you think about it. Our farm was homesteaded and started by Warren's grandpa, Peter Fast in 1916. He turned it over to Warren's dad, Harvey, and then on to Warren's care. Our son, Tony joined in the farming when he was younger, and now his family also live here. Five Generations of Fasts living on the farm on Fast Road over the span of 95 years!
Of course there have been many ups and downs over the years, and this year has certainly had its challenges as well. We started off with record snow falls, a late spring, which meant that we were still seeding in June, when usually we are finished in May. Due to wet conditions, for the first time we can remember, we had to leave land without seeding a crop on it. Wet spots have been left before, but not whole fields. Many fields that were seeded, didn't give up without a fight. More proof of that in another post!

On June 4 Amy, the girls and I went over west, which is what we call our farms north of Nashua. Tony was running the air seeder, and Warren keeping him supplied with seed and fertilizer.

Amy & Natalie waiting for Daddy to come.

getting to ride along

Warren coming with seed

time to refill the grain cart

teaching the 5th generation

The Great Flood of 2011

2011-08-03T20:46:00.000-06:00

Montana got huge amounts of snow this winter. As a result, we also saw a lot of flooding. I have never been so happy to live up in the hills away from the rivers. With every larger rain, our Little Porcupine Creek did flood a little bit. Normally it is a small creek, just a few feet across. Our crossing on our cut-across road to the fields washed out early on, and is still pretty rough to cross after Warren has worked on it. One of those projects for when there is more time. :)

May 30 - Little Porcupine Creek bridge on the Lustre School Road

There was a lot of flooding from the Milk River in the areas from Saco to Glasgow, Nashua, etc. in April with the snow melt, and then again in May and June from mountain snow melts and rain. There was so much damage to homes and property.

the west edge of Nashua, June 9

coming down the hill on the east end of Glasgow. The water should be in the riverbank, the other side of the trees on the right edge of the photo.

one of the farms between Nashua and Glasgow taken from hiway 2 looking south, with the railroad tracks in between.

Our hearts go out to the people who were affected by the flooding.

Exersaucer Fun

2011-08-02T08:29:00.000-06:00

Tony & Amy have an Exersaucer toy that the girls have both spent many fun hours in. Its a long way from the walker with a tray and a couple of hanging toys our boys had as babies. Bright, colorful toys that make animal sounds, honks, beeps, rattles and more surround them as they can either stand of sit while they play.

Natalie at 4 1/2 months, Easter 2010

Aleah at 4 months

Now Aleah loves to spend a lot of time playing in the saucer. Its one of her favorite things to do.

Natalie thought it looked like fun and thought she would try it too. Both of these were taken May 11.

The last couple of times that Aleah has visited Nana & Papa's house, the saucer came too. Aleah likes that much better than just laying on the floor to play! July 22, 2011

Chef Natalie

2011-08-01T20:35:00.001-06:00

I have so many great memories of being in the kitchen with my grandmothers, that I want to share those fun times with my granddaughters as well. The girls are a little young to be baking cookies yet, but Natalie is a good helper and loves to wash dishes. One of her favorite things to do is play with her toy cookware. She usually points to her apron and wants to wear that as she prepares her goodies. I got the apron at Schmeckfest and it was made by Cori Toews. Natalie loves it and is just too cute in it.

Stirring up something good to eat.

It's gonna be great - I promise!

Taste tested and approved!

Would you like some?

Seeding Time!

2011-08-01T20:34:00.000-06:00

The snow finally melted and the guys were able to get in the field on April 25 to test the equipment before starting seeding peas a couple of days later. They got a different air seeder this year. They tried one like it on Tony's farm last year. Tony's rental farm up north has a lot of big hills, and this seeder handles the hills better than the old one. This one is called a precision drill and the shanks on it move individually instead of in sections, so they are able to follow the contour of the ground better.

Easter 2011

2011-08-01T16:47:00.001-06:00

We hosted the Fast Easter dinner this year. Usually we do Thanksgiving, and Duane & Shirley do Easter. Last Thanksgiving so many of the family were going away for the day that we ended up going to Glasgow to Warren's parents house. Duane & Shirley are doing some remodeling in their house, so we offered to host Easter. Harvey & Gladys, Duane & Shirley, Keith & Joan and Tony, Amy, Natalie & Aleah joined us. Thank you, Duane & Shirley, for the beautiful tulips centerpiece. We enjoyed it for days!

After dinner we had an Easter egg hunt for Natalie.

this is serious business!

Papa & Daddy giving some hints while Jake looks on.

can you believe how big the snow drifts still were?

the basket is full.

time for a quick picture with us while enjoying candy from the eggs.

Back inside, it was time for Easter baskets from Nana & Papa.

Amy & Aleah with Aleah's basket.

Tony, Amy, Natalie & Aleah

Easter Basket Swap

2011-08-01T16:00:00.000-06:00

Some friends and I had a great time the afternoon of Good Friday. We all gathered together at the Sherman in Wolf Point and exchanged Easter baskets, had a great time visiting, and a delicious dinner. Most of us in the swap were able to be there, but not everyone. We missed those who couldn't come.

L-R: Connie, Lynn, Tiffany, DeeDee, Amy, Suzy & Myra

Love this picture of Suzy! She was pretty happy with some Green Bay Packers things in her basket. :)

I had a fun basket from Amy, including some scrapbooking items, coffee, chocolates, a bunny figurine, a notepad & pen and this cute spring sign that welcomes visitors to our home.

Lynn checking out her goodies.

Connie shows her prayer rock from her garden themed basket.

Tiffany reading a quote from a candy filled egg in her basket.

Amy with her garden themed basket.

Myra's basket included a mailbox with lots of letters to open, along with some goodies.

The food was really good.

The chef made us a special dessert - Red Velvet Cheesecake - Soooo good!

I enjoyed the get-together so much - great friends, fun and food. Life is good.

Back-Tracking to April

2011-08-01T14:17:00.000-06:00

I have gotten so far behind in my blog. I will try to catch up on some highlights of our spring and summer so far. In April Tony and Amy were getting ready to close on their home in Fort Peck. We kept Natalie overnight so that they could get an early start on clearing out the last of their things at the house before closing.

Making breakfast is serious business!

It's just right, Papa! Pour it in the pan!

How is it, Papa?

Are you sure its good?

Ooooo, bacon!

What fun to be able to have times like this with our granddaughter! Something so small and everyday, but precious all the same.

Addilyn Mae Fast

2011-08-01T13:34:00.000-06:00

We are very happy to announce the newest addition to our family. Addilyn Mae Fast was born on Wednesday, July 27, 2011 in Hutchinson, Kansas. She weighed 8 pounds, 2 ounces, and was 20 1/2 inches long. She has brown hair and brown eyes, and is such a precious blessing. Craig & Lindsay are happy to now be a family of three in their home in Buhler, Kansas. We can't wait to be able to meet her in person. We have been able to skype with them, and are thankful for that. Hopefully harvest will go smoothly and quickly so we can go visit them before too long.

Rain and More Rain

2011-07-13T08:44:00.000-06:00

June 6, 2011 Looking to the garden from the living room window toward the shop.

my garden through the trees. the strawberries are blooming in standing water, and the rest of the garden isn't much better. The volunteer dill loves it, tho!

My garden is usually planted in the last half of May. Much earlier than that, and it can freeze. We water with underground soaker hoses put in with the tiller. We then plant on either side of the hoses. It works great, and the guys put the hoses down, we get the whole garden planted in short order, working together. We do this after the guys are done seeding the crops in the fields.

This year we are about a month behind the normal schedule as far as the seasons and also seeding. Even if the guys were done with the crop, my garden has been pretty wet to work the ground. The strawberry patch hasn't been dry yet. Weeds everywhere! I have the seeds ready to go, tomato and pepper plants are in the shelter of the garage.

Update: June 10 - Warren took advantage of a bit of dryer weather and tilled the garden, It was still too wet to be planting real well, but he got the underground hoses in and corn planted before we stopped to spend the evening with our favorite little girls. :) I got the rest of the garden planted the next day. whew!

another picture of our yard in the rain. Green as Ireland!

Warren found a rather large mushroom.

2011-05-26T22:13:00.000-06:00

Warren flew to Kansas two weeks after our Arizona trip to help Craig & Lindsay with some remodeling work on their house. They bought their first home in Buhler, Kansas in December, and did some work on the house before moving in. They did a lot of work getting the original wood floors refinished, stripping wallpaper, painting, putting in duct work, water lines, but the big project was gutting the main floor bathroom and moving fixtures.

By the time Warren arrived, quite a bit of the work was done. The plumbing had been moved, and some of the sheet rock was up and they had started taping. Their first project was installing new wood flooring to go with the floors in the rest of the house.

the tub and surround went in.

Warren did a lot of taping.

Craig doing a bit of electrical work.

It was a busy week, but the guys got a lot done. After Warren left, Craig got the floors in the house stained and varnished, and he and Lindsay were able to move in a couple of weeks later. We are so proud of them! They have worked hard to buy and remodel their first home. We pray they will enjoy their home and be very happy there.

Over Easy

2011-05-26T20:59:00.000-06:00

Darlene and I had seen a Phoenix restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives called Over Easy. http://www.eatatovereasy.com/ Any business featured on the show is pretty good, so we made plans to try it out for brunch on Wednesday. Perry, Warren and Collin joined us. It had moved to a different location since the show was filmed, and was a fun place.

I had to take a picture of Warren by the kids corner. I thought Natalie would like the farm animals. :)

Darlene and I both ordered items from the menu that were featured on the show. Darlene ordered Waffle Dogs, breakfast sausage on a stick, dipped in waffle batter and fried to a golden brown.

I ordered the Caramelized banana & pecan brioche French toast and scrambled egg whites. Warren had an omelet.

Darlene and I are both dog lovers. She has a long haired Chihuahua named Napoleon, who believes he is alpha dog but really is pretty sweet. We visited a couple of animal shelters in the afternoon, one a county one, and the other one privately run. The latter was very nice, clean and well run. We had a good time looking at the dogs and cats, and saw some different areas of Phoenix that afternoon as well.

In the evening we went to Craig & Lori Schmitt's home for dinner. Craig and Perry are brothers, and Warren and I both went to high school with Craig. He and Lori have two children, Jacob and Megan. We had a great evening enjoying a bbq and visiting, before heading back to Perry & Darlene's to pack for our trip home.

We had a wonderful time on our trip. It was a much needed break from the long winter in Montana. We enjoyed seeing many friends, exploring new places, and spending some great times together.

Coyotes and Stars

2011-05-26T20:55:00.000-06:00

Tuesday night was guys and gals night. Warren and Perry went to a NHL hockey game to see the Phoenix Coyotes and the Dallas Stars play.

Warren found out it doesn't work well to wear the same thing to an evening hockey game that he wore to the afternoon baseball game. He got a little chilly wearing shorts. Good thing he had some wind pants along to warm up. They enjoyed the game, which got pretty exciting near the end. The Coyotes tied the game with about a minute to go, but the Stars won it with a goal in the last seconds.

The popular KissCam kissing game was played, where the jumbotron camera picks on couples, they have to kiss, and the camera moves on to the next couple. The people it zooms in aren't always couples, such is the fun of the game. However, one young man had a plan in mind. As the camera was on him, he popped the question on his unsuspecting girlfriend. :)

While the guys were at the game, we girls had our own fun evening. We went to a popular restaurant called the Elephant Bar, one of my favorite restaurants we ate at the whole trip. They feature a menu of European, Asian and American fusion foods. If you haven't been to one, they are decorated in a sophisticated jungle theme complete with of course, elephants and animal prints, but in a rich woods, leather and English Empire kind of way. We had a very nice, relaxed dinner, great visit and the food was wonderful. We split some Orange Honey Shrimp, which was delish! However, the dessert menu was too tempting to share. Darlene had Creamy Creme Brulee and I had the Citrus Cheesecake Brulee, which was wonderful. Warren had the camera at the game, so no pictures, but here's the website. http://elephantbar.com/Default.aspx

Cactus League Baseball

2011-05-25T14:35:00.000-06:00

Warren and I spent the afternoon on Tuesday, March 1 at the Rangers/Mariners game at the Peoria Sports Complex. The Phoenix Valley is home to 15 Major League Baseball teams playing in 10 stadiums. Most stadiums are shared by two teams. They each have several practice fields, but share the stadium where they play their games. Surprise Stadium is home to the Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals. The Peoria Sports Complex is very close to Perry & Darlene's office, and home to the Seattle Mariners and the San Diego Padres. We wanted to see the Rangers play on Tuesday, so went to watch them in Peoria. The stadium seats 11,000 fans and has 12 practice fields. There are options for seating. You can either buy tickets to sit in the seats, or bring a blanket and sit on the hill behind the outfield for just a few dollars.

Ichiro Suzuki up to bat

Interesting. The 3 men in caps in the foreground are from Medicine Lake, MT. Warren noticed it on one of the caps and said hi to them. They had come down for some games. They were just a couple of rows ahead of us.

We enjoyed the game, even though the Mariners won. The Rangers had a comeback late in the game, but it was too late. It was the warmest day we had since the first couple of days in Phoenix. Perfect day to watch our first major league game.

Legends at Arrowhead

2011-05-25T12:48:00.000-06:00

Monday, Feb. 28 we went golfing at a course called Legends at Arrowhead in Peoria. One of Perry's friends from church went along, and they were joined by a newly retired law enforcement guy from back east, who they were going to let play through, but he ended up staying with our group. He was pretty intense about his game and life in general. Maybe not quite into the "retirement" frame of mind yet?

The course had a lot of water hazards the front nine and a lot of sand on the back nine. It was a beautiful course. One of the holes had terraced tee boxes that were kind of neat. Here is Warren teeing off on one.

terraced tee boxes

It was a tough course, but the guys had fun. I rode along in the cart and it was so nice to be outside in the warm sun.

Subway Fresh Fit 500 video

2011-05-25T11:59:00.000-06:00

Here are a couple of videos to give you an idea of what it was like watching the race.

Boogity, Boogity,Boogity! Let's Go Racin'!

2011-05-25T11:00:00.000-06:00

If you watch Nascar on Fox TV, you know that those words have been made famous by Darrell Waltrip at the start of every Sprint Cup race. The excitement is about to begin! The Subway Fresh Fit 500 at the Phoenix International Speedway on February 27 was our first Nascar race, and we loved it. I have to admit, I am now a fan. I kind of was before, but now I actually watch the races on tv instead of reading or taking a nap.

We arrived at the track a couple of hours before the race. We saw the displays, watched them film part of the pre-game show for Speed Network, had lunch, then headed to our seats.

We had pretty good seats on the first turn, right across from the #1 pit box. We could see down part of the row to watch several pit stops, and see the race off pit row onto the track perfectly. Carl Edwards, #99 Subway car, had qualified in first position, and his is the car right in front of us. Here is a picture of all the cars coming to their pit boxes behind the pace car right before the race started.

a pit stop during the race.

Trevor Bayne, who had won the Daytona race the week before, wrecked early in the race and came to a stop right in front of us.

The tower in the infield shows the driver's numbers in their current order in the race. It changes as they cross the start finish line each time.

Smoke is all we could see of the big wreck on the back stretch.

Jeff Gordon passed Kyle Busch for the win right in front of us, and the crowd went crazy! Kyle Busch isn't the most popular driver, and it had been a long time since Jeff Gordon had won a race. It was pretty cool. Here is Gordon on his victory lap. The noise at the race is incredible. Even with ear plugs, I had a hard time hearing Warren yelling in my ear, let alone following everything the announcer said over the PA system. After the race we went home and watched the highlights of the race on tv so we could find out what all happened, especially about the wreck we didn't see. Very fun day, I'm hooked, and we're ready to go again.

Surprise

2011-05-16T21:09:00.000-06:00

Not only was this trip our first time to Arizona, but Dave & Judy's as well. We had already seen the Scottsdale (central Phoenix) and Mesa (southern Phoenix) areas, so on Saturday, Feb. 26, they came west to see where we had been spending our time in Surprise. Surprise in an area that has seen a lot of growth in the last 10 years. The neighborhoods show a modern mindset in that the subdivisions are planned with families and a healthy, outdoor lifestyle in mind. There are many parks with playgrounds and picnic areas, green belts, walking paths and schools. Our sister, Linda, would have loved it. Her life's passion was developing this type of lifestyle, and she worked hard in Colorado and California to help develope communities like this. I thought of her often when we were out for walks or driving in different neighborhoods.

We went to Westgate in Glendale, which is home to a shopping area, apartments, hotels, restaurants, the Jobing.com Arena where the NHL Coyotes hockey team plays, and also the NFL Cardinals stadium. The football stadium features a retractable field of natural grass playing surface that is moved outdoors for sunshine. The Fiesta Bowl is also played here. The shopping area was fun, with a favorite being the RideMakerZ store. Think Build A Bear for boys. They have all kinds of cars and pickups, trucks, and kids can add accessories to build the vehicle/ride of their dreams. There was a dad with his two boys there, and it was fun to watch the little boy build his car.

We went to Abuelo's for lunch and before we knew it, Dave & Judy had to leave for the airport. It was good to see them. Thanks for sharing your vacation with us, you guys!

Visiting McPecks

2011-05-16T19:34:00.001-06:00

After the swap meet, we drove to The Reort, a park model community where Don & Lorna McPeck live. Their community is fairly large, with pools, a community center and many activities. The residents live in park model homes most with Arizona rooms. Their Arizona room is behind the carport.

Lorna made us a wonderful home-cooked meal with REAL lemonade. I don't want to drink frozen concentrate lemonade anymore, and I'd like my own lemon tree. LOL

Don, Lorna, Judy & Dave. They all went to college together.

We know Don & Lorna from when they lived in Wolf Point, Montana, and pastored the Gospel Fellowship Church. Don was the high school camp director at Beacon Bible Camp. Those were such fun camps! He always kept us busy and entertained - no easy feat with teenagers. They have kids our age, and it was fun to catch up with them as well. There were a LOT of stories told, and we laughed until we had tears. Very fun evening. We'd love to do it again. Thank you for a great visit!

Mesa Market Swap Meet

2011-05-16T19:11:00.000-06:00

Dave finished his meetings Thursday night and Friday all four of us were heading to Mesa for the day. Warren's sister, Shirley, had told us about the Mesa Market Swap Meet after she and Duane had been there in past years. It sounded fun and we thought we would wander through it for a few hours. There are 1600 booths with everything from tools to fossils to spas, decorative items, food, souvenirs.

Some of our favorite items included:

stone tables made from the red rocks in the Sedona area. Would have loved to bring one home! This one

has a mat finish, and the next one is glossy. Both were gorgeous.

One booth had lots of "fossils". not sure that they were real, but it was interesting.

There was a LOT of metal decorative items.

We saw a lot of cute whimsical rock bugs.

we wanted to bring this one home for Amy's yard, but knew we couldn't get it in the suitcase.

This one was a marvel. See how it balances on that tiny point?

This is just a small sampling of what we saw. I think the only thing we bought was some packets of dip mixes and a t shirt for Harvey, Warren's dad. We found a shirt with the name of his coffee group in Glasgow - the Romeos. Retired Old Men Eating Out. Perfect!

Scottsdale

2011-05-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

My sister, Judy and her husband, Dave came to AZ while we were there. Dave had a conference in Paradise Valley on Thursday the 24th, and they planned to spend a couple of extra days with us before going home to Kansas City. While Dave was at his meetings, we met Judy at their hotel. We sat by the pool and visited, went to lunch, then off to Scottsdale for the afternoon. We walked through some of the shops and art galleries in Old Town Scottsdale. One had amazing sketches and bronzes of families. One sketch looked exactly like Judy's little granddaughter, Zoe. If only we could have afforded to buy it! The bronzes in that gallery had incredible detail. There were some that reminded me of Norman Rockwell scenes - children with grandparents, vintage toys, etc. The detail on the toys, the lace on the little girls' anklet socks, the man's suit and shoes were so precise and realistic.

We decided to take a trolley tour and see a little more of the area. We got our coffees and were ready to have a relaxed ride. Not to be. First off, we couldn't take our drinks along - so much for leisurely sipping. We had to drink them quickly. There were two routes, and by the time we were finishing our coffees, one trolley was just leaving. We missed it. There was another one right there, so we threw away our cups and climbed aboard. We had wanted to ride the one that toured the downtown area. We would see the arts district, the fashion district, the Scottsdale stadium, Old Town, businesses and cafes, etc.

Well.... we ended up getting on the neighborhood trolley and picked up kids from school, dropped off people from work, saw the REAL Scottsdale - south side, not the wealthy north side. oh well. It was interesting, and the trolley really was kind of neat. Judy is always studying a map wherever we go, and Warren had the Garmin, so we pretty much knew where we were. Fun memory.

We did a bit more browsing in the shops, then had supper. Dave & Judy lived in Italy for many years and are always excited to find a place that has a wood fire pizza oven. We ate at a place called Grimaldi's, where they have a wonderful selection of specialty wood fire pizzas, among other Italian items on their menu. We thought of Dave, still at his meeting, and knew he would have enjoyed it.

We ate outside in a lovely courtyard. It would have been warmer inside with the pizza oven warming us up, but with the outdoor heaters, it was nice out there. We loved it coming from snow in Montana and Missouri. Other brave souls did join us - it was such a nice atmosphere.

A couple more scenes from our day in Scottsdale

relaxing in Peoria

2011-05-14T17:33:00.000-06:00

The next couple of days were pretty low key. Tuesday we spent some time in nearby Peoria, where Perry & Darlene's office is, and close to Surprise. Tueday we did some shopping and ate at a couple of good restaurants. At noon we ate at Abuelo's. http://www.abuelos.com/_webapp_1190302/Peoria,_AZ Mexican is our favorite ethnic food. Warren had something traditional, I don't remember what. I had the Tilapia Veracruz, one of the house specialties. so good - tilapia, shrimp, scallops, mushrooms, tomatoes and olives. The food, atmosphere and visiting with Perry were all good.
In the evening we met up with both Perry & Darlene at Squid Ink. http://squidinksushi.com/ The sushi bar is one of Darlene's favorite places to eat, and I was looking forward to trying sushi for the first time. It was a little chilly out, but we ate outside with portable heaters making it comfortable. We were the only ones who braved the "cold"!

Squid Ink offers Asian Fusion foods. We ordered wontons, edamame, a variety of sushi rolls, and I don't remember what else. It was all good - maybe better than we thought it would be if we are really honest. LOL I'd go back again. Probably not Warren's first choice, but I think he would go again too.

Wednesday, Feb. 23 was a really fun day. We met up with very good friends, Jerry & Debby Jennex, who were in Mesa visiting family. They live in Michigan now, but used to live in Lustre. Jerry taught and coached basketball to both Warren and me. They also came back to Lustre several years after that, which is when we really became good friends. Perry, Jerry and Warren spent the afternoon golfing, and Debby and I stayed the Arrowhead mall and caught up. We spent a couple of hours outside by the fountains, enjoying the sunshine.

In the evening we met up with Darlene and some of her friends. After supper, Jerry was thrilled to see it was karaoke night. He sang a couple of songs and convinced Debby to join him for a duet. You could tell they had done it before. It was sad to say good-bye to Jerry & Debby at the end of the evening, but it was so good to see them and catch up with them and their families again. Hopefully it won't be too long before we can do it again.

Mesa & Ahwatukee

2011-05-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

Monday we drove down to Mesa, which was about an hour from Surprise. We had a full day planned visiting some former Lustre residents in the area. First was Dennis & Evonne Brown who have a home in Sunland Springs Village in Mesa. http://www.sunlandsprings.com/ Evonne fixed us a great lunch, we got a tour of their home and yard, and then a tour of Sunland Springs Village. Talk about a lot of nice amenities! Everything you would want to do is right close by - pools, golf, activity center with crafts and work shops, pickle ball, tennis and much more. We walked through the model homes before getting in the car and heading out to see the area around the retirement community. Nearby is a large shopping mall and grocery stores. They are very close to the Mesa Market Place Swap Meet, which we would be seeing in a few days.

The Phoenix area offeres many options for retirement communities or "snow birds" wanting a warmer winter than northern climates. They range from planned communities with all the amenities with single family homes and condos like Sunland Springs Village, Sun City, and many more, to communities with park models - trailer house type homes with Arizona rooms, to communities where you can bring your motor home and park for as long as you like. Our next visit was at the latter, where we saw Harold & Lois Dyck from Wolf Point, Mt. They have come down for the winter many years and live in their motor home. Harold has a little shed where he does woodworking. The people visit each other often, sitting in motor homes or in front visiting away.

Dennis Brown, Harold & Lois Dyck in front of Dyck's motor home.

Klessens family - Michael, Carly, Sophia & Brayden

Soon it was time to get our car from Brown's and head to nearby Ahwatukee to see the Klessens family. Carly and Cade Reddig grew up just a few miles from us. Carly and her husband, Michael, moved there a few years ago. They have two adorable kids who loved Warren! Sophia greeted us at the door with hugs and a picture she had colored. So sweet. Brayden loved having Warren to play with, and Warren loved it too. :) Carly's brother, Cade, also lives in the area and joined us for supper. He was working on a road project in Surprse that we had driven by often, not knowing he was there. We had a delicious meal and a great visit with them all. Fun day!

Cade with Sophia and Brayden

CCV & DDD

2011-05-14T14:05:00.000-06:00

Sunday morning we attended church with Perry & Darlene at Christ's Church of the Valley. They have attend there for many years, and watched the church grow into what it is now. http://www.ccvonline.com/Arena/default.aspx The church focuses it's outreach on men in their 20's - 40's, with the idea that the men will bring their families. It is a very friendly non-denominational church with a beautiful campus fulfilling the spiritual needs of all age ranges. The message and worship time was much appreciated and we enjoyed it.

After church we headed to a bbq restaurant that has been featured by Guy Fieri on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. When we travel, we always check online and see what restaurants are recommended in that area. We have eaten some great meals this way. http://www.theepittsagain.com/ Thee Pitts, Again was pretty good! Since we do our own smoked bbq, we love to try bbq places, and sometimes are disappointed, but this was not a disappointment. We all ordered something different and sampled each other's food. They had good flavor to the meats, and a good variety of sides. I had a baked yam, which is something we aren't able to order at home much.

The rest of the day was spent hanging out and watching the opening race of the 2011 Nascar season with the race at Daytona, FL. We had been there in June, right before they tore up the track and resurfaced. As we watched the race, we were already anticipating the race the following Sunday - in Phoenix!

Donuts & Broadway

2011-05-14T10:50:00.000-06:00

Warren and I took advantage of the warm weather by going for walks. Since we didn't know the neighborhoods, we would take along the Garmin, setting Perry & Darlene's house as Home, and off we went. It was a great way to get to know the area. When we were ready to head back, GPS brought us home every time. Sweet!

Saturday, Feb. 19, we set off for morning coffee at the neighborhood strip mall. We had a choice of Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts and throught we would try Dunkin Donuts. Should have gone to Starbucks for my latte. Lets just say the one I had wasn't the best I've ever had. However, the mini donuts were pretty good! It was an overcast morning, and it sprinkled a couple of times while we were walking. At least it wasn't snow! :)

Rain settled in for a while by noon, and the traffic wasn't moving very well as we set out for our day's activities. Part of the reason for the traffic was opening day of the Cactus League spring training season. Darlene and I were off to the Phoenix Broadway Theatre for a matinee of My Fair Lady. What a fun thing to do on a rainy afternoon! I hadn't been to a dinner theatre before. The menu is themed around each production , so it was a bit of an English twist to the menu for My Fair Lady. As it was a matinee instead of evening performance, they just served dessert during the intermission. Since the traffic kept us from arriving before the show started, we hadn't ordered dessert. (Since we sat in traffic so long, we had also missed lunch.) Luckily they had extras. :)

WOW! Talk about beautiful desserts! I wish I had a photo to show you. We shared the My Fair Lady's Red Velvet Roulade filled with Belguim pink chocolate sweet cream, which was a very fancy layered Red Velvet cake. We also tried the Chocolate Brownie Cookie with amaretto cream and berries. I want to try to find a recipe for the amaretto cream since I make brownies every so often. Very good.

While we were enjoying the play, Perry and Warren were out viewing some homes and running errands. Both Perry and Darlene are real estate agents, and they were nice enough to show us some homes while we were there. It doesn't take long to figure out what styles and features of homes you like. It was pretty tempting with the beautiful weather in Phoenix, and blizzards in Montana!

Desert Nursery

2011-04-27T21:45:00.000-06:00

While out driving around we had noticed a nursery with desert plants, so when we had some free time, we stopped to look around. It was very interesting! Due to the recent freezing temperatures, many of the plants had pots and cups on them for protection. It was pretty cute. It reminded me of a bunch of soldiers.

When the nursery worker heard where we were from, and that we wanted to learn about the cacuts, she was glad to tell us about the different varieties. Unfortunately she used lots of scientific names that completely went over my head!

The tall skinny cactus are young saguaro, which take up to 75 years to develope a side arm, and can live over 150 years. These are the cactus that you see as an emblem of many southwest items.

Golden Barrel Cacuts - we saw some yards that used these as a nice accent plant in their landscaping.

There are some pretty unusual, looking cactus. Some look like a bunch of dried twigs, some like a pile of big worms. They do have prickly pear like we have in our pastures, but they are much bigger. The cactus grows in interesting free form shapes. The "cactus Pete" photo in the previous golfing post is an example. Interesting. It was a fun place to stop and visit.

ASU Basketball

2011-04-27T17:35:00.000-06:00

Warren and Perry went to an Arizona State University basketball game in Tempe on Feb. 17. ASU played Washington, but not well enough to win.

One highlight of the evening was a ceremony to honor Lionel Hollins and Byron Scott by raising their respective jerseys to the rafters. Both Hollins, who played at ASU from 1973-75, and Scott, who donned the Maroon and Gold from 1979-83, earned All-American honors with the Sun Devils and are members of the ASU Hall of Fame. Scott was Arizona State's initial inductee into the Pac-10 Hall of Honor in 2002, while Hollins was welcomed to the hall in 2006.

Perry helps another guy who has a radio sports show by interviewing the opposing team members after the game. While he was busy with that, Warren browsed the alumni Hall of Fame.

ASU alumni, golfer Phil Mickelson

Sedona

2011-04-26T22:04:00.001-06:00

Wednesday, Feb. 16 we took a day trip north to Sedona. Tony & Amy and Craig & Lindsay had given us a gift card for a Pink Jeep tour for Christmas, and we were excited to go see this beautiful area. Perry & Darlene hadn't taken the Jeep tour before, so joined us. We had a great time! Thanks, kids, great gift!

It was a pretty chilly day, but we brought lots of layers, gloves, etc. The forecast for the next couple of weeks was for cool, rainy weather, so we decided to go to Sedona right away in our trip, instead of risking it not working out later on. It was too cold to go to the Grand Canyon, like we had hoped, but we will leave that for next time. :) We had a good lunch at a Mexican restaurant with a gorgeous view of the Red Rocks.

Since our tour didn't leave for a couple of hours, we browsed the touristy shops. Warren and Perry (aka Booger and Tater) tried on some hats.

Darlene is pretty in pink.

Finally it was time for our tour! We had been seeing the famous pink jeeps with passengers going back and forth all day. There are several tours to pick from, but we chose the popular Broken Arrow tour, which was the very first tour for the company 45 years ago.

Perry & Darlene, our guide, Warren & DeeDee in front of our Pink Jeep.

We were off on our tour! We made a few stops along the route, were able to get out of the jeep and climb around the rocks. Here is our guide telling us about the Submarine Rock, which we were standing on.

While on Submarine Rock, we looked across to another area and saw a jeep going down a trail we were headed to. We were in for an adventure!

Submarine Rock, named that because it looks like a nuclear submarine. This is where we were standing in the previous photo.

Eagle's Nest formation

a stacked formation - on the bottom is the Whale, in the middle is the Flying Saucer, and on top is Mushrooms.

a closer look at the Mushrooms. The jeep drove around the mushrooms - thrilling!

Another stop was high up the trail in the Red Rocks, and it was quite beautiful - and windy - up there.

Remember the earlier photo of the jeep across the way going down the steep trail? Here it is. A 45 degree drop to the trail, with a few rocks thrown in for good measure. hang on!

No matter what thrills the trail gives, the main attraction to Sedona will always be God's beautiful creation of the Red Rocks. Evidence of the Master's Hand is everywhere you look.

The Valley of the Sun

2011-04-26T19:13:00.001-06:00

Warren and I were able to get away for a couple of weeks during the winter and go to Phoenix. Even though they had had cold weather, even freezing at night and damaging a lot of plants, it was much warmer than what we were having at home. We stayed with our good friends, Perry & Darlene Schmitt, and had a wonderful time!
When we left for Phoenix on Feb. 12, it was about 40 degrees. We thought some of the snow would be melted by the time we got home again - or at least that the roads would be better. It was not to be as it got much colder and they had a couple more snow storms while we were gone. It was a little sureal to be sitting by the pool having breakfast while they were in the midst of a blizzard at home.

Our first coupe of days there were nice and warm! One day we had lunch at Rubios, which is a fresh Mexican food chain, and enjoyed our meal outside.

After lunch, Darlene headed back to their office, and Perry and Warren went golfing at the Futures course in Glendale. I went along to get in some walking and enjoy the sunshine. :)

The scenery is a bit different than the courses at home!

Cactus Pete

Speaking of different scenery, this is what the scenery looks like in northern Phoenix.

In the Surprise and Waddell areas there is still a lot of farm land.

From Time to Time

2011-04-26T15:03:00.001-06:00

Here are some photo comparisons of our snowfall levels this winter.

Along our driveway

both of these are Dec. 24, 2010

March 28, 2011 the lilacs are almost completely covered, the tall green ash trees half covered.

April 26

Propane tank on the east side of our house.

March 29, 2011 taken from the office window - see the handle and top?

April 26 It's melting, but still a lot of snow in the trees.

Our back yard toward the shelter belt on the east side.

March 29

April 26 evidence of spring!

The Longest Winter Ever!

2011-04-26T13:54:00.001-06:00

We had quite a surprise last September 17 when we had SNOWFLAKES falling from the sky! I wish now I had taken pictures. Of course it melted right away - after all, harvest was late and still going on. If we had only known seven months ago what we were in for.... Our next snow was in the latter part of October, which also melted, but it was here to stay before Thanksgiving. By Christmas we had a lot more snow than normal. We also had a lot of beautiful frost. This photo of the pasture fence along the driveway was taken on Christmas Eve . We were happy to have snow for a White Christmas, instead of brown ground like we sometimes do....

December 6, 2010 Most years we have wind with our snows, making the hill tops bare, and coulees and ditches full. This year the early snows came without wind, and it was a winter wonderland.

And then January rolled around.....

And it started not being so pretty and and not so nice.....

Warren & Tony spent many, many hours clearing the yard and roads of snow.
January 22, 2011

Warren using the snow blower

You can see how deep the latest snowfall was...

Tony built a bucket for the Bobcat to move snow.

getting some weight off the garage roof

By the end of Jauary, we had broken our all time snowfall record. Several years ago we set a record for just over 70 inches of snow in a season. Normal snowfall is about 30 inches. Glasgow recorded 73 inches by January 30. (All totals I'm sharing are from the National Weather Service in Glasgow, about 50 miles from here. We think we had higher snowfall levels than there, but nobody has official totals.)

By March 22 we(Glasgow) had 90 inches and counting. For the first time in the history of Schmeckfest, it was postponed - twice! It was finally held almost a week late, on a Thursday night. It was scheduled for then as opposed to the weekend because another storm was in the forecast for the weekend. March 22 the record snowfall was 90 inches. By the 23rd, the new record was 105.6. And it kept coming....

By this time, there was nowhere for the snow to go when the roads were plowed, so the piles along the roadsides just grew bigger and bigger. A few places on our road were down to one lane of traffic.

Often this winter the sky and land were the same color and it was hard to see where you were driving. Hopefully you can see the snowpiles against the sky here.

Here you can see the snow out the window of our big pickup.

Church was canceled twice in March due to unpassable roads. At this point we are over 110 inches for the season. We aren't thinking we are finished yet! Around here we know there can be some big snows in May. Watch for some comparison photos in the next post. This one is getting as long as the winter!

Wonderful News Update!

2011-04-05T12:22:00.000-06:00

We are very happy to announce that Craig & Lindsay are expecting a little GIRL! They had their ultrasound in March and all looks good for her arrival sometime around July 20. We can't wait!

Wonderful News!

2011-02-26T17:47:00.000-07:00

Recently we received a very special phone call from Craig & Lindsay. We visited for a while, and then Craig revealed the reason for the call. They are expecting a baby this summer! We are so excited for them - and us! It is due to arrive toward the end of July.
Craig & Lindsay bought their first home before Christmas, and are doing some remodeling before they move in. Warren is going down to help next month. By then Lindsay will have had her ultrsound, and we hope to see a picture of our newest grandbaby. Can't Wait! :)

Valentine Visit

2011-02-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Since Warren and I were leaving the next day for vacation, Tony & Amy invited us over for supper on Friday, Feb. 11. We would be gone over Valentine's Day, so we brought over the little gifts for the girls. We had a deliscious meal of broccoli beef, played with the girls, had a nice visit, and Natalie opened her and Aleah's gifts.

Papa and his favorite girls

Natalie showing Dada her teddy bear. He plays Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star when you squeeze his belly.

Natalie opened Aleah's toy

What fun to have the little girls nearby! We sure enjoy seeing them often. As I write this, we are in Arizona, and already they have changed since we left. Aleah is smiling, Natalie is saying more words. They are the loves of our life!

Little Daredevil

2011-01-22T19:42:00.000-07:00

Natalie loves to go sledding and will do sign language for "more". Listen for her belly laugh.

It's A Girl!

2011-01-22T17:46:00.001-07:00

Aleah Lynn Fast joined the family on January 7, 2011 at 2:39 in the afternoon. She weighed 8 lbs, 7 oz. and was 21 inches long. We kept Natalie at our house while Tony & Amy were in the hospital in Glagow. Amy went into labor Thursday afternoon, and by evening they brought Natalie over and headed into town. We waited anxiously for that special phone call all night, and texted Tony in the morning for an update. No news yet. By mid afternoon we decided to go ahead and go to town, and if there was no news yet, we would all camp out in the waiting room until there was! We brought along a few toys and jammies for Natalie just in case. We were a few miles from home when Warren's cell phone rang, and it was Tony. He told Warren Amy said it wouldn't be until the next day before anything happened. (They chose not to know if the baby was a boy or girl until the birth.) Warren's foot came off the gas pedal, and for a split second, we wondered if we should go home again. Then Tony said, It's A Girl! The suspense was finally over!
By the time we got to town and were ready to go to the hospital, it was supper time. We decided to let them get their supper before we visited, so took Natalie to McDonalds. :) Finally it was time to go meet Aleah.

meeting baby Aleah for the first time

giving Aleah loves

Fast Family of Four

Amy and her girls

The doctor came to get Aleah to give her a check up. Tony and Natalie watched through the nursery window.

Two days later, Tony, Amy and Aleah came home from the hospital. Aleah wore the same outfit that Natalie wore home from the hospital, along with the ducky blanket.

You Know Its Cold When....

2011-01-22T14:06:00.000-07:00

you find the cat asleep in the heated dog water dish (it was empty).

Warren's Birthday

2011-01-22T11:32:00.001-07:00

Warren's birthday is January 3rd, and we invited Tony, Amy and Natalie over for supper that evening. Natalie finger painted a "card" for him to put on the fridge. Very cute.

helping Papa open his gift

some special reading time - "That's Not My Puppy" is a favorite of us all.

Warren, we are blessed beyond measure to have you in our lives. You keep us entertained with your corny jokes, you are a wonderful husband, provider and friend.

I loved you yesterday, love you still, always have, always will.

Fast Family Christmas

2011-01-22T10:36:00.001-07:00

Sunday, December 26, we hosted the Fast family Christmas. It was a good year for family being home, with 28 celebrating together. We missed Ken & Jean's family, but were happy Ken & Jean could come. Luke & Jen had sick kids, so were unable to come as well. I love having the house full of family, listening to the laughter and chatter, catching up with those we haven't seen in a while. Maybe it is because my own family lives far away that it becomes more precious to me.

I wish I had a picture of Duane fixing Italian Sodas for everyone. Yum! We all enjoyed them.

DeeDee, Scott & Jen Nasner

Rochelle, Jean and Joan

Gladys with her great-granddaughters Grace Gackle and baby Kate Nasner. Ken Joiner, Jean's husband, in the background.

For our meal Warren and I provided pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and baby back ribs. Everyone else brought appetizers and goodies.

After supper we went downstairs for a white elephant gift exchange.

Gary & Lynae Gackle, their girls Hannah and Grace on the floor. Jean Joiner, Keith, Joan and Rochelle Unger, with Caleb Gackle on Keith's lap.

Craig, Lindsay and Randy Reddig

Randy, Becca and Cameron Reddig, Duane & Shirley Nasner

Harvey & Gladys

Jean & Ken Joiner, Keith & Joan Unger

Natalie was put to bed in the playpen in the office, but the chocolate wasn't moved far enough away on the counter from her reach. No wonder she was so quiet!

All in all it was a very nice family Christmas.

Family Photo

2011-01-22T09:16:00.000-07:00

While Craig & Lindsay were home we were able to take a family photo. The family has already changed, with a new baby's arrival, but this was as current as we were able to get at the time. :)

Merry Christmas

2011-01-19T20:50:00.000-07:00

When we got home from Glasgow on Christmas Eve, Warren and I got busy getting pork butts ready for smoking. We hosted the Fast Christmas on the 26th, and made pulled pork sandwiches, which meant that we needed to smoke the meat on Christmas day. It turned out to be an interesting day.
When we woke up, the clocks were flashing as the power had been out overnight. We planned on having our Christmas dinner at noon, so before long I got busy preparing the meal. Our traditional meal is steak and shrimp, but this year we replaced the steak with prime rib. Warren got the smoker going for the pork, and the prime rib went into the oven.... and the power went out again. After a while the guys started the generator, and things got cooking again. We had a nice dinner an hour or so later than planned, but it worked out fine.

Waiting for dinner...

Showing Natalie the nativity ornament

helping pass out gifts

one of Natalie's favorite things is talking on the phone!

We already have lots of fun with Natalie's little kitchen set. I can't wait for tea parties!

Now that Craig & Lindsay are home owners, Craig needs some tools. Here is a start to the fun for him.

It takes two to open this one.

As I look back on the day, I almost (almost) forget the power being out, the late meal, and whatever else wasn't perfect. The cold, the snow, the fog, all just make it more cozy inside, right? All that really matters is that we were together as a family. Nothing is more important or more precious. Thank you, Lord, for the family you have given us. We are blessed beyond measure.

Christmas Eve 2010

2011-01-19T14:32:00.000-07:00

Craig & Lindsay arrived home for Christmas on Dec. 23. It was wonderful to see them again! Our kids spend Christmas with us every other year, and the other year with the girls' families. It has worked out well for us. This year we started what may be a new tradition for us on the years we are all together. We went into Glasgow and attended the Evangelical Church's Christmas Eve service. Our home church doesn't have a service on Christmas Eve, so it hasn't been a tradition for us. What a beautiful way to celebrate the birth of Christ!
After the service, we all went to Harvey & Gladys's home in town for supper. I had gotten some pizzas from Eugene's, along with salad and drinks. Amy brought goodie trays and Gladys had some dessert on hand as well. We had a small gift opening, and enjoyed each other's company for the evening.

Gladys getting a little help with her gift.

Craig & Lindsay

Harvey

playing peek-a-boo with Ducky

Natalie's First Birthday

2011-01-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

Natalie turned one on November 16, but her party was on November 19. Guests included Warren's parents, Harvey & Gladys, his sister Shirley and her husband, Duane, his sister Joan and her husband Keith, us, Tony, Amy and of course, the birthday girl, Natalie. Amy served a meal of pizza and salads, which we all enjoyed.

Duane & Natalie

After supper we went upstairs so Natalie could open her gifts. I tried uploading some videos, but couldn't get them to work, so here are some photos.

The video was cute of Natalie opening her gift from us, a doll house. She crawled into the big bag to get the book out and almost disappeared for a bit. She got lots of nice gifts, including toys, tub toys, clothes, a pillow case, books, and things like cups and such.

Natalie has a little ducky blanket that she takes to bed with her, and loves her ducky. Amy made two ducky cakes for the party. One was just for Natalie to dig into.

She was getting tired by this time, and didn't like the texture of the frosting, so stayed fairly clean. It was better once she got into the high chair and got a spoon.

So Big!

Happy First Birthday, precious girl. You have brought much joy to our lives. We love you!

Happy Birthday, Tony!

2010-12-10T22:44:00.001-07:00

Birthdays of my kids always remind me of past years, memories of the day they were born, favorite memories throughout the years. Today has been no different. Twenty-six years ago we changed from a couple to a family. What a fun, sometimes challenging, adventure our lives have become since then!

We have loved watching Tony grow up, from preschool days spent playing with his brother Craig "fixing" things and playing with toys pretending to farm like Daddy, to new adventures as he got older.

School years brought plays, programs, room parties, spelling lists, homework, AWANA, and later on music concerts, basketball, track and many more activities.

In recent years we have been priviledged to have Tony come home from college to join us on the family farm. We are happy to see his dedication to his family, his love of the land and farming, and most importantly, his love for the Lord.

Happy Birthday, Tony! As you celebrate your special day, may you know how much we love you. We pray the coming year will be one of love and much happiness and blessings for your growing family.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

2010-11-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

Happy Thanksgiving! Last night I couldn't find the words to say what was in my heart. I was touched by what my friend Rachel said on FB this morning and thought I would share it here.

It sure is hard to be down when you look around and start seeing all of the things you are thankful for.....even the smallest things. It's pretty much impossible to be negative when you let your brain remind your heart to be filled with gratitude.
~Rachel

Thank You God for all the people in my life. You have blessed me beyond compare. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Family, Friends and Loved Ones. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving today!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-24T21:59:00.001-07:00

We wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving! We are blessed to have a great family and friends who mean so much to us. God has supplied our every need, and given us a good year. We have enjoyed spending time with friends and family, whether in person or phone calls with those far away. We have much to be thankful for.

Happy 1st Birthday, Natalie!

2010-11-16T13:18:00.002-07:00

This morning I was in the office and Warren's computer was running through a slideshow of our photos. There was little Miss Natalie, the day she came home from the hospital. Today she is one year old, and the time has flown by. We all know how kids grow so fast, change almost daily, but its different when its your own child or grandchild. We are so blessed to have Tony and Amy live nearby so we can share in their lives, and see Natalie often. We are so thankful. I often think how much we will miss when Craig and Lindsay have a family some day.

This photo was taken when Natalie was 5 hours old. With H1N1 in the hospital, we weren't able to visit her, but had to see her through the window. My heart melted, seeing our baby holding his baby. Once they were released from the hospital, we were finally able to hold her.

It is so much harder to get photos of Natalie these days - she moves too fast! She does take time to give some cuddles and loves, but they don't last long. She is definitely imitating things that people say. We can understand Dada (lots of things besides Tony are dada.) and cracker. She likes to watch the birdies and doggies, and loves her ducky blanket and toys. She is doing well with stairs, most of the time remembering to turn over and slide down them on her belly. Its fun to see her head for the toys, and the first things she grabs are stuffed animals. :)

Happy 1st Birthday, Natalie! We have loved watching you grow in the past year, and look forward to a fun and adventure filled second year too! Love you!

Happy Birthday, Don!

2010-10-21T17:40:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to a very special big brother. Don and his family live in Iowa, far from Montana, so we don't get to spend nearly as much time together as I wish we could. Last summer Don came home for the Heidner reunion and we had a great time. Precious. Here is a pic of Don with Judy and me from the reunion.

Don, thanks for putting up with your pesky little sister growing up, and for being such a great big brother to me. Love ya lots! Have a great day and year to come.

Asters and Snaps

2010-10-07T10:34:00.000-06:00

It has been an amazing fall here in Lustre. After one hard freeze and snow in September, we had a couple of weeks of cool and damp weather, slowing down harvest. The past 2 weeks have been what we should have had in September. The weather has been beautiful! Most years my asters freeze before they bloom nicely. I may get some nice flowers, but not for long. This year they are loaded and blooming like crazy. I picked a bouquet this morning to bring inside and enjoy. Here are a couple of shots of the flowers this morning.

Happy Birthday, Judy!

2010-10-06T08:33:00.000-06:00

Happy Birthday to the best sister ever! Poor Judy. She was just about to start high school when Mom & Dad blessed our family with Me! Judy and I bonded right from the start, and have been close ever since. Don't get me wrong, I love all my brothers and sisters, and wouldn't trade any of them for the world. Judy has been sister, babysitter, friend and fill-in Mom in my life, and I love her to pieces.

Warren and I have enjoyed many trips to visit Dave & Judy and have also traveled with them. This picture was taken on a trip to Branson a few years ago. Dave & Judy live in Kansas City, so we don't get to visit very often, but do talk on the phone and skype regularly. Thank goodness for modern technology. :)

Have a great day, Sis. Love ya.

We're done!

2010-10-06T08:11:00.000-06:00

We finished our own harvest last Thursday around noon, then moved up to Opheim Saturday morning to do some custom cutting. They finished that on Monday night and moved all the equipment home yesterday. Now its just the cleanup and we are officiall done with a very long, but successful harvest. :)

Time Lapse

2010-10-04T18:01:00.000-06:00

This year we stored some grain in a building on Ray's yard. Tony cut a hole in the roof, so they were able to fill it from outside. Here is the progression from 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM of filling it.

2 Corinthians 9:10

2010-10-04T16:59:00.000-06:00

Thank you to my friend, Jen Reddig, for this gorgeous photo with a very special and meaningful Bible verse. Thanks for letting me share it, Jen. God has blessed us with with beautiful crops this year, safety in sowing, caring for and harvesting the bounty.

Thank you, Lord, for your love and provision.

Chasing the Ball

2010-09-30T18:03:00.000-06:00

This is the last post today, I promise! Yesterday Natalie found a way to entertain herself and still be close to me. She threw her ball into the under part of the end table in the living room, then crawled to get it. She went back and forth several times and had great fun.

Nummmm

2010-09-30T17:48:00.000-06:00

I had to video Natalie having her lunch. She is a great eater. She eats table food, and they haven't found anything that she doesn't like yet. She enjoys her food, as you will see.

Nana and Natalie

2010-09-30T17:31:00.000-06:00

Natalie and I got to spend quite a bit of time together this week while Amy drove the grain cart. I had so much fun! I'm not sure how I got anything done when my two kids were toddlers, but it started coming back to me by the third day - just open the tupperware drawer and let 'em go to it!

It did the trick. I was able to get the dough rolled out, and pizza pockets made for a field supper last night.

I'm often reminded of how different she is than my boys. They never gave a stuffed animal a second look, but Natalie loves them. A dear friend, Connie D, gave me a bunch of little beanie baby type zoo animals. She loves them! As soon as she comes over, she takes off fo the toys and pulls them out, one by one, and gives each one a love before tossing it aside and reaching for the next one.

The toys aren't the only thing she gives hugs to. This week I got my first hugs from her. Talk about melting my heart..... so sweet.

This is so cute! Must see!

2010-09-16T08:36:00.000-06:00

Tony and Amy's blog has a couple of adorable videos of Natalie's newest things. Thought you might want to see. :)

http://montanasfastfamily.blogspot.com/2010/09/lets-play-ball.html

Natalie has started walking!

2010-09-13T08:33:00.000-06:00

Last week Natalie started taking her first steps. She is now 9 months old, and will be 10 months old this week, on the 16th. We were able to see her taking some shaky, tottering steps on Saturday night, and thought we would share. Such fun to see, and everyone is so proud, especially Natalie. One of our little neighbor girls, Aubrey, is tempting Natalie with a teddy bear.

Harvest continues...

2010-09-07T15:35:00.000-06:00

It's September 7, and harvest is ongoing. We have had quite a few rain delays this year. We hope to get cutting again today, but rain is in the forecast again. Hopefully they can finish up in a few days. Meanwhile, here are a few favorite pictures from wheat harvest.

Amy & Natalie rode along with Tony in the truck on a run to the elevator.

cutting at Ray's Place

unloading "on the go"

"we've got company!"

Summer Fun

2010-08-29T22:35:00.000-06:00

There is nothing like a day out on the lake! It is definitely one of my most favorite things to do with family and friends. Summer always seems to fly by with too few days we can get away to go boating. This summer we have only been able to get out on the water a few times, but they were great. We took the camp kids boating and Amy and Natalie joined us for Natalie's first boat ride earlier in the summer. We were able to go out with Tony, Amy and Natalie a couple of times, and also with our friends the Lelands and Youngs.

A couple of time we have been out and the weather was cold and even rainy one time. It didn't matter. It was still fun! One of our favorite things to do is go tubing. Warren's goal is always to dump the rider, but we have a different rope now than we used to, and it seems to be just the right length that he can't get the tube into really rough water anymore. He still tries to dump people, and sometimes he succeeds. Over the years, with different tubes, there have been some pretty fun and spectacular spills. Nobody was hurt, though, and fun was had by all. :)

Connie Leland's tube ride

Jordan Young on the tube and Aaron on the jet ski

Tom Leland on the tube

Tony wakeboarding

As much fun as it is to go tubing, wake boarding, knee boarding and skiiing, my favorite times come in the evening, just as the sun is setting and the lake gets glass smooth. Bliss! I love sitting in the bow as we drive along, and enjoying the sunset reflected on the water. So calming and beautiful.

Birthday Bash

2010-08-20T19:47:00.000-06:00

Another birthday for this harvest baby has come and gone. The day I was born my dad went home from the hospital and finished combining. Growing up on a farm, then marrying a farmer means that each birthday I've had has been during the busy harvest time. Depending on where the guys are cutting, my birthday dinner is either here at home, or out in the field somewhere, unless they get rained out. :) This year Amy planned a special surprise for me. The day before, she called when I was in town, wondering if I had a couple of ingredients. I had a couple of clues to the mystery dinner! All I knew ahead of time were Sprite, white wine and strawberry jello. hmmmm.....!!!

I was made to feel very special with many posts from Face Book friends, calls, cards and gifts. Thank you to you all. I spent the morning with Natalie while Amy ran to town. What fun! My first birthday as a Nana! Of course every time I grabbed the camera to take a pic of her standing under the table (so cute) she saw me and crawled over before I could take the picture. We had a fun time playing and reading her favorite books.

When I headed across the yard for supper, I was surprised to see Warren's parents, Harvey & Gladys, were out from Glasgow for the occasion! Soon the guys were in from the field, and the mystery menu was revealed. The Sprite and strawberry jello were for a yummy rhubarb slush punch - a bit tart and very tasty. The white wine was for one of my favorites - shrimp scampi! She also had pasta and green beans. Gladys made me a lemon birthday cake.

Natalie & Amy made a special card for my fridge.

Speaking of that birthday cake, Warren was Warren. Need I say more?

Good thing the fire truck is nearby!

Natalie enjoyed the cake too.

After supper it was back to harvest and I went out to ride in the combine with Warren for a while - a birthday tradition.

Natalie's First Boat Ride

2010-08-06T13:04:00.000-06:00

Every year we take the kids from Beacon Bible Camp boating at Fort Peck. This year it was June 23, a beautiful, but hot day. The kids loved boating and tubing, and we were kept busy giving rides all afternoon. Amy brought Natalie down to the beach for her first boat ride, so after the camp kids left for their picnic supper at the park, we picked up Amy and Natalie.

She did really well and seems to enjoy being out on the water as much as the rest of us do. She isn't afraid to tell you all about it, either!

Harvesting Peas 2010

2010-08-05T08:25:00.000-06:00

We started harvesting on July 28, cutting peas here at home. It was also the same night of a big thunderstorm in the Hinsdale/Glasgow area. Here is a picture of Tony cutting peas, with the leading edge of the storm in the western skies. Harvest has been going well, with yields looking really good. Being dryland farmers (no irrigation) we are very thankful for the rains and good growing conditions we have had this year. We have had hail here at home a couple of times, but it didn't do much damage to the crops. My cabbage leaves look pretty tough, but that's not a biggie! We did have quite a bit of hail damage to part of a field on a piece of land a few miles away. There have been some really wicked and wild thunderstorms with hail, winds and even deadly tornadoes in northeastern Montana this year. Thankfully God has protected our crops. :)

A couple of days ago the guys finished up the peas around home and moved "over west", which is our land north of Nashua. Last night Amy made a yummy meal and we took it over there for supper. It was Natalie's first harvest tailgate dinner.

Warren is having some peas cleaned by Neil Stahl before it is stored. Here Warren and Neil are taking a look at the peas as they come out of the grain trailer.

looking through the peep hole in the side of the grain trailer as the peas are being unloaded.

Neil's grain cleaner

Interesting Skype Conversation

2010-07-29T09:11:00.000-06:00

On May 26, while Amy was in Nebraska visiting her family, she called me and asked if I wanted to skype. Sure! We hadn't seen her or Natalie in a while, and I was excited to do that. We got connected and visited away. Natalie was sitting up, which we hadn't seen before she left, and jabbering away. She had changed so much already. After a few minutes, Amy asked if I could read Natalie's Onesie. The skype image was kind of weird. It was showing a lot of pixelation and was blurry, but I looked hard. All the sudden I realized two things. The image was mirror-imaged, and it was a message!

Oh my goodness! What a surprise! A very happy surprise. Warren was outside finishing up some work things, but came in while we were still talking, so he was able to get the exciting news by seeing the skype message as well.

Tony & Amy's new addition to their family is due January 6, 2011. They have decided in order to spend more time together as a family, they are going to move to the farm. It will be so nice to have the kids close by. We're looking forward to it, to say the least. :)

June 20, 2010 - A Special Day

2010-07-16T17:17:00.000-06:00

We celebrated Father's Day this year in the best possible way. Not only was Warren able to chat with Craig & Lindsay (who were celebrating their First Anniversary!), spend time with Tony, Amy, his Dad, Harvey, and more family too, but it was Natalie's Baby Dedication. What a special way to spend the day!

It was neat that Amy's family was here at the time, so Natalie was dedicated to the Lord with her parents, both sets of grand parents, and great grandparents Fast in attendance. It was a touching dedication of prayers and support for Natalie and Tony and Amy from family, church family and friends.

Natalie wore a necklace that her Grammie Lynn, Mommy & Aunt Carrie were all baptized in as babies. A very special family heirloom.

Natalie's family who attended.

Kennedy Space Center

2010-06-25T21:55:00.001-06:00

We debated about spending our last day in Florida in the Tampa area, doing something in Orlando, or going to the Space Center. I would love to spend more time on the Gulf Coast sometime, but since the shuttle program will be ending in just a few months, we decided to go to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space Center. Dave & Judy had flown out of Tampa early Saturday morning. We took Aunt Fern out to breakfast at Bob Evans, one of her favorite breakfast restaurants. After a nice meal we said our good-byes and drove our trusty Impala rental car back to the east coast. After a couple of detours, we managed to arrive at the space center around noon, bought our tickets, and were ready to explore. I hadn't known that the Kennedy Space Center is on 140,000 acres. They only use a small part of it, so the rest is left as a natural wildlife refuge. Supposedly there are 4000-6000 alligators, but we never saw one, even in the pond they said they were often seen. They also have numerous kinds of birds, manatees, and many other types of wildlife. We did see a huge eagle's nest, but that was it.

The shuttle Explorer

inside the shuttle cargo bay

We did a ride called the Shuttle Launch Experience. We stood in line for a while and appreciated the shade and misters. They show videos hyping up the ride, how exciting it all is, we finally get into lines ready to enter the rows of the ride... and find out it has to be reset as something happened to it the last ride. After all that, it turned out to be a pretty tame ride. It simulates what it feels and looks like to take off in the shuttle launch.

There are many things to see at the visitor center, including two IMAX theaters, an astronaut encounter where you can hear stories from veteran astronauts, have lunch with an astronaut, rocket displays, restaurant, gift shop, etc. Every 15 minutes big buses leave the visitor center for tours of the rest of the space center. The tour takes about 2-3 hours and we enjoyed that more than the visitor complex. There are three tour stops - the LC-39 Observation Gantry, the Apollo/Saturn V Center, and the International Space Station Center. Each stop has displays and a couple of them have movies to watch about what is done there. You can see the room where the shuttles are prepared for their missions.

transporter

display in the Apollo/Saturn center

the launch pad

the rockets of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo

As the day came to a close, we drove back to Orlando, checked into our hotel and went out to dinner at Tony Romo's. Warren then returned the car to the airport. It had only 6 miles on it when we got it the week before, and when returned, had 1006. Sunday morning we got up early, took the hotel shuttle to the airport and flew out to Minneapolis, then on to Billings, arriving there about 12:30 noon local time. We had a great lunch and visit with Rhonda, Kayla, Dane & Greg. Thanks to Ron & Mary Ann for keeping our yukon in their driveway while we were gone. :) It was a great trip!

the Gulf Coast

2010-06-22T22:03:00.000-06:00

Friday, June 11, we all piled into our rental car and headed south to Bradenton. Aunt Fern is thinking of retiring there when she sells her condo in Tampa, and wanted to show us the retirement community she has picked out. We went through some of the model homes, toured the amenities, and gave our stamp of approval. :)

Our next stop was Troyer's Dutch Heritage, and Amish restaurant in Sarasota. The food was great, home cooking, and the company was even better. In addition to our family, my dorm parents from high school, Jim & Mary Ann Upton, met us and had lunch with us. It was sooo good to see Mom & Dad again! It had been way too long since we had seen them. They are retired and living in Sarasota. I'm ready to go back and visit again, we had such a good time!

Jim, Mary Ann, DeeDee, Warren

Judy, DeeDee, Mary Ann, Jim, Warren, Fern, Dave

Nobody can tell a story quite like Mary Ann. She kept us all in stitches.

enjoying the Amish rocking chairs

Mom & Dad, thank you for your many years of service to the Lord. You have been a loving, compassionate and fun example for all of us dorm kids. Miss ya and Love ya both! Hugs.

After saying good-bye to Jim & Mary Ann, we drove to the beach. It was very different here than at Daytona Beach. There the beach had been fine sand, but here it was made up of tiny shells in the sand. It was almost like walking on gravel, but it didn't hurt your feet. You still had to watch where you stepped, though. We collected lots of shells, they were just so pretty. The water was much prettier than at Daytona - clear, not sandy, very warm and beautiful shades of turquoise blue.

the beach of shells

Judy and Aunt Fern

checking out the shells

Aunt Fern knew the names of all the shells.

We also stopped at Anna Maria Island for a while and walked on the beach there. I loved the Gulf Coastal areas we visited - absolutely beautiful! I know I'm hung up on the water and beaches, but we also saw some absolutely beautiful trees and shrubs. We saw Crepe Myrtles blooming everywhere. They reminded us of lilacs, only on a tree instead of a shrub. They bloom in white, pink, magenta, and lavendar colors.

While driving in the Sarasota/Anna Maria Island area, we saw these, but I don't know what they are.

By late afternoon we were heading back to Tampa for a home cooked meal courtesy of Aunt Fern, and a relaxing evening.

St. Augustine

2010-06-22T14:52:00.002-06:00

Thursday morning Warren and I, and John & Jean got into our cars, ready for a day of exploring. Just outside of St. Augustine, we stopped at the World Golf. There is a Golf Academy, a resort, Hall of Fame, golf courses, shops and restaurants. One of the restaurants is called Murray Bros. Caddyshack. Anyone familiar with the Caddyshack movies will know what that is. Last year Craig met Bill Murray (the actor and one of the brothers in the Murray Bros.) at a golf tournament at Prairie Dunes, the golf course he works at in Hutchinson, KS. Inside the restaurant was a small gift shop, and the Caddyshack chopper that Orange County Choppers made for Bill Murray.

one of the cool golf carts on display

Once we got to Old Town St. Augustine, we had lunch at the Columbia Restaurant. It has been in business and family owned by the same family since 1905. The food is Spanish and Cuban, and they have a special salad that is prepared table side called the 1905. I had cannelloni stuffed with lobster, shrimp, scallops and shallots, and Warren had Snapper Adelita - snapper, grilled and topped with hearts of palm, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, olive oil, garlic and onions. I liked his snapper better than my cannelloni. :)

part of old town - lots of shops and restaurants

After lunch we visited the Castillo de San Marcos, a 300 year old Spanish fort. Construction began in 1672 and was completed in 1695. They had built several wooden forts prior, but they were all destroyed. This one is made of Coquina, a soft shell rock that is quarried nearby. Many of the buildings in the Old Town were constructed the same way. In all of the 300 year history, the fort was never invaded by enemies. It was built to protect the town from pirates and the British armies.

the inner courtyard where the townspeople could come for protection in times of attack.

the courtyard seen from above. The rooms were used for storage, barracks, etc.

view of the inlet from the top of the fort...

complete with a pirate ship!

Cannons beautiful? These were.

John & Jean Oman in front of one of the watch towers. Thank you for a fun day and all your great hospitality!

After saying good-bye to John & Jean, Warren and I drove south to Orlando to pick up Dave & Judy. From there we all headed for the west coast and Tampa to see our Aunt Fern for a couple of days.

Last day at Daytona Beach

2010-06-22T13:13:00.000-06:00

Wednesday morning Judy and I floated the lazy river. So relaxing, and a great time to visit. I so wanted to share our secret!

We spent some time on the pool deck, soaking in some warm Florida sunshine while the guys went down to the North Turn Restaurant. In the early days of racing, before there were any speedway tracks, stock cars raced an oval "track" of half hiway, half on the beach. The North Turn is where the cars turned from one to another.

the North Turn today

We finished packing, loaded our car, and we all went to Chucherias Hondurenas for lunch. This was one of the places Judy and I had found online, and everywhere you asked people about Cuban food, this was the first recommendation.

You know the food is authentic when you walk in the door, and walk past an open kitchen like this! This is gonna be good! We ordered a variety of Cuban sandwiches, and also a Main Dish of chicken, which came with rice, beans, salad and sweet and green plantains. I've been wanting to try plantains for a while, so that was fun. I liked them both.

waiting for our meal - Judy, Zoe, Abbie, Paul, Warren and DeeDee (Dave is the photographer)

After a good lunch, Warren and I said our good-byes. Dave, Judy, Paul, Abbie and Zoe were staying another day at Daytona Beach, but we were off to Jacksonville to visit friends. John & Jean and their family visited us years ago when they come up to Montana to see the old farm. Jean's dad owned land that we have farmed for many years. Jean and her brother, Larry, inherited the farm, and are our landlords as well as friends. Once we got to their place at Jacksonville, we visited the horses while they did chores, saw the swamp behind the barn, (it was neat to see the cypress trees and plants) then drove to a nearby Confederate Campgrounds for a walk. The confederates camped there, and now it has walking trails and is a relaxing place to be. Later that evening we drove into downtown Jacksonville for supper. We ate at the American Cafe in an area known as The Landing. Our table was on the deck overlooking the river, right near the ocean. It was beautiful. Too bad the camera got left in the car. Warren had been taking night photos in Daytona, and this would have made beautiful photos after dark as well. The military uses the river as its hiway, so there were a few helicopters who flew by, as well as water taxis and other boats. It was a very nice evening. When we got back to John & Jean's we had a good visit, showing them pictures of the farming operation.

Ponce De Leon Lighthouse

2010-06-21T17:19:00.000-06:00

After a day at the beach, we headed south to Ponce Inlet to see Florida's tallest lighthouse. It is 175 feet tall and the second tallest in the nation. After a climb of 203 steps, we were able to see quite a view. It is located where the Halifax River and the Atlantic Ocean meet. It is made of brick, and 3 lighthouse keepers were required to keep it going. Their families lived in houses around the lighthouse. These days there are no keepers, as everything is automated.

The compound of homes and maintenance buildings as seen from the top of the lighthouse.

The Halifax River meeting the Atlantic Ocean - view from top

Judy, Dave & I walking back down the stairs. Whew!

After looking through the displays in the houses, outbuildings and a quick peek in the gift shop, we headed just a bit down the road to the Inlet Harbor Marina & Restaurant. It is located on the Halifax River and has docks for people to motor in in their boats, tie up and have dinner. There are also lots of huge dry docks for boat storage. Quite a sight. We had a great dinner at a waterfront table. One thing we commented on was the wonderful service at all the restaurants there. The waitresses and staff were very good, along with all of the food we had everywhere.

The Harbor Inlet Restaurant in the background with a couple of boats at the dock.

the lighthouse seen from the restaurant

A Day at the Beach

2010-06-21T16:08:00.001-06:00

Tuesday, June 8, was our day at the beach in Daytona. A beautiful sandy beach was steps from our condo, just a short walk past the swimming pools, and there it is. Pure Bliss! The whole day I kept thinking to myself, "I can't believe I'm really here!" I had hoped to try snorkeling, but as you can see, the water is much too sandy to be able to see anything down there. I guess there are a couple of large sand bars off the beach that cause poor visibility. We still had a fun time playing in the waves and relaxing. We rented a boogey board and Warren did really well once he got the hang of it. I didn't do nearly as much as he did, as by the time I was ready to give it a go, the waves had gotten bigger, and it was a bit much for me. The water is great there. It is only waist deep for quite a long ways out, but you do have to watch for rip tides. The lifeguard towers had red flags on them, and we did see the lifeguards go out after someone a time or two when they got too far out.

The Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort. We were in the tower on the right side, 7th floor.

taken from further down the beach. Our resort is the 2 tall white towers toward the right hand side. On the left side are the ferris wheel, bungee ride, go carts, and beside them (can't see) are concession and gift shops. The big hotels between are the Hilton resort.

there were trailers along the beach with concessions and also rentals of chairs and umbrellas, boogie boards, beach bikes, etc. It sure added a colorful, festive air to the beach.

Dave & Judy (DeeDee's sister)

Warren on the boogie board

Taste of the Tropics

2010-06-16T18:50:00.000-06:00

One of the things we like best about traveling is trying the local food of the region we are visiting. Before we left, I knew I wanted to have lots of seafood and try some Jamaican and Cuban food. Monday night, the big day at Daytona, we all went to the Taste of the Tropics. Judy and I had done a search of restaurants in Daytona Beach, and this one was one of the highest rated places. We know why! Dave and Judy have spent quite a bit of time in Jamaica, and Paul and Abbie have done a lot of traveling as well, so we were all looking forward to it.

While waiting for the others to arrive, I asked them what they would recommend trying to someone who had never had Jamaican food. The owner and chef were very helpful, and even brought us a sampler plate. In addition to the sampler, our group ordered Jerk Chicken, Jerk Pork, Shrimp and Patties, which are a popular type of street food, a pocket of pastry with a meat filling. Mine was beef. Our sampler plate had oxtail, which reminded me of a pot roast that had been well cooked in the crock pot, curry chicken and stewed beef. photo below

the chef and owner (?)

Overall we all liked the food and had a good time at the Taste of the Tropics. They said that most of their clientele are from out of town, as the locals tend to eat at the chain restaurants more. We recommend them, so if you are ever in the area, give it a try!

16 Second Pit Crew Challenge

2010-06-16T17:59:00.002-06:00

Here is the video of Warren and Brandon in their 6.83 second tire changing run. They made a great team.

Daytona 500 Experience

2010-06-16T17:57:00.000-06:00

This trip was my present to Warren for his 50th birthday, which was last January. He is a Nascar fan, so we spent the day Monday at the Daytona 500 Experience. Located at the Daytona International Speedway, the Experience is part museum, taking you from the very beginnings of Nascar to present day. There are also lots of hands-on fun activities. We had seen the Daytona 500 IMAX movie a few years ago in Branson, but it was worth seeing it again in 3D.

One of our favorite things there was the Acceleration Alley where you were strapped into a race car and drove a simulated race, complete with the rough motion of bumps and bangs. Warren finished the race a lap ahead of me, in 5th place even though he hit the apron of the track and wrecked. (I knew he must have wrecked as it was very loud with scraping metal sounds and much rattling next to me.) His computer on the simulator reset, and he finished well in spite of his little misadventure.

The simulator car Warren drove.

These simulators were a bit tamer!

Another favorite of the day was the 16 Second Pit Stop Challenge, which is a pit crew tire changing challenge. A good speed of removing the tire, putting on a new one is about 16 seconds for a team of two. I urged Warren to give it a try. Here he goes!

We boarded a tram for a tour of the Speedway track, pits, victory lane, grandstands, etc. Daytona Speedway is one mile from end to end, and has a steep curve of 31 degrees. Its amazingly steep when you see it in person.

inside the Experience building - a view of the 31 degree grade. Its harder to see in a picture of the track.

view from the end of the track. In addition to the oval, there is also a road race track.

the start/finish line and grand stands.

the pits, across from the above picture. The fans have a great view!

Here's a view from the grandstands. You can get an idea of the curve of the track from here too. We were really surprised with the seats! They were simply metal folding chair seats and backs screwed to wooden planks. Doesn't look too comfortable to sit in for hours.

Once back inside, Warren had to try the pit crew challenge again. This time, it was different. During the first time, he was racing against another team, one of who was a guy named Brandon. He and his wife were on their honeymoon. You know how sometimes you meet up with the same people over and over? That's how it was with them. After the first challenge, we chatted a bit, then went our separate ways. For the track tour, we sat together in the same row of seats on the tram. We saw them again inside, and the guys decided to try the challenge again. They were allowed to practice a time or two before the actual challenge started. They did very well! See the next post for a video! The average time is about 16 seconds, thus the name of the challenge. They blew that out of the water with a time of 6.83 seconds! Woohoo! Congratulations, guys!

Our Trip to Florida - Days 1 & 2

2010-06-16T14:17:00.002-06:00

Saturday, June 5 we flew out of Billings for Florida. We had finished seeding the night before, got most of the garden planted before dark, then moved machinery home from Tony's farm up north. It was about 1:30 in the morning when we got to bed. We got 2 1/2 hours of sleep before getting up at 4 a.m. We left home about 5, and were in Billings by noon. We had a quick lunch with Rhonda, Kayla, Ron & Mary Ann before heading to the airport. We flew to Minneapolis, had a 3 hour layover there, then on to Orlando. We arrived there about 11 p.m. local time. We waited for our one checked bag, and it didn't come... The first time we have ever had luggage lost when we have flown. By the time we made arrangements to pick it up the next morning when it arrived from Minneapolis, got our rental car, and got to the nearby hotel, and got to bed, it was about 12:30. A very long day!

Dave & Judy (my sister and her husband) met us at our hotel Sunday morning. The guys went to the airport to get our bag while Judy and I waited at the hotel. Once they were back, Judy, Warren and I left for Daytona Beach. Dave was staying behind with their car to pick up Paul, Abbie and Zoe when they flew in later in the afternoon. Once we got to Daytona Beach, we had lunch at a favorite place of Dave & Judy's, Caribbean Jack's. We sat out on the patio, under the awning, even though it was raining.

Judy had a wonderful coconut shrimp salad. If we ever go back, I would definitely order this!

Warren and I shared the seafood boil. It arrived in a bucket and included sausage, shrimp, crawfish, crab, corn on the cob and potatoes in an Old Bay Seasoning flavored broth.

The crawfish were interesting... We decided they were too much work for the amount of meat you got.

After lunch we went to the Wyndham Ocean Walk Resort to check into our three bedroom condo. By the time we were settled in there, Dave, Paul, Abbie and Zoe had arrived. We all enjoyed a walk on the beach and boardwalk after supper, before turning in for the night.

Our condo

The view from our balcony - 3 pools, a lazy river, and the Atlantic Ocean!

Harvey's 80th Birthday

2010-06-03T15:23:00.003-06:00

Warren's dad, Harvey Fast, turns 80 on June 5. Sunday, May 30, we celebrated with family and friends at the Glasgow Evangelical Church in Glasgow, MT. About 130 people joined us for great visiting, a delicious array of cheese ball & crackers, nuts, 3 flavors of birthday cake, ice cream sundaes, punch, ice tea and coffee.

Once the party got going, we didn't take time out from pouring the drinks to take pictures of everyone. I think maybe some others did, though. Here are some pictures taken before:

Harvey & Gladys with their kids

Joan Unger, Jean Joiner, Gladys & Harvey Fast, Warren Fast, Shirley Nasner

The Kids

Joan & Keith Unger, Jean & Ken Joiner, Gladys & Harvey Fast, Duane & Shirley Nasner, Warren & DeeDee Fast

Brothers & Sisters

Florence & Dale Funk, Gladys & Harvey, Shirley Funk

Harvey & Gladys with some of their grandkids and great-grandkids.

Picture table with photos through the decades