Playing With Dirt...and Poop!

A garden has been a long awaited project. SaraJane loves plants, as you will probably notice if you ever visit our home.  She was eager to start her first garden this summer and had looked at possibly renting a community garden space.  A good friend offered the use of their backyard since they have an abundance of space.  In no time at all the little idea of a garden was transformed into a larger community garden.  With the excitement and help of several people we were able to plot out the garden space, begin growing seeds, and collect scrap wood to build some boxes to frame the garden.  

We had our first official work day on Sunday afternoon to break ground.  Within no time at all each person had a job.  The guys were building the garden boxes while the gals were mapping out the garden, plotting each bed and then laying down the manure to mix in as fertilizer.  We didn't get as far as we were hoping, but realized that we have taken on quite the large task.  Despite the wind we enjoyed our time outside and playing in the dirt.  We are eager to finish and start growing food for the community.  Here's to green thumbs!

Heath and Mike filling in the post holes and beds with fill dirt. 

Heath, Mike, Peter and SaraJane loading the beds with fill dirt. 

Micah tilling up the beds, prepping them for planting. 

Lisa making sure that Micah stays on track and doesn't start going "till" crazy.

Cleaning up after an afternoon of work.  We're getting there!

The First 5K

For the last year we have been set on completing our first official 5K race. We have had plenty of opportunities, but for various reasons haven't followed through. Each year the Junior High holds a 5K race called the Hapi-ness 5K in honor of Hapi Patterson. Hapi was a Laramie Junior High student who was diagnosed with Leukemia. She passed away before getting a chance to watch the first race which was in 1987. Nevertheless, the race continues on to raise money for cancer victims and research. The Junior High students design the t-shirts, cut the wood for the awards, and much more. So on Saturday morning we set out with 300 other men, women and children to participate in the 22nd annual race. We were able to enter as a family since Jon was still in town, and it wasn't until the following day when we were congratulated by several people that we discovered we had received an award for getting third place in the race as a family. We did this even though SaraJane had to walk with a bum foot and Micah's time was posted incorrectly with an added 10 minutes!  Needless to say, I think that we are pretty proud of our accomplishments for the first 5K race.  Go Herrboldts!!

Attempting to pin on our numbers.  Micah and Jon had a hard time pinning the numbers on straight. 

Showing off the family numbers.

While Micah and Jon ran, SaraJane walked with our friend Robin.  Robin was kind enough to move at a slower pace since SaraJane had a hurt foot.  Here the ladies are showing off their ribbons.  

The plaque and medals for taking third place in the race. Now if only we could decide where to hang them up on our walls! Our moms would be so proud! :)

A Welcomed Visit

With our occupation of teaching we constantly have to be on the ball and even ahead of the game. This tends to lead to a very "structured" lifestyle. I would like to say that we live a life of spontaneity, but let's be honest.....we have a color coded calendar for goodness sakes! But when those moments of spontaneity do happen, we thoroughly enjoy them.
We experienced one of these moments late Saturday evening when our dear friend Chelsea called to say that she would be driving up from Fort Collins. Micah was preparing to teach the following morning at church and I had just spent a day with two of the most energetic kids. After the three of us having a short visit Micah banished himself to the bedroom to work on his talk. Chelsea and I "camped" out in the living room and reverted back to our old ways. We have a habit of getting cozy in our pj's and then laying in bed talking until the sun is about to come up. I thought that I had seen those days come and go, but apparently I still have it in me to stay awake until 3 o'clock! I can't tell you how comforting it is to be with an old friend, once again sharing the ups and downs of life, laughing until we are crying and encouraging one another that we have indeed grown out of our embrassing moments in life.
Chelsea's visit was very refreshing and much needed. At one point we were discussing how long we have known each other, and how long it had been since we had lasted visited. It was summed up best with the comment, "That is crazy! We should work that!"

Making the Most of it While it Lasts

We are still being teased with the slow arrival of Spring. This last weekend on Saturday we did have an extremely nice day--after two days of snow. To enjoy the weather while it lasted we participated in a variety of Spring activities.
Around Christmas time we had discussed the idea of starting a garden this Spring. This has been something that I have personally wanted to do for quite sometime, but have never had the appropriate space or time. I found out that our community offers garden plots in the cemetary-a little ackward but good enough to help meet the goal. After many conversations with various friends, a dear friend of ours offered us the opportunity to use their backyard. The goal has quickly manifested into a wonderful opportunity. We will be developing a garden that is approxiametly 40x40 and are very excited. Rather than this being a small Micah and SaraJane garden, it will now be a community garden. Several people are committing their time and with everyone's help we hope to have a garden large enough to provide food and pleasure not only for the families working in the garden, but also for those in the community that could benefit from some fresh produce.
So-with the help of our friend Lisa we headed to the store and purchased seeds galore! We spent about an hour planting seeds and prepping them for the garden. We planted the seeds in egg cartons and small pots since the weather is unpredictable right now. Hopefully this bypasses the risk of May snowstorms. Below you can see a few of the seeds that are taking over our dining room.

We also spent the day watching some kiddos of dear friends. These two were a great help in planting all of the seeds and we couldn't let them go home empty handed. Wanjiku and Mbugwa each picked out some flowers seeds and planted away. We are all eager to see how the Four O'clocks and Autumn Sunflowers turn out. Here is hoping we have green thumbs!