Fall weekend: Part Three! The bonfire was my favorite part of the weekend. (part one and part two if you missed them). The backstory again, is that my parents moved to small-town, Indiana about six years ago. They live in the center of their town, right by “Main Street” which is really quite charming with lots of shops and mom & pop restaurants to walk to. But right outside of town is country. Amish country and farming country.
I’m a city girl and I really haven’t spent enough time in the country. In fact, there was this time I was on a roadtrip with my brothers and we just had to stop the car and get out because the whole sky was filled with twinkling stars. We’d simply never seen anything like it. We actually put our arms around each other and just stood there on the side of the road, looking up. I believe we were in the middle of Iowa. Not proud, but in amazement I exclaimed, ”WOW, it’s like we’re in the planetarium!” bahaha. (yeah, it’s just like that. like a man-made sky for city folk). Ooooorrrr, we’re outside away from city light pollution.
SO, that’s me.
My parents told us we were all invited to their friends’ farm for a bonfire. A REAL 350-acre farm. I donno, it was just so great. I was just kinda in awe that they have this land and work it, and it’s all so beautiful and full of character. It makes you feel connected to tradition and to living.
Family. That’s my grandpa, Mateo’s “great” that you see greeting him at the horse stable. And I love the photos of Mateo in between my dad, (his Papa) and my grandpa (his Great). The photo of the three men (two wearing red hats) are my dad, grandpa, and Aki. And that’s my sister (Mateo’s dear “auntie”) jumping in the air. :)
I mentioned in my earlier posts that I was really stressed leading up to this weekend. Taking walks, taking family photos, and visiting the pumpkin patch were fun activities…but it was the bonfire that I needed. I mean, there’s something about a fire that is so hypnotizing. The world dims a little and it’s just a simple moment around a dancing fire. And when else do people get together and just sing? :) Growing up, we used to have large camping family reunions. The singing around the campfire was my favorite. Mateo has now been officially introduced! If you follow me on instagram, you may have seen the video I posted that night of us singing around the fire back in October.
Ah, and I almost forgot! They took us (almost 20 of us) on a midnight hayride! :) It wasn’t really midnight, but it was pitch black, and they hooked up one of their tractors and took us on a hayride through some of their fields. Mateo was SO excited about another hayride (his first was on the Pumpkin Patch). But haha, he was O-U-T, fast asleep about two minutes in. I captured this pic of the sleepyhead on my phone. :)
Good times. I could use more country air.
Thank you to the Millers for hosting us on the farm. Your farm is pretty amazing, you are so hospitable, and we had a great time. Thank you, thank you!
ALSO, Want to wish Mateo’s Baka (grandma) in Croatia a very Happy Birthday! (Sretan rođendan!!!!). We love you!
It’s October already. September was a bit of a reflective month for me. It was busy and it was emotional. Through all the activity, I found myself stepping back a lot. Pausing. I almost felt like an observer in my own life. I’ve been thinking more about planning and being more “intentional” with my time. I’d like to set a few goals. There’s only so much time and OHhhh, there are just so many things I’d like to do and try. I feel like I’m running around in five different directions half the time. I need some focus and direction. This month I’d like to share more of that with you. I hear it helps to share. ;)
