Weekly Review through February 24!

Another awesome week in Fitness, Farm, and Life! Read on for more!

Fitness
This week started off strong, but we were really busy over the weekend, so I really tapered off on Friday-Sunday.
February 18- 30 minute dance workout on YouTube
February 19- 35 Minutes virtual ride on Rouvy!
February 20- 30 minutes dance routine for Shape Up Montana challenge!
February 21- 45 minutes treadmill walking. Sometimes I watch movies or tv shows. I have to say that the climax of Thelma and Louise really kept me walking! Such a great movie!

Recognize this unforgettable scene?!

February 22- Rest.
February 23- Drive to Bozeman. Rest day.
February 24- Drive from Bozeman. Rest day.

This week for Shape Up Montana, our weekly challenge was to complete the "Shape Up Jam" dance and submit a video of the dance. I did it. My video is ridiculously bad, as are my dancing skills. If you want a laugh, here it is:

Farm-
We are nearly ready to start calving season. Our "due date" is March 1, so we could actually start any day. Jeff spent the week preparing the corrals and doing other chores in advance of calving. Then on Friday, he and a friend of ours sorted our animals into groups: older cows, young cows/heifers, and late-calvers. We also have a separate pen for our bulls, and another for the yearlings. It remains frigidly cold with highs in the single digits below zero and lows in the -20s or worse. Horrible weather for calving. We are hoping the cows will hold off until it warms up even a little bit!

Hello, girls!
This is the yearling pen. 

Life
We took a quick overnight trip to Bozeman for a family gathering. It was nice to get together, even if it was brief. It was a lot of car time for Genevieve, but overall, she handled it pretty well!

Traveling to Bozeman!
She's just too much with those pigtails!

I also just finished reading Becoming by Michelle Obama. I don't normally read a lot of biographies/autobiographies, but I really enjoyed this book. She is someone I think we can all learn from in terms of making the best out of every situation, positive mindset, encouraging others, and much more. If you haven't read this book, I would highly recommend it, regardless of your politics. To be honest, it's much more about her as a person than it is about politics anyway. It is especially eye opening to read about life from the viewpoint of an African-American woman, as her experience was vastly different from mine.

That's all for this week! Have a great week, everyone!

Oh, Canada!

I've lived near the Canadian border for 8 years now. Really near. Only ten miles from the line. Despite living so close, I had actually never been to Canada. I've had my passport the entire time, and we often entertained ideas and thoughts of going to Canada, but never took any action.

That all changed last weekend when Jeff, Genevieve, and I took a quick family getaway to the great and enchanting land of Canada!

We had researched and planned a ski weekend at Fernie Mountain Resort, in Fernie, BC, which is about a 5 hour drive from our house. It's actually fewer miles than a trip to Bozeman for us, which is a trip we do all the time. It's funny how being in a different country makes it seem like it should be farther away!

I took a day off of work and we left on a Thursday morning, crossing the border at a teeny tiny border crossing in the rural countryside near our farm- at Whitlash, MT. The border agent was nearly in disbelief that anyone would be crossing at this location. I think he was grumpy that we woke him up from his nap. Needless to say, it went smoothly and we proceeded on to Lethbridge, where we stopped for lunch.

We crossed at the Whitlash/Aden border crossing, which is just to the upper left of the M of Montana on this map.
Our house is between the T and the A of Montana.
It was interesting to enter a foreign country without leaving a gravel road!

Approaching the border crossing at Whitlash.  No lines!

It was really interesting to see the Sweetgrass Hills from a different vantage point.
Our house is directly east of the Hills. This is a view looking back from the northwest, from the border crossing.

We made it to Fernie mid-afternoon, checked into our hotel to get organized and unwind for a bit, then we decided to head downtown Fernie and walk around for a while before grabbing some dinner.

Approaching Fernie. You can see the ski slopes in the background!

If you never traveled with a one year old, let me fill you in on something-- they really aren't big fans of shopping and store-hopping. Genevieve was largely unimpressed with our efforts to walk around.
Until we found a children's store that had toys she could play with, then she didn't want to leave! haha  She wasn't the best dinner guest, either, but we did enjoy the food and atmosphere at a fun little restaurant called The Bridge, which was recommended to us by the proprietor of the toy store.

Walking around downtown Fernie. Super cute downtown!

Sign for The Bridge Bistro, complete with ski chairs.
Quintessential ski town vibe!

Obviously, I had the poutine for dinner because, well, when in Canada, eh?

Poutine is fries with cheese curds and gravy. Mine had bison brisket and mushrooms, too! Yum!

Trying to keep Genevieve entertained any way possible! 

After dinner, we headed back to our hotel for the night. We stayed at Best Western Fernie Mountain Lodge. It wasn't right on the mountain, but it really wasn't far, either. It was a very kid-friendly hotel, with a great complimentary breakfast, too.

The next morning, it was time to head to the slopes!

We checked Genevieve into daycare first thing when we got there. The daycare at Fernie was EXCELLENT.  It was pretty much one-on-one adult to child ratio. Genevieve's adult friend/caretaker for the day was Ellie and she was fantastic! I was super impressed with her caring nature and her attentiveness to Genevieve.  I also loved that they took the kids outside to play during the day, instead of just being cooped up indoors. 

While Genevieve was playing the day away with Ellie at daycare, we were out checking out the sweet slopes on Fernie Mountain! 

Chair-lift selfie!

We saw a pretty good sampler of the mountain as the day went on. We could tell that it's a really great mountain with lots of interesting and varied terrain and tons of powder traps. The biggest issue with our day was that it was really warm and the mountain hadn't had any new snow in quite some time. This meant that it was pretty icy in a lot of places and slushy on the lower mountain. Skiing on ice is challenging and can be dangerous, so we basically kept to groomed trails. 

Jeff is actually in this picture, near the center top, right in the middle of that little gulley.

We did find a few places where the wind had blown some snow and made it a little softer, but about mid-afternoon, it started pouring rain. Rain and skiing don't mix, sadly. Unfortunately, our day of skiing ended a little early. We picked up Genevieve and headed back to hotel.  After some swimming in the hotel pool for me and G, we ordered in pizza from the hotel restaurant, ate in our rooms, and went to bed early. We were all exhausted!

With the weather in Fernie being warm and rainy and therefore the skiing conditions being terrible, Jeff and I decided that instead of skiing our second day there, we'd just head south, back to the States, to Whitefish. We had packed all our suitcases the night before and laid out our clothes so that when we woke up in the morning, we could just get dressed and take off for the roughly 2 hour drive south to Whitefish. 

One last purely Canadian experience before leaving though. A trip to Tim Hortons!

Tim Hortons is like Dunkin Donuts, but Canadian, and super prevalent. They're known for their coffee, donuts, and pastries. We stopped in for a quick breakfast and coffee to go, and a box of Tim Bits for the road. Tim Bits are donut holes with a dubious name. (Right?!?!)

The drive to Whitefish was uneventful and passed by quickly. We were again the only car at the border crossing, this time crossing at Roosville, and on to Eureka. Genevieve slept pretty much the entire drive. Once we got to Whitefish, we got her settled in their daycare, then headed up the mountain!

NOT RAINING in  Whitefish! 

The bottom half of the mountain was a little slushy because it was warm here, too, and the top half was pretty foggy. We decided to head to the back side and thankfully it wasn't as foggy and it was actually SNOWING!!!  The morning of skiing at Whitefish was outstanding, on fresh snow, and not too cold. We had a blast!

We breaked for a quick lunch at the Summit, and back out we went. Unfortunately, the fog had consumed the backside by now, too. We only took one run back there, and then decided to head down to the front.

Here's a view from about 2/3 of the way down the mountain, finally below the fog.

We did find some non-foggy areas to ski, but by this time of the afternoon, they had become slushy. Then it started to rain. So, we called it a day at about 2:00, got organized, and picked up Genevieve to head home. 

It wasn't a bad thing that we left early in the end, because the weather changed very abruptly on our drive home. It plummeted from temps in the mid 40s down to single digits! A winter storm was blowing in and we ended up being very glad we were home on Saturday night rather than staying overnight somewhere and leaving on Sunday morning, which had been our original plan. 

All in all, we had a really great trip and made the best of the conditions on both mountains. Genevieve and I experienced Canada for the first time together, and it was a fun memory made as a family!

Weekly Review through February 3

Here's my weekly review of last week, recapping fitness, farm, and life!

This week was full of excitement as we took a weekend getaway to Canada (sort of!) and also began Shape Up Montana! Read on!

Fitness
Jeff and I have made a commitment to trying to get in a bunch of days on skis this year. We don't live super close to any ski resorts, so it takes some effort. This week, we notched two more days on skis!

One nice thing about skiing, is that it seems to be having a positive impact on my injuries. My hip has been feeling better and better, which I'm grateful for! I *may* even start trying out some light jogging again soon!  Here's the lowdown. I'm planning a separate post with more info and pictures from our weekend trip, so stay tuned for that soon!

Check out this awesome Bird Mail package I received from a Montana Volee friend!
Flyte Gaiter, chapstick, and a sweet custom travel mug/wine cup!

January 28- Rest. Received a sweet Bird Mail package today!!!
January 29- 30 minutes treadmill walking with some incline
January 30- 20 minutes early morning yoga before school
January 31- Rest. Drive to Canada!
February 1- Skiing at Fernie Mountain Resort in Fernie, BC!

Selfie in Fernie!

February 2- Skiing at Whitefish! (yes, back in the states!)
February 3- Superbowl Workout/Treadmill crossfit activity from Shape Up Montana

February 1 also marked the first day of Shape Up Montana. I think this is the 5th year or so that we have done Shape Up Montana. We really like it for setting up and reinforcing healthy habits! I'm a team captain again this year, but our team makeup is a little different from years past. This year, we have a little bit bigger team including a few family members and lots of friends. Most of our team lives nearby, so we're hoping to have a few get-togethers throughout the entire 3-month program, too.

Farm
Jeff continues to feed cows and do chores daily. As I mentioned last week, he is on the Board of Directors for Montana Farmers Union. As part of that, he is on the Legislative Committee, which helps steer the lobbying efforts of MFU, particularly during the Montana legislative session, which is happening right now.  One of the specific legislative efforts Jeff has been spending a lot of time on is COOL, or Country of Origin Labeling for beef and meat products. I'd love to convince him to do a guest post about this, because it's really interesting and affects everyone who raises or eats meat!  The big idea of the bill Jeff and others are supporting is to legislate how meat is labeled, and that it should be labeled in a more transparent way so that consumers know where their meat is coming from.  I think it's really great that he is so passionate about these things, and he's incredibly knowledgeable on policy. It's a great fit for him, and I think it's meaningful work for the people of Montana!

Life
Our trip to Canada was brief but really fun!  I'll write up a separate post about that soon.

Did anyone watch the Superbowl?  I sort of watched it, but not with my full attention. Honestly, it was a pretty boring game. Jeff told me it had some of the lowest viewership in years. Even the commercials weren't very exciting. Snoozefest all the way around. If you watched it, what did you think?

I redid my big bulletin board in the foyer at school:


Lastly, an update on Genevieve's transition to toddler bed.  For the past three nights now, we've put her to bed and she hasn't gotten up at all. She's rolled around some, or talked to herself a bit, things like that, but she hasn't gotten out of bed, and she's put herself to sleep all on her own. Granted, she's had a bit of a cold and has been really tired, so it's hard to say if that trend will continue going forward, but we're hopeful!

Weekly Review through 1/20

Hey Everyone!

Hope you had an awesome weekend!

I'm here with my weekly review of last week in all the Fitness, Farm, and Life news!

We had a great week, which included some awesome family time and winter recreation!

Fitness
Reviewing a bit longer "week" this time, since my last post for week-in-review was on a Thursday. This week was filled with varied adventures, as the weather at home started off in the upper 40s and nearing 50 degrees on Friday through Monday! It was great to get outside. Genevieve loved it, too! Then, this past Friday we packed up for our annual trip to the Cabin near West Glacier, for some fun winter activities!

My ankle continues to feel better, but my hip is sort of staying the same. I think I injured it in overcompensating in my running gait while my ankle was sore. I should have taken time off sooner, rather than letting my hip get so out of whack! I'm continuing to take it really easy on running, and trying to work in yoga and strength activities to get my hip back on line.

Friday 1/11 ~ Stroller Walk/Jog outside! About 2 miles.
Saturday 1/12 ~ Virtual Ride on Rouvy in Lava Beds National Monument, CA.  Great ride for my current fitness level.
Sunday 1/13 ~ Fun family pasture hike outside! Nearly 50 degrees!!!  If you missed it, I did an entire post last week with pics from the hike. So much fun!
Monday 1/14 ~ 20 minutes "Flow for Balance" Yoga
Tuesday 1/15 ~ 35 minutes treadmill hike with minimal jogging
Wednesday 1/16 ~ Rest!
Thursday 1/17 ~ Rest. Hosted a Harry Potter themed baby shower for a dear friend! So fun!

Isn't this cake amazing?! 

Friday 1/18 ~ 30 min treadmill incline walk in the morning.
Saturday 1/19 ~ Downhill skiing at Whitefish all day!
Sunday 1/20 ~ about 2 hours of Nordic skiing at Izaak Walton in Essex!

In sum, I did about 10 miles of walk/slowjog/hiking this week, one ride on Rouvy, 20 minutes of yoga, one full day of downhill skiing, and about 2 hours on my Nordic skis. A pretty varied and FUN week!

We have a "big" ski trip planned to Canada in a couple weeks ("big" meaning just a long weekend), and Jeff and I are very motivated to be in good shape for that so we can really make the most of our time on the mountain! My goals are to do more strength workouts and some more biking in the next few weeks to try to get my legs in better shape, especially my quads, for skiing!

Farm
This was a slow week of farm-related happenings. Jeff had spent the previous two weeks hauling a lot of wheat, and took this week "off" to work on processing some of his wild game harvest. He made tons of jerky and summer sausage! This year, Jeff tried a bunch of new recipes and techniques and I think overall was very happy with the end results. My favorites are the maple-bourbon jerky and the Jalapeno-Cheddar summer sausage.

Life
The major highlight of this past week was the time spent at the cabin! Jeff's parents have a timeshare near Glacier National Park and were gracious enough to share their week with us! We stayed three nights at the cabin, and satellited our activities from there.

Our Home for the Weekend! 

Jeff and I went downhill skiing at Whitefish on Saturday and had one of the best days of skiing we've ever had together! We are both challenging ourselves and improving a lot. We skied a lot more technical runs than we have in the past, and it was really fun! The most satisfying part of the day was ending on a run called "Mully's Moguls," which is an advanced blue (intermediate) with moguls basically from top to bottom. A few years ago, we spent the better part of a day skiing that run over and over, just trying to get better at attacking moguls. This time, we just zipped right down like it was nothing. It was very illustrative of the advancement in skill for both of us!

This doesn't show all of Whitefish by any means, but gives you an idea. We skiedmost of the day off the Great Northern Chair, skiing on the black diamonds near the chair-- Langley, Friends of Langley, Powder Trap, etc. 

On Sunday, Jeff's parents joined us for some Nordic skiing at Izaak Walton in Essex. We always love this little cross country ski resort tucked into the side of a mountain, at an historic train stop and inn. We took one outing as a group and Jeff wore Genevieve in the backpack carrier. She liked it for the most part-- as long as she could see where everyone in our group was! After a warm up in the lodge bar, Tom and Carol took Genevieve back to the cabin for a nap, while Jeff and I took another loop. It was a perfect afternoon!

We took allllllll the winter gear with us! 

I didn't take any pictures of our ski activities. Call me a bad blogger, but I guess we were just too busy having fun!  I did take a few photos right around the cabin, literally as we were packing up to leave...

In a completely different vein, Genevieve has figured out how to climb out of her pack-n-play at nap time within the past few weeks and this has lead her to also teach herself how to climb out of her crib, which she did for the first time at home last night. Needless to say, our evening routine is about to change!  Stay tuned...

Trip to Minneapolis!

Today, I have for you a review of my trip to Minneapolis with Jeff about a week ago, but FIRST--

I understand some people have had issues getting my blog to "show up" on their RSS feeds, such as Feedly or BlogLovin'. I think I finally have the tech side of this figured out so you could find Prairie Sun Life on your blog feeds. Try copy/pasting this link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ThePrairieSunLife   It seems to be working so far. If you continue to have trouble, please let me know! I don't want to miss anyone!

Now, on to the Minneapolis trip!

As I mentioned in my most recent Weekly Review post, Jeff and I traveled to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the National Farmers Union Convention. The Convention was held March 4-8 at the Radisson Blu- Mall of America hotel and convention center. We had a nice trip getting together with Farmers Union friends and colleagues. We also saw a lot of the Mall of America, and I had a chance to meet up with a blogging friend, Jessie. Read on for the details!

The convention was held at the Radisson Blu- MOA. This was a really nice hotel, and very modern in aesthetic. It was also attached to the Mall via skyway. It was a nice host site in that it was big enough and had many nice amenities. Personally, I would have actually preferred not to be attached to MOA and to have had more opportunity to be outside. The Mall of America "experience" wore off quickly. It is still just a mall...

My friend Tom lounges in one of these suspended pods they had in the lobby of the hotel. Very modern, indeed!

Anyway, the committee that I am on- Next Generation Advisory Council- presented our Strategic Plan to the NFU Board of Directors on Saturday morning. We have spent about a year working on this and had some really great suggestions for moving NFU forward with the "next generation" of farmers, ranchers, and consumers. Our ideas fell into three main themes: Membership, Leadership, and Mentorship. As a Council, we were all very pleased to see and experience positive reactions from the Board after our presentation.

I wore this necklace that I made for my presentation. Each tab has one of the brands that have been used on our family farm over time. I wanted a reminder to myself that it's not without respect to the past that we move forward.

I had a few other meetings throughout the weekend and enjoyed some of the keynote speakers and fundraising events before flying out on Monday. Jeff was elected as a Delegate to represent Montana Farmers Union, so he stayed on for the policy portion of the Convention. It sounds like there were a lot of differing opinions about policy and proposed changes. Ultimately, one thing I really love about Farmers Union on a State and National level is that we as members have the opportunity to argue policy and use a truly democratic process to build our position and give voice to the whole. I am really glad Jeff had the opportunity to serve as a Delegate and represent our State. I know he did a good job, even if I wasn't there to see it in person.

There were many speakers at Convention that addressed the gathering before policy began. I was sure to catch Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack speak. I may break down some of what he spoke about in a separate post because there was a lot that is very relevant to Agriculture, obviously. I always enjoy hearing what Secretary Vilsack has to say and I appreciate the work he has done as our Secretary of Ag.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack addresses the Convention.

A major highlight of the trip for me was simply gathering and getting together with some of our Farmers Union friends, from near and far. A group of us shared several meals and lots of free time together and it was just wonderful to be together. Several times I remarked that I hadn't laughed that much in a long, long time. To me, that's another aspect of what makes Farmers Union special- you become family with these people over time. I know that, even though some of my friends live in separate states, they will be there for me for years to come, and vice versa.

Two of our close friends, Bryan and Jennifer, are from Minnesota and took us out to some fun Minneapolis restaurants while we were there. One being Spoon and Stable, which was sort of a fine dining restaurant with innovative menu. We sampled a wide variety of dishes from their menu and shared them all among the table. My favorite out of everything was a dessert item called Honey and Cream Cake-- sooooooo good! Some of their menu can be pricey, but you could always go just for dessert and drinks if you're in the area. Make sure you call ahead for a reservation, though!

The other restaurant they took us to was a Thai restaurant called Sen Yai Sen Lek. This restaurant is part of the Minnesota Cooks: Food From The Farm collective. The Thai food was really good-- exactly what one wants from a Thai restaurant. We shared some spring rolls and each ordered our own lunch plates. I had a dish called Pad Bai Gra Prow with chicken. It was like a Thai spiced ground chicken with vegetables over rice, and the entire thing was topped with a fried egg. Soooooo delicious! This restaurant was also very affordable. I'd highly recommend it if you are in the Cities and hankering for some Thai! Plus, you know that anything from the Minnesota Cooks group is going to be really good farm to table food.

Another major highlight of the trip for me was meeting a fellow blogger- Jessie from The Right Fits. We have been following each others blogs for a long time, so it was really great to meet in person! Jessie is also a runner (she runs much more than I do!) and has a vizsla!! We met up for a walk near downtown Minneapolis, together with her dog Matilda the vizsla. It was so great to meet, get to know one another, get some exercise, get out of MOA, learn about and see Minneapolis from a local, and to see a beautiful Vizsla!!! Thanks, Jessie, for the meet up! You are the embodiment of "Minnesota Nice!" Readers, if you like reading about running, the Twin Cities, and/or Vizslas, definitely check out The Right Fits! Jessie does a really wonderful job!

Matilda, Jessie, and me over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis!
Thanks, Jessie, for sharing this photo with me!

While Harvey couldn't come to Minneapolis to meet Jessie and Matilda, he did send his love in the form of a gift. Harvey picked out a toy from his favorite made in Montana dog toy company- West Paw Designs. It's a grizzly bear. I delivered it to Matilda when I saw her. It looks like she likes it!

Matilda enjoys her new dog toy, from Harvey.
Photo credit to Jessie from The Right Fits. 

Well, it was a really great trip to Minneapolis and I hope to make it back there sometime soon. It's an easy city to fly to from Great Falls as we actually have a direct flight! I hope you enjoyed reading a little bit about what we did on our trip. Have you ever traveled to the Twin Cities?

Where to Run in Wichita, KS!

Seems like I am travelling more and more these days, all over the country! As a fitness enthusiast and a runner, sometimes it's very difficult to fit in a run or a workout while travelling, especially to conventions and meetings. Not so at my most recent convention, the National Farmers Union Convention in Wichita, KS. I was in Wichita for four days and sneaked in runs and walks outside every day. When I recently saw that Jessie over on The Right Fits started a series called Where Should I Run? on her blog, I knew I could contribute a post about where to run in Wichita!

River Walk Trail in Wichita, KS! 

The convention I attended was held at the Hyatt Regency Wichita. It was a very, very nice, brand new hotel situated right on the Arkansas River, which bisects the city of Wichita. I know I would not have had the opportunity to get nearly as much outdoor fitness into my trip if it weren't for staying at this hotel. Even before leaving, I had scoped the hotel website for the availability of a fitness center. They had a nice gym on site, but they also advertised right on the website that the Arkansas River has a really nice paved walking and jogging trail along its banks. They even post a map of the pathway system right on their website, and you can view by clicking here.  It's a PDF you can even download onto your phone and take with you on your run. The small portion they show on their map is 7 miles, but I know there are many, many offshoots from what is depicted. (I have an old, not-so-smart phone, so I don't have any fancy apps that map my run, and I can't seem to figure out how to get the PDF to actually copy and paste onto my blog, so you'll have to live with clicking on the link. Sorry... :/)

These steps lead directly to the River Walk from the Hyatt Regency, which was my home for the time I was in Wichita.

I began each of my runs from my hotel, but if you're looking for a place to park, I'd suggest starting off at the science museum along the west bank of the river.  It's called Exploration Place and it looked like a nice science museum and planetarium. It also looked like they had free parking and it puts you right at a bridge and trail access. Easy.

That building with awesome architecture that's sort of centered in this picture, right on the river, is the science museum. There is parking adjacent to the building, with easy access to the path.

Sunday afternoon was the most wide-open my schedule was during the convention so I decided this would be the best day to head out for a run. With the hotel literally steps away from the River Trail, it was so easy to walk right out the door and get started. I did about four miles, running up one side of the river, to the Keeper of the Plains Statue, crossing, then heading farther north a bit. Then I turned around and headed south on the west bank of the river and back to the hotel.

Keeper of the Plains Statue, on a beautiful Sunday afternoon!

This trail is a pretty great place to run! I was very impressed with the excellent signage and maps along both sides. The trail linked several monuments and museums so that a person could walk (or run!) among them and get quite a tour and taste of the area. I passed the Veteran's Memorial, a really neat looking science museum, and of course, the Keeper of the Plains statue. If a person had more time or was staying in Wichita longer, it would be great to explore some of the many offshoots of the river trail system. A quick internet search showed several area running stores, and I'm sure any of them would be able to point people in the right direction. Alas, I did not have time to visit them myself.

Some of the signage along the path.

There was also a great abundance of people using the path on this nice Sunday. From people walking their dogs to riding bikes, enjoying picnics, and checking out the statue, this was the place to be.

One of the many bridges that cross the rivers. I love the bridge design!

The wildlife was definitely NOT afraid of humans!

Speaking of the statue... it was really cool! It is a 44 foot tall metal statue located at the confluence of the Arkansas and Little Arkansas rivers. It was about a mile from my hotel, and accessed by bridges from either bank of the river. The statue was erected in 1974 to commemorate the nation's bicentennial, and was designed by a Native American artist. There were little paths all around it and information about Native American culture. Definitely worth a minute or two to stop and look around! If nothing else, the statue is very striking! I took several photos.

More views of Keeper of the Plains.

It was so great to get my legs stretched and moving during a long week of convention activities, which is mostly a lot of sitting. Monday afternoon, my friend Joellyn and I went out for another short run again, enjoying the nice weather. We ran a short two-mile loop up to the Keeper of the Plains, across the river, and back. It was definitely windier on Monday, but the sunshine was warm and the passers-by friendly. We had a great time and it was nice to catch up a little bit, while being active! I so rarely get to run with another person that it was great just to have some company!

Me and Joellyn, along the Arkansas River!

So, I know that this isn't the most in-depth post ever for where to run in Wichita, but it definitely gives a starting point for anyone who is looking for a place to begin.  I highly recommend the river trail. It was clean, organized, well-trafficked during the day, and comfortable. Great to be on the river and not to have to worry about cars and traffic, and lovely to enjoy the people watching and animal watching. If you're ever in Wichita, take a jog on this path!

NFU Convention in Wichita, KS

Did you have to take U.S. Government when you were in high school? I distinctly remember struggling to sit through that class my senior year, interjecting the occasional eyeroll into my teacher's boring spiel about different branches of government or whatever the topic of the day may have been. I was probably thinking ahead to my next track meet, or what I would be doing with friends over the weekend. Anything but considering how our government operated. I didn't enjoy that class and I struggled to see how I fit in to the success of the American political system as a seventeen year old in Iowa. 

Now, I wish I could go back to high school government class and re-learn everything I've forgotten! Now, I'm witnessing how government and political process works first-hand. 

For about four days earlier this week, I was in Wichita, KS at the National Farmers Union Convention. I was representing Montana Farmers Union as a Delegate, elected at our own state convention last fall. If you want to read the speech I delivered at our State convention, you can read it HERE.   I gave the speech as sort of a wrap up to the experience Jeff and I had with the FUE program we participated in, but it had the unintended result of working as somewhat of a campaign speech that got me elected as a Delegate to the National convention. 

In fact, our chief lobbyist for Montana Farmers Union had approached my husband to ask if he would consider being a delegate. He declined, as the trip is always in the middle of calving, and said that I would probably be interested, which I was. So that's how I got my name in the ring. There were five of us who ran and we each stood up and told a bit about ourselves and why we thought we would be a good Delegate. Out of the five of us who ran, three of us were elected to attend National along with two of our MFU Board members, our State President, and a Youth Delegate. Our State Membership Director was also present for the trip. It was an awesome group! 

Group photo of the Montana Delegation, taken at the Evening for Education Gala.
Pretty good looking bunch!

I had attended the previous year's NFU Convention in Santa Fe as part of the FUE Leadership Training agenda, but it was completely different to attend as a Delegate. The main responsibility I held as a Delegate was to participate in the adoption of National Farmers Union Policy. The Montana Delegation as a whole, held the task of ensuring our state policies were concurrent with national policy and recommend changes if need be. We were able to stand up to the microphone and voice our own opinions as we saw fit, and also voted on key issues throughout the proceedings. 

Laura Ginsburg was a member of the Rules and Credentials Committee in addition to serving as a Delegate.

Several of our Montana Delegation approached the mike and stated a few words here and there, whether in favor or opposition of a particular change or section of policy. It was really cool to be part of democracy happening, and truly from a grassroots level. I also found that I really enjoyed utilizing Parliamentary Procedure, and observing how that works. 

My dear friend, Bryan Klabunde of Minnesota, takes to the mic to discuss issues pertaining to raw and unpasteurized milk.
Way to go, Bryan!

Another Montanan, Jake Fagan, and I also met with the Next Generation Advisory Council for the first time while in Whichita. We were both selected to be on this national committee that will advise the NFU board on how to attract new, young, and beginning farmers to Farmers Union, train them for leadership, and keep them involved, etc. It was the very first meeting of a brand new committee, so the first meeting was spent largely going over logistics. We are still refining exactly what we as a committee will do and we're even planning on changing the name of the group. Nevertheless, it was so exciting to be in a room of creative, passionate people who really have a thing for farming and working together! Totally inspiring. I can't wait for this group to continue moving forward. 

The biggest takeaway I had from this past week was simply that when focusing on what we all have in common, we can do great things. Bringing people together who are passionate about agriculture and Rural America is a good thing.  It was also simply wonderful to see some of the people who I have gotten to know through FUE and Farmers Union, who have become very dear friends, and also to get to know some new friends even better- Laura and Jake, for example. I literally have not laughed so much in a long, long time as I did while in Wichita, and that's due to spending quality time with some funny, amazing, intelligent people. I returned home feeling charged up and empowered to continue moving forward within this organization, and knowing that I have a strong network of friends throughout the country who feel the same way. 

NFU President Roger Johnson addresses the Delegation before proceedings began.
The other people are members of the National Policy Committee.
The Montana Delegation was seated in the front row, so this was my view for the entirety of policy debate! Awesome to be right in the action!!

When I got back to school on Wednesday afternoon, just in time for track practice, I was feeling excited about how the previous four days had gone but also very tired from travel. It also turned out that I would be the only coach available to coach about 20 high school kids at practice that day. I began practice by apologizing for having missed so many days of practice and explained where I had been. One kid asked me, incredulously, "You mean you were, like, doing government stuff?" And I replied by explaining that at the time, Government was not a class I enjoyed, but now I was sure glad I had that background because it gave me the framework to make this convention the success that it was. 

What can I say-- I'm kind of a big deal. ;)

Tentative 2015 Race Schedule

Hello, hello! I hope everyone had a good weekend.

My weekend was short, but productive. I kicked it off by staying after school on Friday for some North Star basketball! The Knights were taking on the Turner Tornadoes. Both girls and boys teams won their games and were very fun to watch! I saw a lot of pretty impressive play from both teams. Hopefully I can get to another game soon, and bring Jeff. :)

In the Gildford Gym.

Otherwise, I got some much-needed cleaning and housework done around home, and Jeff and I took a brief trip to Havre yesterday for some errands and a movie. We went to American Sniper. It was pretty good. I didn't know it was based off the story of a real person until the movie ended, so I found it pretty fascinating in that sense. I typically don't love war movies or long battle scenes, and this movie was a lot of both of that, but they balanced the battle scenes and war with some emotional family and relationship scenes. The main character, Chris Kyle, is an inspirational person and the story as a whole was good (and true!). Plus, I thought Bradley Cooper did a great job in his role. Definitely worth the price of admission to see this movie! After a really tough end to the week at school last week, some North Star basketball and a movie were just the escape I needed!

The other thing that happened on Friday is the RaceMT schedule came out. It's not an all-inclusive list of every race in Montana, but RaceMT is based out of Great Falls so the races they do have on their schedule are reasonably close to home for me. I've had some thoughts swimming around my head pertaining to racing and running in 2015 and trying to firm up an idea of what events I'd like to participate in this year, so the calendar from RaceMT helped solidify a few things for me. Most notably, my first race of the season!

Without further ado, here's my (tentative!) racing schedule for 2015!

May 17 (Sunday) Buffalo Jump Race Events, Ulm, MT. In the past they've done one or more of the following: Half Marathon, 10K, 5 Mile, or 3 Mile walk. I'll train for 5mile or 10K, whichever they do this year.  I think this is a trail run. They don't have a website for this race. I came pretty close to doing this one last year but decided against it in the end as I hadn't put in sufficient training to do a 10K at the time and I think the weather was bad. This race is on My Racing Bucket List, so if I do get it done this year, I'll be able to cross this one off the list!

Image source: www.getevent.com

June 7- Possible 5K race in Medora, ND, called the Medora Bully Run. My friend Adria mentioned doing this one because it's close to her hometown. I would probably be up for the road trip, and it looks like a fun race! We'll see.

Mid-June-- Dawson's Run 5K(ish) in Joplin, MT.  Date not set for this race yet. Last year, I was the first place Female finisher for this race. It would be so sweet to have a repeat performance!

June 27 or 28-- 5K somewhere in Iowa, since I'll be there for my Grandma's 90th Birthday celebration and family reunion. Here are a few I'm looking into--

• Kael Man 5K Takes place in Ames (my hometown) at Ada Hayden park, which is where I've run my ATB 5K. Would be cool to do another race there.
• Firecracker 5K in Williamsburg, IA. Pretty close to where my Grandma lives.
• DesMoines Color Vibe 5K. I've never done a color run, so it could be fun.

July-- Find at least one 5K or 10K somewhere in MT. Possibly corresponding with Missoula Marathon.  If I have friends who run the half or full marathon in Missoula this year, I'd like to try to go along, participate in a shorter race, and then cheer like crazy for my friends!

August-- probably no racing due to Harvest craziness.

September 12-- Kickin' Half Marathon and 10K, Great Falls, MT. 10K distance.  I did this race last September and it was pretty good. My first 10K finish!

October-- Opera Run in Bozeman (likely, but not guaranteed) I will do this one if we happen to be in Bozeman for a Bobcat game anyway. Some years it works out, some years it doesn't.

November-- Huffing for Stuffing in Bozeman or Burn the Bird in Great Falls, depending on where we are for Thanksgiving.

Of course, any and all of this is subject to change, but from here, that's more or less how I see my racing season shaping up.  For now, I'm just focusing on getting back in shape with Shape Up Montana, which starts on Sunday, and planning ahead for the Buffalo Jump race in May. It'll be here before you know it!

How was your weekend? If you're a fitness enthusiast, what's on your list this year?

Glacier New Year

Hi Everyone!

How were your holidays? Ours were great! We spent a lot of time with family, both Jeff's family and mine. It was great to catch up with everyone and spend time together.

I took almost two weeks off from the blog, too, which was a nice break, but I'm back at it now to share a photo-heavy post of our New Years retreat to West Glacier.

For part of my family's week-long visit, we decided to take a little mini vacation and head over the mountains to Glacier country. We had taken my family to Glacier on a previous visit, over the summer, but Jeff and I know how truly lovely Glacier Park and the surrounding area is in the winter and wanted to share that side of the park with my family too.

The drive from our house to West Glacier typically would take about 3.5 hours. This time, it took quite a bit longer as we had to drive very slowly through a whiteout ground blizzard near Browning. The picture below does not do justice to how harrowing the conditions really were! We could not see from one reflector to the next for a few miles at a time due to blowing and drifting snow. Definitely the WORST winter driving conditions I have experienced! But, as soon as we made it to the mountains, it was all good and smooth sailing from there!

This photo is just for any wheat farmers who may be reading:
See? They have wheat trains stopped in the mountains, too!

We stayed at a really nice guest house we had found on VRBO, called Glacier Ridge House. Here's their listing: http://www.vrbo.com/594060. The house was perfect! Just the right size for the five of us, well appointed, super clean and great attention to detail, comfortable, and most of all, it was close to everything we wanted to do! If you're looking for a place to take a getaway to the Glacier Park area, definitely check this place out! They've got some great winter specials right now, too. :)

Icicles hanging from the eaves looking out the second-story window of the guest house. 

It was pretty cold when we were in West Glacier, with temperatures in single digits, but that didn't keep us inside for long! On New Years Eve day, we bundled up heavily and drove into the park for some cross country skiing. In Glacier, the road is only open to Lake McDonald Lodge, but from there you can hike, ski, or snowshoe on the park road for quite a while. There were a few other trails open, too. My parents hiked a short distance up the Sperry Trail, which takes off right from the parking lot at Lake McDonald.

We received a really nice ski rack for Christmas! Thanks, Santa! :)

Jeff, my brother Ryan, and I decided to step into some skis and head up to McDonald Falls. We ended up doing a route that was 5.5 miles round trip. Most of it was on the well-traveled road, but some of it was more technical, up and down the forested hills along McDonald Creek. Ryan and I, being more novice skiers than Jeff, opted to remove our skis and walk on the packed snow for some portions of this leg of the trail.

This photo is a little blurry for some reason, but here I'm following Jeff and Ryan as we ski up the park road toward McDonald Falls. 

 In the above picture, you can see how well-traveled the main road is. It wasn't groomed, but there were definite ski tracks created by previous trail users. We saw a lot of people out, even though it was cold. After about two miles, we made it to the McDonald Falls overlook and stopped for a few photos.

Overlooking McDonald Falls.

 Then, we found where the trail went down to the creek and to a little footbridge and took some more photos...

On the footbridge over McDonald Creek.

Me and Jeff, enjoying a wintry moment! :)

Ryan on McDonald Creek.

 Ryan did really great on skis, especially since he had little to no experience with them prior to this adventure. He's a natural athlete and picked it up really fast. We all had a great time!

After we crossed the footbridge over McDonald Creek the path was not the well-travelled, hard-packed roadway we had been on up to this point. It was just a single track up and down some hills through a heavily forested area on the west bank of the creek. It wasn't like we were blazing trail, but the nice ski tracks we had been following earlier were not to be found here. There were also some fun hazards like branches in the path and rocks jutting out unexpectedly. We all snapped out of our skis at one point or another, just to ensure that no person or equipment was injured.

Technical skiing through the trees. 

 Just about when it got to the point where we were questioning whether or not we were on the correct path, the trail emerged from the woods and dumped us out onto the road again! Hooray!

Finally made it back to the road!

 Just across one more bridge and we'd join back up with the main park road and head up to the parking lot. After a few more quick photos, of course!

Silhouette of a skier on a bridge.

Looking at the beginning of Lake McDonald. 

Ryan and Jeff.

 Somehow, it seemed like we had to go uphill all the way back to the parking lot, but we still made it back in good time and met up with my parents. We loaded up our skis and headed back south toward the Apgar area of the park. From here, we snapped that classic Glacier Park photo that you see so often...

Iconic Glacier Park view taken from Apgar Village. 

That night, we enjoyed a nice dinner at Three Forks Grille in Columbia Falls to celebrate New Years Eve. We actually did not stay up until midnight to officially ring in the New Year as both my Mom and Jeff had really horrible colds and weren't feeling well. Plus, we were all tired from our afternoon of hiking and skiing in the park. Bedtime at 10:00pm felt just fine.

We did get up the next day and head to Izaak Walton Inn for a little more skiing on their nice, groomed, resort trails. New Years Day was even colder than the day before, and with people feeling crummy and the weather so frigid, only Ryan and I went out for some skiing. I just did laps on one of the small loops that they have, trying to get better at going downhill on nordic skis. Then, we all enjoyed a lovely New Years Brunch in the hotel restaurant before packing it in and heading back East for home.

View of the Izaak Walton Inn from the ski trails. Pretty idyllic setting, huh?

We saw my family off to the airport on Friday afternoon. By then, I was starting to come down with this cold/flu thing pretty bad myself. I spent yesterday pretty much in bed all day with a fever. bleh. Today I feel much better, and tomorrow it's back to school. :)

How did you spend New Years Eve? What are you looking forward to in 2015?