Our Adventures in noTTafarm Forest: Recap: 5th Annual Lumberjack Day!

Saturday, October 3 proved to be a quintessential fall day; blue skies with an occasional fluffy cloud, a light cool breeze, and a high temp of about 65 degrees. Sounds like the perfect day to celebrate noTTafarm by hosting our fifth annual "Lumberjack Day!" A smaller but mighty group of family and friends spent the day (or part of their day) enjoying the beautiful sunshine and a hotdog or two. Check out the fun!

The scene was set with the hanging of the banner from the wedding arch.

Just for fun, I had t-shirts printed with our new invitation artwork.

This year was a first for my little pumpkin display. It's never too early for Halloween, right?

Our first guest arrival was: Bennett!

Lumberjack Day would not be the same if the Kupzyk family was tardy. Bennett sported his moose hat and a plaid lumberjack jacket. Plus, he brought along his new baby brother! (keep scrolling for Elliot's picture)

My mommy with our niece Chelsie

My folks missed last year's Lumberjack Day due to my dad's knee surgery. It sure was nice to have them back in action!

Kevin, Scott and Dad got the big fire in the former pond/landfill area started before lunch. The crew steadily added cedar branches to it throughout the afternoon.

Our sister-in-law, LuAnn, created these adorable pretzel rod axes. It was her first experience with fondant, and these were a huge hit!.

Thanks, LuAnn!

Scott's newest co-worker, Lauren, stopped by for a tour. She and her husband are remodeling an 100+-year old farmhouse in the Elkhorn area so she was inspired by Scott's design. Lauren surprised us with a horseshoe set which the kids immediately took a shine to.

Thanks, Lauren!

Maybe those oversized marshmallows were a bad idea. Dad couldn't eat his s'more without making a mess!

Our beautiful friend, Megan, came all the way from Lincoln to join the fun.

She's the best!

As promised, here's a picture of Bennett's new baby brother, Elliot. Sara, Kevin and the boys stayed and had fun all day ~ and everyone that needed some baby cuddle-time was rewarded.

A nature hike wouldn't be complete without a cute puppy! Luckily, Chelsie brought along Kiya who did a fine job as she walked along with Megan, Chelsie, and Sara (our nephew Joe's adorable girlfriend.)

Hi, Joe!

Yes, you are a very stylish lumberjack. Yes, your girlfriend is the cutest. Yes, I will pay you 25 cents per cedar tree harvested.

Here's our great niece, Allie! She is always full of smiles and silliness.

Here's Allie's little sister, Maggie! She is very excited to announce that she will be a big sister in April when Nick and Brooke's third baby is born.

Congratulations!

My big brother, Mark, and his big son, Nick, did a great job of cutting down cedar trees. Sadly for them, Scott decided that he wanted to save all the trunks . . . so all the lumberjacks had to cut all the cedar branches off and haul them to the burn pile on the trailer.

The reward for hauling cedars is a free ride on the trailer! This parade had a appreciative group of spectators. No word from the Safety Council on the wisdom of this stunt.

Not to be outdone, Joe did his share of cutting, hauling, and parading.

Hi, Meredith!

11-year-olds are awesome, aren't they? I was so excited to welcome Leigh Anne and Meredith back to noTTafarm. Most of the following photos were taken with my camera by Meredith. She and Allie ran all over the place taking interesting shots.