The story behind Highland & Co. Acres
If you had told us years ago that we would be raising Highland cattle, preparing for calving season, welcoming guests to stay on our property, and building a life around this farm, we probably would have smiled and said you had the wrong family.
Because this life did not start with a grand farming plan.
It started with a shipping container home and a desire to live simply.
Back in 2016, we built a permitted, on-grid shipping container home so we could live mortgage-free. At the time, it was about creating a simpler life for our family, living with intention, and building something that made sense for us financially. It was never meant to launch a farm. It was just the first step in learning how to build a life a little differently.
Then 2020 happened.
Like it did for so many people, that season changed the way we looked at the world. What many people remember as the “toilet paper crisis” might sound almost laughable now, but for us it represented something bigger. It exposed how fragile normal life could feel. Store shelves emptied. Systems people depended on suddenly did not feel so dependable. And it pushed us to ask deeper questions about self-sufficiency, security, and the kind of life we wanted to build for our family.
That season lit a fire in us.
We wanted more than simplicity. We wanted resilience. We wanted to build something real.
So we made a decision that ended up changing everything: we turned our shipping container home into an Airbnb. What had once been our home became a way to create income, and that income gave us the ability to keep dreaming bigger. It became part of the foundation for what Highland & Co. Acres would eventually become.
As that dream grew, we purchased the neighboring property and began the long process of turning rough Pacific Northwest ground into usable pasture. It was not polished. It was not easy. This was overgrown land, heavy with the kind of work that does not happen overnight. Clearing, fencing, building shelter, running water, improving ground — every step took time, energy, money, and faith.
And somewhere in the middle of all of that, we brought home cows.
Not because we came from generations of farming.
Not because this was handed down to us.
Not because we had always known exactly what we were doing.
We did not grow up in this life – We learned it.
We learned by researching, asking questions, making mistakes, trying again, and showing up day after day. We learned through muddy boots, long nights, and constant problem-solving. We learned because we believed this life was worth building, even before we fully knew what it would ask of us.
For nearly three years, we lived in our shop while we poured our time, money, and energy into the farm. It was not glamorous. We went without comforts because the priority was never to make things pretty for ourselves first. The priority was fencing. Shelter. Water. Safe spaces. Infrastructure. The animals came first, and more often than not, we built around their needs before our own.
That part of the story matters to us.
Because Highland & Co. Acres was not created from convenience. It was built through sacrifice, determination, and a whole lot of figuring it out as we went.
More recently, we converted the shop into our home, which feels like its own full-circle moment. So much of this journey has been about building one piece at a time, living in the in-between, and trusting that all the hard work would eventually become something lasting. Looking back now, it is humbling to see how many seasons of sacrifice were quietly laying the foundation for the life we are living today.
Today, Highland & Co. Acres is a working farm centered around raising Highland cattle with intention. We care deeply about temperament, structure, maternal traits, soundness, and the kind of long-term quality that matters more than shortcuts or trends. We are still learning, still growing, and still refining our breeding program, but the heart behind it has stayed the same: build something honest, thoughtful, and sustainable.
And the Airbnb is still part of that story too.
What was once our home became a tool that helped fund this dream, and now it gives guests a chance to experience a little piece of farm life for themselves. The quiet. The views. The rhythm of the land. The cattle in the pasture. The beauty of stepping away from busy life long enough to breathe. In many ways, the Airbnb and the farm are forever connected, because one helped make the other possible.
This farm is not just about animals. It is about the life we built around them.
It is about choosing a different path.
It is about living with intention.
It is about responding to uncertainty by putting our hands to something real.
It is about faith, grit, sacrifice, and a willingness to keep going even when the road has been longer and harder than expected.
What started with a shipping container home and a desire to live simply became something much bigger than we ever imagined.
It became Highland & Co. Acres.
And we are still building it.
