Stone Brook Farms is a family owned and operated suri farm in Michigan.  When we were first introduced to alpacas at our local fair we instantly fell in love with the long fiber of the suri.  They looked majestic and seemed to command our attention.  We knew then we wanted to raise alpacas on our own farm with our children.  The only problem with that dream is that we still lived "in town" with no luck whatsoever of purchasing land in Leelanau County after looking for several years.  We were also selling our 95 unit resort on Lake Michigan that we had built after graduating from college.  Tonya had recently gone through chemo and surgeries after getting cancer that was a result of a pregnancy.   We had begun the adoption process and were waiting for a referral from Russia.  Well, the referral came and after a total of 5 trips to Russia our family had grown from Josh, Tonya, Alexandra (age 3) to Josh, Tonya, Alexandra, Cameron (age 1), Quinn (age 1) and Anastasia (age 10 months).  Things were busy to say the least.

We didn't give up our dream to raise alpacas, but we just couldn't start purchasing until everything fell into place.  In November or 2001 we purchased 72 acres of beautiful land in the heart of Leelanau County.  Our dream was becoming a reality.  The only problem was: we really needed to build a house to live in before we could move.  So in the spring of 2002 we broke ground on our new house.  The house sits atop a glacial deposit of rock, gravel and sand.  We knew that the only reason the deposit was sitting in the middle of an old field was to give everyone a beautiful view of Leelanau County's rolling hills, Lime Lake and in the northern distance views of Lake Michigan and South Fox Island.  We just couldn't bring ourselves to build anywhere else but on that special stone hill.

We finished the house, well maybe "finished" isn't quite the correct word, but we moved into the house in February 2003.  Tonya was plagued with back problems (I wonder why) and finally got an explanation as to "why".  Two ruptured disks were the reason for all the pain, numbness and loss of control of her lower leg and foot.  Hmmm, guess we better wait to buy alpacas until after the surgery.  So three months after back surgery our first suri alpacas arrived at our farm.  It was November of 2003 and we watched the first part of herd come together in our pasture.  It was an exciting day for all of us. 

Since November 2003 we have grown to over 81 suri alpacas  at our farm and over 30 cria expected to be delivered in 2007.  We have had good success in the show ring and have had a wonderful time.  Our oldest daughter has now begun to show and she loves it,  she is also a wonderful barn helper.  Our three youngest children enjoy the alpacas (and barn cats) and will undoubtedly be entering the show ring within the next couple of years as well.

As our herd continues to grow, and our original goal of 20 breeding females has been met, we find ourselves working on barn plans for a new barn.  We know we have another big job ahead of us this spring, along with a show circuit, but we seem to always tackle the big projects without hesitation. Winter is probably the best time to design a barn.  You tend to think of all the things you really want in a new barn before snow flies again. 

Well, that is a little history behind how a UofM graduate with a BS degree in Nuclear Engineering and a Grand Valley State University graduate with a BS degree in Biology came to raise suri alpacas and  four children all on a little piece of 'heaven on earth'.