Erica & Rylee @ the Farm

We'd all been looking forward to Saturday for a couple of weeks. My sister and niece were planning to be out at the farm to get in on the tail end of wheat harvest - or at least that was the plan. The continued rains have kept us out of the fields for over a week now. So we kept busy doing other things! 

Levi and Rylee each took turns playing Grandma's violin. 

 And in the afternoon - just after it quit raining - we went swimming! I didn't think it was hot enough to get in, but the kids had a fantastic time in the water.

 Levi was pumped to be able to wear his goggles!

 My aunt and uncle have this fun (and fast!) merry-go-round thing.

 The kids got it going pretty fast! I got dizzy just watching them.

 My boys ate breakfast, lunch and supper at their grandparents' and it was great to share a couple of meals with Erica and Rylee. The  kids played dress-up and baseball and much more.

Our kittens are getting a bit more brave - providing quite a bit of entertainment for us. Although, each time Harrold comes around they puff up and hiss at him fiercely. 

 The weather was perfect for sitting on the deck and visiting. 

 And then FINALLY it was time to catch fireflies! Levi had been waiting all week to catch fireflies with Rylee.

Fireflies cover the yard between our house and my parents' - making it a magical place just after the sun sets. Erica was antsy to get going home so we had the kids start catching them as soon as the first ones were lighting up.

 Ben helped corral the bugs for the kids and they ran around and grabbed as many as they could!

 Nothing like running around the yard in your jammies catching fireflies!

Swimming Lessons

Last week was swimming lesson week for the boys. They always look forward to them and this year was no exception. Addi, my cousin's daughter taught them at my aunt and uncle's pool. She's young, a rookie teacher, but she did a great job!

 The boys had a wonderful time with her and I KNEW that Addi is a pro at swimming. She's been on a swim team for years and is basically a fish (does that make her a mermaid?). :-)

 It turns out she's pretty good at teaching too!

 The boys are very easily distracted during lessons but Addi didn't give them a chance to mess around. She kept them moving from one thing to the next, gave them choices when she could and set good goals and boundaries.

 On Friday, the only day I could take the boys myself we forgot to take their swimming goggles with us! It was a near disaster for Levi but thankfully he finally accepted it. Although there was lots and lots of eye rubbing going on.

 Levi and Noah both gained a lot of confidence in the water. Levi is lacking a bit of coordination yet but he knows what to do and can at least hold his own for a little while in deep water.

 Here's Addi giving Levi a choice about what he wants to do - choices are the way to that kids' heart for sure.

 She had him jump off the board and swim to the ladder...

 and he did it! He's good at kicking, and using his arms to do the free style but he can't keep doing all of that and breathe...something for us to keep working on. :-)

 One of the biggest hazards of teaching lessons has to be the splashing, right Addi?!

 It was a great week and thanks to good planning we got all their lessons in even though it rained nearly every day last week!

Sign us up for next year Addi!

Harvest! and Rain?!

Saturday we were rolling. The wheat was ready, the ground dry enough and a full crew of farmers ready to go. 

 Most of my Unruh cousins were hanging out helping with harvest - check out how many people are in/on that tractor. :-)

 The boys were busy all day moving from one piece of equipment to the next. Levi lucked out and got pizza and juice with Bruce & Eileen for lunch while taking a load of wheat to the elevator in Canton. By afternoon though, he had his snacks packed and was ready to ride in the tractor with cousin Kyle.

 I rode along with my dad while he finished up this field. Thankfully, the work on Saturday went smoothly and we were able to get a lot cut.

 Because since then it's rained around two inches bringing all field work to a screeching halt.

The plants are enjoying the rain and it's great not having to water the garden!

Harvest, boys & bales

Harvest is under way! Levi was ready for his combine ride as soon as I got home from work! He packed some crackers and a water bottle in his cooler and was ready to hit the road.

 He gladly hopped on with Grandpa and off they went!

 I looked around a bit and was just about ready to drive off when...

 I saw Noah coming up from behind me!

 He was in full farmer gear complete with John Deere t-shirt, pliers, sunglasses and jeans with holes in them.

 It was fun to stand on the road and chat with Noah while we watched the combine get closer.

 Harvest this year isn't expected too great - a dry spring doesn't lend itself to a bountiful harvest. Yet, there is grain in the fields and the farmers will work tirelessly for the next 10 (or more) days to gather it all in.

 Noah and Levi are used to riding along in the trucks when they bring wheat to the farm to store in our bins. But this year, because of the wheat futures markets, we're planning to haul all the wheat to the elevator.

 On one hand, harvest is all about going as fast as you can to harvest the wheat while the weather holds. But on the other hand, it also allows time to hang out on the road, watch caterpillars crawl on you and check out the flowers growing in the ditches.

 Levi wrapped up his ride and then we headed for home to see what Ben was up to.

 He was busy baling brome just behind the farm.

 Lucky for Levi, he got to go from combine to baler!

 The boys and I joke about how the baler "poops out" bales. You know, boy humor, right?

 Due to recent rains, there are lots of green shoots coming up through the just-swathed brome.

 Oh, if only this photo had smell! Freshly baled brome has such a sweet scent.

The boys have days of harvest activity in front of them. Hopefully, the adults can keep up!