What a Labor Day

A year ago we went camping on Labor Day and enjoyed cool temperatures and fabulous weather. This year, we stayed home, worked around the farm and hung out with family.

 The day started with cutting down a birch tree next to my parents house that died this summer.  It wasn't a huge project and went quickly but it seems like most projects around the farm turn into full family affairs.

 The boys watched from the ladder, while Ben got rope around the tree, in the end my dad used the saw while Ben, mom and I pulled the rope to make the tree fall in an open area of the yard.

 And just like that, the tree was gone.  The clean-up didn't even take very long.

 Now we have a lovely pile of wood to burn at our fire ring this fall.  It was a steamy 105 degrees outside today, but we trust that eventually it'll be cool enough to make a fire sound appealing.

 For our second family project, the four of us headed out to the old pasture to pull out the old electric fencing.  I learned how to drive a tractor (that only took 31 years to accomplish), while the boys and Ben worked together on the fencing.  My heart smiled the entire time as I sat and watched the three of them work together.

 Once the fence was out of the way, Ben took the mower out and leveled off the weeds that had grown out of control this summer.  It may be out in the distance, but the view from our windows was drastically improved today.

 Rylee, Noah and Levi cooled off this evening playing in the sprinkler.

 Umbrellas certainly seemed to make playing in (and out of) the sprinkler more fun.  

It was a FULL day, but a fun one.  It was great to spend time with my entire family, get some projects ticked off the list, eat great food and spend some time relaxing!

Dad's 60th

A 2 1/2 inch rain in a summer of drought certainly counts as a fantastic birthday gift.  However, that same rainy weather derailed a great birthday celebration plan for my dad.  The plan was to surprise him with an airplane ride that would take my parents around the farm, the fields, where ever he wanted and then land them on the grass landing strip in Beaumont, KS.  

Beaumont has an interesting history and maintains the grass landing strip as a unique feature that brings people to their town.  They also have a hotel and restaurant making it a quaint destination.  But, since the airplane ride was out of the question due to the risky weather, our entire family ended up driving.

We ate a delicious meal in the small restaurant and gave dad some gifts.  The rain let up by the time we were finished so we could explore a little bit around the restaurant/hotel.

The history of this place was pretty interesting,

and the kids needed a little time to run around.

I tried to get a photo of the three grandchildren together...it didn't quite work.

I did get some of my parents, though!

This one's a little better.

Beaumont was a great place, but flying in would be a lot more exciting than driving in.

The airplane ride wasn't forgotten, just rescheduled for Labor Day!  Mom and dad went up with our friend Brian, while the rest of us stayed at the farm and waited for them to fly over.

 They made a couple of passes over head

 while we stood out in the grass and waved.  The kids got a kick out of it.

 Hopefully, dad felt like he was celebrated because that's what we intended to have happen even if the rain rearranged our plans.

Happy 60th dad!!  We love you so much!

Rainy Day

We thoroughly enjoyed a couple rainy days over the weekend. 

I think the garden enjoyed the long drink. The pumpkins are taking over the garden...hopefully the squash bugs won't take over the pumpkins.

 The boys and I had a great time walking around the farm on Saturday morning as the rain dripped from the sky.  We fed the calves.

 We played in the muddy water.

 We played with the kittens.

 We walked around the yard, visited grandma and grandpa's house and took a walk out in the pasture. The boys were just sure that the creek would be running after an inch of rain.  Sadly, they weren't right.

Thank you Lord for sending rain!

Two firsts today

The first day of First Grade!

He was actually OK with me taking photos of him this morning so I took full advantage! 

 Cowlico is his kitten so he wanted a few photos with it (I don't know if Cowlico's a boy or girl). When Noah named his kitten he said it was black and white like a cow, so it should be called Cowlico - hence the spelling. Little Gracie wanted in the photos too.

 Noah admitted to feeling nervous last night, but this morning he seemed pretty relaxed, confident and excited to go back to school.

 His backpack has two key chains on it from my parents' recent trip to Ecuador.  The cowboy boot is by far the favorite.

 When we got to the school he was really slow to get out of the car. He wouldn't admit to feeling nervous, but I know he was.  After I gave him a hug and kiss and he yawned and stretched for a bit (something he did every day before being dropped off last year) then he opened the door and went for it!

 His report to me this evening was that his teacher was actually very nice (like he was surprised), that he'll have homework, that he gets two recesses, he can have his own water bottle at his desk and that the toilet in their bathroom won't flush on its own before he wants it to. Apparently, this was a big problem for him last year in the Kindergarten bathroom. :-)
I feel proud of him and am continually amazed at how big and grown up he is.

Fishing at the Marina

I know very little about fishing. I do know that my father in-law enjoys it and knows a lot about it. It's wonderful that he shares fishing with our boys, too.  We lucked out during our camping trip when Tim found out we could fish in a particular area of the marina where a bunch of huge carp reside.  

 Tim fished with canned corn as his bait and the guy from the marina let Levi throw dog food in the water to lure the fish to where we were.

 Before we knew it, BINGO!

 And it wasn't just one fish.....they caught more than 10 fish in less than two hours!

 Since I don't know how to fish and have little inclination to start now, I busied myself with taking photos of the action.

 Grandma and Levi made fish faces to each other.

 Levi did help reel in this fish.  It took a long time but he pretty much stuck with it.

 All the fish got thrown back into the water.  Our fishing was more for the fun and adventure then for a meal.  And once those of that were not fishing got restless, we spent a whopping $5 on an hour-long paddle boat rental.  It's been years since I last paddle boated and it was just as much fun as I remembered!  Noah tried peddling for a bit but his legs weren't long enough and it was frustrating for him.  Levi declined a ride because he was afraid he'd fall in the water. We tried over and over to assure him that there was nothing to be afraid of, but he wouldn't leave the shore.

 Fishing and paddle boating, what a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

Mmmmm paddle boatin.....Come on, you know the Little Big Town song, "Pontoon" right? During our paddle boat ride I kept singing the song to Ben. :-)