Time outside

With all the nice weather we have been having we have been able to have a lot of fun outside.

Happy Joel in the swing

The kids and I took apart their playhouse and carried up to the top of their tree house.  About halfway through our little project I decided it was probably something I should have waited for Brad's help.  It was a lot harder than I thought!  But the boys thought I was really cool because I did it and they got to help.

Vince and a hose...watch out!

Cecilia enjoying time outside

Due to the fact that Joel thinks it is hilarious to "escape" from me most of our days start with a chase down the driveway to see who can get to the gates across the driveway faster.  So far even when Joel gets a decent head start I still beat him, even when I am carrying Cecilia.  She however does not enjoy our runs down the driveway as much as Joel.

I love my gates

Bristol the babysitter

The boys have been jumping on the little trampoline, swinging, playing in the sandbox, riding bikes, playing in the sprinkler and playing in the water table.  They also enjoy riding on the Gator together!  Joel actually gets his feelings hurt if Vince takes off in the Gator without him.  It isn't uncommon lately for me to be pushing Cecilia in the stroller around the yard following the boys in the Gator and then to lose the boys!  They love to drive around the dairy barn and yucky barn and the burn pile.  They usually loop back around to the backyard to find me and I am not there because I am trying to keep with them.  I don't worry unless I can't hear the Gator because that means they got off and who knows what they are doing!

Stop taking pictures and start pushing!

Gator Boys

We have been playing in the yucky barn (a barn we cleaned out that has some toys in it), playing soccer, baseball and making up games. The newest game is chicken and dinosaur.  One person is the dinosaur (specifically a t-rex) and everyone else is a chicken.  The chickens run around and make noises like and chicken and the dinosaur "eats" them.  Once the dinosaur eats you, you become the chicken.  Basically it is tag.  One of the twists is that sometimes there is a third person that is a "super hero" and can save the chicken so the dinosaur can't eat it.  Sometimes I get to be the super hero!

Joel smelling the flowers

Our yard is one of my favorite places to be!  I love playing out there with the kids!

Being a dog is so tough!

Dinner Guests

Last week friends of ours, Ben and Kristin, came over for dinner. Ben and Brad are in the Illinois Ag Leadership Program together.  We don't usually have dinner guests, I am not sure why but it just doesn't happen.  It probably has something to do with the fact we have 3 small children and we are lucky to get through dinner with out food being tossed on the floor.  Last week Brad told me that our friends were coming on Wednesday and it would either be around lunch or dinner.  It ended up being around dinner time and it didn't even make me nervous because they have 2 little boys as well.  They are 3 and almost 2 years old.

When I told Vince they were coming he was so excited he couldn't even take a nap, or that was his excuse.  Which was fine because he helped me get everything ready for dinner.  It was a lot of fun spending some one on one time with him.  When they got here after nap time Vince ran towards their truck screaming "Our friends are here! Our friends are here!"  The boys have really only played together one time and that was last year over Memorial Day Weekend, but the way Vince was acting you would have thought they saw each other all the time.  Most of the kids Vince plays with on a regular basis are girls and Joel rarely gets to play with any kids his age and is usually stuck with the older kids.

The older boys hit it off right way!  I am not sure if they knew each others names but when you are 3 years old it doesn't really matter.  When we were outside they were moving nonstop and having a blast!  The younger two didn't exactly hit it off.  Which was fine!  Two year olds don't always play together anyway and sharing is always a struggle.  Joel had his feelings hurt a little but the part that really hurt him was that Vince was playing with his new friend and not slowing down enough so Joel could play too.  Especially when the older boys took off in the Gator.  Joel couldn't believe that he wasn't the one in the passenger seat!  You could just see the hurt on his face.  The fact that they ran into him and over his toes a couple times with the Gator didn't really help the situation.

Once we came in the house the kids were up in the toy room or running around downstairs.  It was fun to have them just going back and forth without needing much assistance.  At one point the older boys were both in a soft sided tunnel we have and were spinning around saying "we are tormadoes" (tornadoes!).

The kids ate before the adults and it was the greatest decision ever!  They were off playing and we were mostly able to eat dinner without the kids needing us!  It was a great evening with friends.  Now if I could only have remembered to take some pictures. 

As many times as I have said (either silently or out loud) not nice things about the leadership program Brad is in, the one nice thing that has come out of the program is all the friendships he has made along the way. 

Our Garden

I don't have a green thumb.  I have tried planting gardens and they have failed.  Last year I thought I would try again and ended up with 1 tomato and 1 cucumber plant.  The tomato plant never produced anything, but the cucumber plant was a success!  Vince had so much fun checking on his plants and picking the cucumbers.  Every time there was a new one ready to be picked Vince would get so excited and insist I make cucumber salad.

Brad preparing the garden!

Since last year wasn't a total failure I thought instead of putting a couple plants in a large planter (where the dogs couldn't trample them) I would plant a small garden.  I was hoping to do it Mother's day weekend.  The Friday before Mother's day I went and bought some plants.  I may have gotten a little carried away.  I ended up with watermelons, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, green pepper and butternut squash plants.  I also picked up some green bean, pumpkin and carrot seeds.  Do I think they will all live? NO!  If I plant enough plants and seeds something is going to live, right?

The garden

It wasn't until the following Saturday they we were finally able to plant the garden.  Some of the plants didn't look real great.  Brad was busy spraying most of the week and I needed him around to use the rototiller and help decide on a location for the garden.  Plus he needed to have time to fix the rototiller before we could use it.  By the time the kids were up from their nap Brad was ready to start and they were ready to help!

Pumpkins starting to grow

The plan was that once the garden was ready to plant that I would do the planting.  Cecilia decided she was hungry about the time that Brad finished with his part of gardening.  I was going to wait until she was done eating and then hand her off to Brad, but Vince was anxious to start planting all his plants so Brad helped him.  I ended up just pushing Joel on the swing, holding Cecilia and watching Brad and Vince plant the garden.

Still alive

Since then I have been out there almost day watering it and yelling at the dogs if they go near it.  I feel a little more pressure now that Vince is so excited about it and Brad has so much time invested in it.  Maybe now that it is a family activity it will go better.  Hopefully we get some fruits and veggies to enjoy!

Jelly Belly Factory

Vince loves jelly beans and sometime this winter Grandpa Pat and Papa said they would take him sometime to the Jelly Belly factory.  Vince doesn't foget anything so he has been reminding them often.  We made the trip up there this past Sunday.  We took the motor home and left straight from church and picked my grandparents up on the way.

Vince hitching a ride

Buddies!

I never checked to see how many miles it was from my grandparents because my grandma told me it was 60 miles.  It turns out it is closer to 75-80 miles.  We had left a little late and I knew they closed at either 4 or 5pm.  After a quick phone call we found out the last tour left at 4pm and it closed at 5pm.  The ride up there was a lot of fun for me.  Cecilia slept most of the way.  Papa kept Brad company while he was driving.  My grandma, Vince and I played games.  Joel and I read books, and we all had some snacks.  When we got there we quickly went inside so we didn't miss the tour!

Brad and Cecilia on the tour train

My grandma pushed Papa in his wheelchair and Vince hitched a ride on Papa's lap.  Joel and Cecilia were supposed to ride in the stroller but after being strapped in a carseat for several hours Joel wanted nothing to do with the stroller.  I felt stupid but I put a little backpack harness (yes the kind with a leash) and told him to hold onto the stroller.  Joel listened!  Almost to a fault, he wouldn't even let go when I was trying to squeeze thru a door with the stroller.  We weren't there 1 minute and they started loading the tour train.  It was perfect timing!

Grandma Pat, Cecilia and Papa

On the tour the train drives around the warehouse and you watch video clips about the history of the factory and how things are made.  Vince loved every second of it!  He just loves to see how things are made.  Joel on the other hand didn't really like sitting still.  I basically spent the 15 minute tour holding him tight on my lap so he couldn't escape.

Joel being a good listener

After the tour we went into the gift shop.  As long as I kept moving around the gift shop Joel just held onto the stroller and didn't get into any trouble.  Vince stayed perched on Papa's lap.  Grandma spent her time trying to find chocolate orange peels, jelly beans and finding the boys special treats.  Brad went to the sample counter and tried some of the unique and slightly gross sounding jelly bean flavors (grass, pencil shavings, etc.).  Before we headed for home we spent some time playing in a grassy area and trying to wear off some of the kids extra energy.

Playing "lemons"  Joel was the broken car being towed

On the way home we stopped for a fancy dinner at Culver's.  It was a perfect place for us to eat and we were able to get a nice comfy corner booth where the kids could be contained.  What did Vince do to entertain all of us?  Try to suck up ketchup thru a straw and then procede to attempt to blow bubbles in the ketchup using a straw.  He saw nothing wrong with this.  When we finished Vince asked for one of his gummy worms that my grandparents got him from the Jelly Belly factory.  My grandma asked Vince where the worm was going to go after he eats it.  She was expecting him to say his tummy.  Instead he explained that it goes in his mouth and then he poops it out!  He is big on telling the whole story.  I wasn't paying attention to their conversation but when I looked over and say my grandparents laughing uncontrollably I thought I better ask what happened.

Super cute!

After we left Culver's we were in the motor home getting the kids changed and into pajamas.  The "naked running brothers," as they like to call themselves, made their nightly appearance!

Goofy boys!

I will be honest I really didn't want to go to the Jelly Belly Factory, but since everyone else wanted to go I went along with the idea.  I am really glad I did!  It was an interesting tour and a great day spent with my grandparents.

Grams and Cecilia

Silly Decisions

Earlier this week I stayed up way to late to get some things down around the house without my helpers.  At one point I heard a thud but no crying or footsteps so I went about my business.  Before I went to bed I went to check on the kids and found Vince laying face first on the floor on top of a pile of books that he had in bed with him when I put him to bed.  I picked him up and put him back in bed.  The next morning I asked him what happened and he had no idea.

So the next night Vince decides he wants to sleep on the top bunk.  In his room there are a set of bunk beds and a full sized guest bed and he rotates where he sleeps.  As long as he sleeps I really don't care where.  When I came downstairs after putting Vince to bed I told Brad that he was in the top bunk tonight.  Brad replied "Was that a good idea or a bad idea?"  He asked it just like I do to the kids.  I told him it was a bad idea but I really doubted he was going to fall out of bed two nights in a row, plus there is a guard on the top bunk to help hold him in.  Brad made me nervous so I quietly went in Vince's room and pulled the bottom bunk mattress onto the floor just in case!  When Vince woke up in the morning he asked why the bed was on the floor.  I told him I thought it would be fun to jump on.  I didn't want to tell him he could fall out of the top bunk and the mattress would be softer to land on than the floor.  I don't want him to be scared up there.

I have no pictures of Vince's outfit this morning, but I love the look on the boys' faces in this picture from last week.  They were making me chase them to get a picture.  It took awhile for me to catch up and snap this photo.

Vince has been bugging me to let him set up the new sprinkler Joel got for his birthday.  This morning before work I told him it was going to warm today and might be a good day for the sprinkler.  He dug it out of the closet and I got it out of the box.  I went outside to water the garden and put a few toys away and to carry a few things to my car.  I left Vince inside the house and told him to get his shoes on and meet me outside.  When he was coming outside he was wearing his fleece pajamas and was wearing gym shoes and a winter jacket with the hood up.  Once we got the sprinkler set up he turned it on and tested it out.  He wanted to go play in it but I told him if it was cold enough that he needed a winter coat and fleece pajamas he probably shouldn't be playing in the sprinkler.  It had to be at least 70 degrees and windy out.  I really need to hide the footie and fleece pajamas!

Wake Up!

Over the last month or so Brad and I have been trying to decrease the amount of time the kids are watching TV, movies, playing on the iPhones, etc.  I didn't want to ban the TV completely because I do enjoy being able to take a shower or cook dinner without "help" and movies make that possible (usually). 

The reason this all came about is that the kids were stealing my phone and throwing fits when I would take it back to make phone calls or even answer phone calls.  If I needed to use my phone I had to sneak around so the boys wouldn't notice.  It was ridiculous!  I did try putting a password on it but they are determined and would just spent their time trying to figure out the password and get frustrated.  Joel doesn't say many words but could say "apple" and it meant he wanted to watch a movie on Netflix via Apple TV.  It was annoying me!  At one point I threatened to throw the TV in the garbage.  Vince told me I couldn't because "Daddy would miss it and it wouldn't fit in the garbage can.

The new rule around here is you can only use Mommy's iPhone when Mommy is taking a shower.  Brad and I recently got new iPhones and we still have our old ones.  The other time they can use the old iPhones is on long car trips.  Unfortunately for the kids I "misplaced" one of the phones and the other one that lives in the truck is rarely charged because I "forget" to charge it.  I am basically weaning them off the from the iPhones.  They don't realize what I am up to!

Joel has taken to all of this quite well.  He will actually see my phone around the house and bring it to me instead of stealing it.  I still give him the phone if we are out somewhere and need him to sit still or be quiet, but I am depending on it less.

Vince has taken to waking up with the sun or before it.  He crawls in our bed, wakes me up and says "uh, Mommy are you going to go take a shower now?"  If I happen to say yes or tell him soon then he will ask if it will be a long shower.  I always tell him yes because he really won't know the difference.  A few weeks ago I woke up to Vince staring at me and telling me the sun was almost up and I needed to wake up and take a shower.  He is almost 4 years old and he already knows how to work the system!  It has been getting better Vince is now waiting for the sun to come up before he comes in the room and begs me to take a shower.

In case you were wondering Joel likes to play games and watch "Up" on my phone.  Vince likes to play games and he has figured out how to work Netflix on my phone too.  He can figure out how to watch Diego or Dora or another favorite all by himself.  He thinks it is pretty fantastic!

G.G. and Nanno's Part 2

When we got back from the Children's Museum Cecilia was asleep.  My poor Grandma finally got Cecilia all to herself and she slept the whole time we were gone.  After we ate lunch and visited for a little bit.  I took the boys for a walk in the stroller hoping they would fall asleep before we got to the park.  They were too busy checking out all the houses, trees, sidewalk cracks, etc that they never took a nap.  On our walk I pointed out "my tree" that my grandparents planted when I was a baby.  It is amazing how big it is now.  The kids were impressed by "how shady it was".

My Tree

It was the same park that my dad took us to when we were visiting my grandparents.  The same tennis courts where my dad would make me play tennis.  I never loved it only because I think he always picked the hottest time of day during the hottest day of the year to teach me tennis.  The equipment is nothing like it used to be, but it is probably safer.  Both Vince and Joel were off and running.  I could hardly keep up.  A couple times Joel wanted Vince to wait for him and would yell "No Bincey. No!" when Vince got to far away from him.

G.G. and Cecilia

Before long I convinced the boys to head back.  They were having fun but I really wanted to sit and talk to my Grandma!  We walked in just when Cecilia was waking up so it really was perfect timing.  Over dinner I was finally able to visit with Grandma and Nanno in between the kids begging me to play with them.  Vince kept saying "Mommy, I got something to tell you.  Who is going to play with me and Joel."  I tried to explain to them that they could play with each other and they didn't need me, but they weren't buying it.  For some unknown reason they started bringing rocks from around the air conditioner in the yard to me.  It worked because it kept them busy, I got to keep talking to my grandparents and when it was all done I had a giant pile of rocks to return to the air conditioner.

Vince in a "spider web"

Joel looking down at the web and a little too close to the edge for my comfort.

It was a fun day!  The kids were exhausted and all slept well that night!

Joel on the slides

G.G. and Nanno's house Part 1

Tuesday I packed up the kids bright and early (not really, it was 9am when we left the house!) and we headed to my Grandma and Nanno's house (my dad's parents).  It had been a long time since we had been at their house and I was looking forward to it. 

Driving the Ambulance

Over my life I have been to their house thousands of times.  I have driven there hundreds of times, but the last 5-10 minutes of the trip I always go the same way.  Tuesday as we were getting closer traffic came to a standstill.  I was behind a semi and couldn't see what was going on ahead.  When I got closer I could see that the road, the only way I knew how to get to my grandparents' was blocked off by squad cars.  A cop was redirecting traffic onto a ramp.  I stopped, rolled down my window and told the cop that I was driving to my grandparents and that I didn't know how to get there any way but the road I was on.  I don't think he was amused.  I told him the intersection they were near and he rattled off directions faster than an auctioneer.  I heard and remembered the part where he said "take the ramp..." and that was it.  Once we were on the ramp and not going anywhere fast I used my phone to get directions!  I felt so ridiculous!  Vince could sense I was worried, probably because he heard what I said to the cop, and he kept asking me how we were going to get to G.G.'s house.  I reassured him that we were fine and just going a different way.  To which he said "you know your grandma is kinda old!"  That caught me more off guard than the road being closed.  I told him she wasn't that old and he agreed that she was "only a little old." I went on to tell him how smart and fun she was and how she loved to read books!  He was really excited to get there and spent the last five minutes asking when we were going to be there.

Putting out a fire!

When we arrived at my grandparents' everyone was in a good mood, even Joel!  My grandma had cantaloupe ready for the kids.  She knows the way to their hearts.  After visiting for awhile the boys and I left Cecilia with Grandma and headed to the Children's Museum that was only 5 minutes away!

Joel driving the fire truck and Vince dressed as a fireman

 It was a great museum with tons of things the kids loved.  There was tracks that you could roll golf balls down, a water table, a sand table, slide, an ambulance to play in, a grocery store with a working scanner to shop in, a train table, a fire truck and more!

If you put your hands on the hands the drum would beat and according to your heart rate

 
There were literally 5 other kids there when we were there and it was awesome.  I could let both the boys run around and keep an eye on the gate to the exit.  I really didn't have to worry about the kids disappearing on me.

Joel was having so much fun!

My car on the other hand was parked in a random parking lot so I had to keep running to the window to check and make sure my car was there.  I found out later that they had free parking in the parking garage for museum patrons.  Now I know!

I couldn't get Joel to stay on the chair.  He didn't have time to sit still for a picture

Pajamas

Pajamas are a big deal for Vince.  He is suddenly very into what designs, pictures, etc are on the pajamas. They give him an identity.  He has always loved picking out his pajamas and would get really excited about certain pairs.  A few weeks ago I brought a box of clothes down from the attic for Vince.  His clothes were getting to small and we had a box of hand me downs the next size up in the attic.  A lot of the clothes in the box were pajamas.  Vince was in heaven.  He told Brad "Mommy went to the attic and got me new clothes!!!"  Since then he has been all about picking out his own clothes, pajamas and shoes.  He told me that "sandals are only for the desert and beach and not the sandbox!"

Vince's favorites pajamas vary by the day and usually involve rockets or dinosaurs.  Luckily there are 3 different pairs or rocket pajamas but there are very few dinosaur pajamas.  There are also some soccer and basketball pajamas.  Vince will run upstairs at bedtime, pick out his own pajamas (don't even bother helping), put on a pull up and then come find us and announce what he is for the night.  "I am rocket man!" or "I am soccer man"  or "I am dinosaur man!"

Last night Brad and Vince were going to sleep in the camper in the yard.  It was about 75 degrees and humid last night.  Vince picked out fleece long sleeve and pant pajamas.  I walked into his room when he was putting them on.  I told him it was a bad idea because it was so hot out that he really needed to pick something with shorts.  He would hear nothing of it and told me "Go brush Joel's teeth.  I don't want your help!"  We went back and forth about the pajamas for 15 minutes.  I tried to encourage him to make the right decision.  Failed!  I tried bribery: "I will tell you what fun thing we are doing tomorrow if you pick out different pajamas." Failed!  I tried reasoning: "Vince you will be very hot, those are winter pajamas and it is summer time.  You will get hot and not get a good nights sleep."  Failed!  He told me that he sleeps better when he is hot.  I even tried compromise:  "You can just wear your shirt to bed or pants but not both.  Your can sleep in different pajamas and cuddled your dinosaur pajamas.  Or, I can cut them and make them shorts and a short sleeved shirt. "  Then  he started crying because "when winter comes I will be cold." 

After 15 minutes of nonsense I was coming to the conclusion that I was going to lose this battle and perhaps isn't really wasn't a battle worth having.  After all he would be sleeping in the motor home and I would be in the house, so it wouldn't be me Vince was waking me up in the middle of the night because he was hot.  We went downstairs and let Daddy attempt to talk some sense into Vince.  He didn't have any better luck!  It turns out Vince just loves the pajamas and we weren't going to convince him otherwise.

As soon as Vince and Brad came in the house this morning Vince came to find me.  "Mommy, I sleep really good when I am in hot pajamas and I don't sleep good when I am in short pajamas!"  It was the first thing he told Brad this morning too.  Nothing like proving a point my strong willed friend and rubbing our noses in it!  All I really could do was smile and say "I am glad you slept well."

Romeo and Juliet

My nephew, Keith, has been begging for a cow for at least 1 year.  On Sunday (Mother's Day) his dream finally came true and he became the proud owner of 2 calves, Romeo and Juliet.  Before you ask he named them all by himself without any influence from his sisters.  And yes he knows they are from Shakespeare.  I asked!

Keith, Juliet (black) and Romeo (roan)

I am very excited for Keith!  He is going to learn a lot as he takes care of these calves and he hopefully he will have a lot of fun with them along the way.

Joel looking at the calves

On Monday we were able to meet Romeo and Juliet.  Vince and Joel both liked them from a distance.  Vince did end up petting Romeo but Joel wouldn't leave Uncle Bob's arms.  Uncle Bob got Joel out of the truck when we got to the farm and for the rest of the time we were there Uncle Bob was Joel's best friend.  Joel never once even tried to come to me or yell "mommy!"  It was kind of nice.  

Uncle Bob and Joel

Joel was really in love with his cousins' bunny.  He was so excited around the bunny and was babbling and going on and on in a very excited voice but who knows what he was saying.  All I could make out every once in awhile was "bunny."  I am not even sure he was trying to speak English!

Karoline holding the bunny for Joel

Mother's Day

I started my Mother's Day early.  It wasn't planned that is just the way it turned out and I wasn't going to complain.  Friday afternoon we were really slow at work, so they let me leave in the afternoon.  I was able to get a few errands done and get home early.  Katie, our babysitter, was happy to stay around for a couple hours so I could go ride my horse...alone!  So much fun!

Vince and Aunt Kasi

Mom and Tina

Saturday when I got home from work it was just about time to get the kids down for a nap.  Cecilia was already sleeping, so I quickly put the boys down to sleep.  My intention was to get some quiet time to write blogs.  Then Vince looked at me with his big eyes and asked if I could lay down with him.  I didn't even hesitate!  It was rainy and cold outside and was the perfect day for a nap.  About 1.5 hours later Cecilia and Joel woke up.  We went in my room and watched a movie and about 30 minutes later Vince joined us.  We all just cuddled and watched a movie until almost 5:30 when we all realized we were hungry!

Aunt Kasi trying to get Cecilia to smile!

Aunt Kasi and Cecilia

Sunday the kids and Brad gave me nice cards then we hurried off to church.  We are almost always in a hurry to get out of the house on Sunday mornings.  Brad stayed in the nursery with Joel so I could enjoy the sermon. 

Grandma Dawn and Cecilia

Aunt Alyse teaching Vince how to walk a dog.  He got tired of it and when Alyse walked away Vince hooked the leash on the door.

After church we headed out to my grandparents to meet up with the rest of my family.  We had such nice weather on Sunday!  We talked about wedding plans, school, graduations, took turns chasing the boys, and playing in the yard on an air mattress.  Brad kept launching Vince and Kennidy off the air mattress.  I think he was the only one who ended up getting hurt.

Brad and Vince about to launch Kennidy

Aunt Kennidy and Vince

It was a great weekend even though I never got a picture with all three of the kids and me!

The 1 Ton

Brad has 3 older vehicles that don't run.  Two live at our house and the third one I think I have seen once.  It lives in a shed on a friend's farm, it is a International fire truck.  There is a blue International Scout that Brad restored in high school (his mom let him skip school to work on it his senior year!) that needs some restoring again. There is also a Chevy Crew Cab 1 Ton that can run on propane or gas.  The 1 ton hasn't run for a long time and to be honest I don't even know why it doesn't run.  There was some rumor about a battery and maybe the transmission or maybe I should pay closer attention.

He wasn't having any fun!

Brad had the 1 Ton in college and they used to have a grill hooked up to the propane tank in the bed of the truck.  They would grill out, take the truck to parties, bars, and have a grand old time in the truck.  From the stories I have heard sometimes they had to get random people to drive them back to their fraternity in the truck.  Brad was a senior at the University of Illinois when I was a freshman.  We didn't know each other then, but my dorm was across from Nabor House (his fraternity) and I remember seeing the 1 Ton driving around campus.  Brad has a lot of memories in the truck and therefore has some big attachment to it, so do some of his pledge brothers.  In the past I have mentioned that if we got rid of it he could use all the money toward fixing up the Scout.  Apparently that wasn't enticing enough.

They were almost all looking at the same time.

Over the past 6-7 years I have gone in phases where I either bug Brad about getting rid of the 1 Ton or I just ignore it completely and hope it just disappears someday all on its own.  No such luck so far!  About 6 months ago Vince started believing that daddy had two monster trucks a blue one and a white one.  I brought up getting rid of the 1 Ton and Brad quickly said to Vince "Mommy wants to get rid of the white monster truck."  Vince started crying and spent the next few days being mad at me and yelling at me for getting rid of daddy's monster truck. 

This may have been when Brad was explaining to Vince to not let Joel touch anything...good luck!

I know it sounds mean that I want Brad's truck gone, but I have been in the mood to clean things out and get everything organized around here.  I was only wanting 1 out of the 3 trucks gone so I figured that was pretty nice.  Anyway, its not that I don't have good memories of that truck.  After all Brad picked me up on our first official date and took me to the drive in movie in that truck.  Once we got there he grilled a delicious meal complete with corn on the cob and homemade applesauce (compliments of his sister in law Michelle).  Once the truck died on the side of the interstate (on an off ramp I believe) and I pulled it home for Brad with the truck I had at the time that was significantly smaller.  There were even 1 or 2 winters where our propane tanks were out and Brad hooked the truck up to the house to run the heat (from the truck's propane tank) so that we could get by until our propane tank was filled later in the day (hillbilly or resourceful?).  Plus there were many nights while we were dating and newly married where we would grill out in the truck with the camping grill (the only one we had at the time), turn on the radio and dance outside until our food was done.  If the weather wasn't nice we would just park the truck in the shed.

One of many attempts to get a good picture.  The boys had no interested in looking at the camera at the same time.

Last week sometime I mentioned to Brad that we really needed to get the Scout off the jacks in the dairy barn because it was too dangerous and that it would be great to get the white truck out of the shed so we had more room for the motorhome.  I wasn't even trying to suggest getting rid of them and Brad jumped on the idea.  So getting the truck out of the shed became the new project.

Moving the 1 Ton out of the shed

Brad asked Vince to help him and Vince was happy to help.  Brad hooked a tow strap up to the white 1 Ton, got in our white truck (that runs) and needed someone to steer the 1 Ton.  That was Vince's job with Joel in the passenger seat "helping."  Vince was doing pretty good for awhile but it was too hard for him to steer the wheel, so I jumped in and helped.  The rest of the night and the next night or so were spent with the kids playing in the truck while Brad worked on it.  When the kids got bored they would run and jump in the puddles and play in the mud.  It was a win win for everyone because the 1 Ton is now parked right by the giant muddle puddle and pile of dirt!

Brad giving Vince instructions on how to steer

The 1 Ton hasn't moved from its new location in the barnyard, but we have a lot more room in our shed.  I don't know what the next step is in the process of finding it a new home, but I can only hope that getting it out of the shed was the first step.  Anyone interested?  All I can say is that the price will be a lot lower if you deal with me instead of Brad.  Shoot...he reads this regularly....I may be in trouble.  My horse may suddenly have a low price tag too :)