A Little Trip Around the State

For two years Brad and I have wanted to get a wagonette for Ray to pull.  Currently we have a doctor’s buggy and it really isn’t fun to sit and watch Brad drive the kids around one at a time.  When one child is riding around the other is throwing a fit because it isn’t their turn.  The wagonette we liked could hold 6 passengers.  Brad had done some research and found out that the company that makes the wagonettes we really liked was sending wagonettes to an auction in Columbia, MO.  For a few weeks we have been trying to figure out how get down there and it finally came down to Brad, Joel, Cecilia and I would head down on a Tuesday and get back really late on Wednesday.  Vince would stay with Aunt Sarah, so he wouldn’t miss school.  

Joel cleaning up in the shop with Grandma

On Monday our farrier, Steve, was out at my mother in laws and he mentioned that his neighbor had some wagons he was selling.  Brad called Steve’s neighbor and he did have a wagonette for sale.  He couldn’t get any pictures to us, but it sounded like to was worth the drive (close to 3 hours).  If it wasn’t what we wanted then we had to figure out a plan to get to MO.

The wagonette!  The front wheels are turned so it looks funny here

Joel climbing into the sprayer

We went down on a Tuesday to look at the wagonette.  But in order to get there we first drove all over the state!  Bob wanted us to look at a head carrier (trailer to haul the attachment on the front of the combine that does the cutting) for the new bean head (the combine attachment that is used on beans and other grains).  The place was only 20 minutes from the house, so no big deal.  When we got there the head carrier wasn’t there, but a couple other ones were there and that helped us decide which head carriers we didn’t want.  Then we headed south about 2.5 hours to look at another head carrier.  The boys had fun looking around the dealership, but Cecilia was really hoping for some time to roll around and play on the ground.  We picked up some parts while we were there.  We then drove 40 minutes to drop off the parts to the guys in Farmer City.  Then another 1 hour east to see the wagonette.  It was a lot of time to spend in a truck with 3 small children, but they did really well!

Joel pretending to drive the sprayer

It was worth the drive and it was a lot less driving than MO!  We arrived to look at the wagonette and it turned out to be exactly the same brand and style of wagonette that we were looking at online.  So exciting!  The man we bought it from was quite the character and Vince didn’t really care for him, but Joel thought he was cool.  It might have had something to do with the golf cart he was driving and the hat he was wearing. 

Joel in the sprayer tire.  He is in love with the sprayer.

After at least an hour and a half of looking around at everything they had for sale and loading up the wagonette while the boys were playing in our truck (I had the keys in my pocket for obvious reasons) we headed for home.  It turns out the boys had a lot of fun in the truck unsupervised.  They ate some of the snacks I brought along, spilled ½ a gallon of water on the floor and managed to misplace 2 iPhones in the truck.  Two hungry active boys, alone in a truck (I was 5 feet away from it and the door was open) for 20-30 minutes was going to add up to trouble no matter which way you looked at it. 

 

Vince in the welding helmet telling us that he was helping Daddy

On our way to find food and home I fed the boys the rest of the snacks I had brought with us.  Then they fell asleep for a little while.  Then they woke up but weren’t complaining about being hungry.  Brad and I didn’t want to feed them fast food twice in one day (yuck!) so we just kept driving all the way home.  Not that popcorn, goldfish, and apples is a super healthy meal, but I have to believe it is better than fast food.

Vince "helping" Daddy weld

Once we got home it became apparent that the shafts they send with us were for horses and not a draft horse.  The company could send us some for $200 plus $500 shipping and we said no thanks!  They are made out of metal and Brad is handy and can weld.  This past Sunday, with the help of Vince, Brad made it so the shafts should fit Ray.  He also fixed the brakes that weren’t working.  So now we have a fully functioning wagonette that I find adorable.  While they were busy working Cecilia, Joel and I were checking out every piece of equipment in the shed.  The sprayer was Joel's favorite, probably because of the ladder you have to climb to get into it.  

Buddies working together to fix the wagonette for Ray

So far Brad is the only one that has pulled the wagonette around.  A couple days before we got the wagonette Ray stepped on an old piece of metal from a building that long ago stood in the pasture.  That metal had a nail in it that went right into Ray’s foot.  Ray is lame and can’t pull the wagonette for awhile.  Disappointing, but after this long what is a few more weeks?  Torture, that is what it is!  Here is your new toy, but you can’t play with it for a few weeks.  Just look at it

Ray and his duct tape bandage

A Sunday Ride!

A couple Sundays ago we wanted to go riding after church.  Since our trailer was full of desks that were headed to Nabor House, we didn’t have a way to take the horses anywhere.  We talked to my in laws and they were interested in going trail riding with us.  They picked us and the horses up and we headed to a state park about 40 minutes away.

Cecilia, Vince and Joel waiting to ride

Vince started out on Barney and then fell asleep, poor kid riding puts him right to sleep.  Joel had to ride Barney and he was NOT happy about it.  Grandpa Craig did a great job distracting him by suggesting they look for a bear.  Joel had to ride Barney down and up a pretty steep hill.  On the way back Vince was on Barney for the big hill.  Neither one of the kids seemed to notice they were on a big hill and seemed to enjoy it.

Vincent and Grandma Diane

Brad and Joel

Grandpa spent a good portion of the time leading Joel on Barney.  Both of them seemed to enjoy it and it was fun to see Grandpa Craig and Joel together.  Joel was not always happy and Grandpa handled it very well!  Vince rode with Brad for a while and Cecilia was stuck with me.  She doesn’t complain about it!  

Kelli and Cecilia

On the way back to the trailer I was leading Vince on Barney and he was very concerned about what we were having for dinner.  It was almost 6pm, so it was a good question.  He suggested that we have Culver’s.  We told him to talk to Grandpa because he was driving.  It didn’t take much convincing!  We enjoyed a nice dinner and ice cream at Culver’s.  We ended up getting home late, the kids were in bed late, and then I realized it was a school night.  Ugh, I don’t like school!  Do we really have 18 years of this ahead of us!

Grandpa Craig and Joel

What is with the Sporadic Posts?

Have you been thinking: Kelli, why haven't you been posting lately?  Your posts seem like they are all about stuff from over 2 weeks ago. 

Guess what?!  They are! 

Here is what happened over the last couple weeks:

Cecilia was sick for almost a week and harvest started all at the same time.  Lucky me!  Baby with a fever for 6 days=YUCK!

Ray stepped on a nail and I started having to wrap his foot once a day.  Ray is our draft horse.

My children don't feel the need to nap and when they do it is never at the same time.

Vince is in school which means a lot of time driving back and forth to school.  And Joel napping in the car, which mean no real nap at home.

HARVEST STARTED!  Fun times, but I lose my partner in crime.  Now I have to empty the garbage, do dishes every night and put all 3 kids to bed by myself.  I also can't give him the job of wrapping Ray's foot every night, because he isn't home.   Or the job of giving Ray his medicine in the morning.  Plus he can't do the grocery shopping or take Vince to school. This is not me complaining, it is our reality, but my blogging time suffers.  Some people have a glass of wine at night, I blog.  Perhaps I should take up drinking, you don't need wifi for that and I can do it while the kids are awake :)

My internet was down a few times, so blogging becomes impossible.

Our washing machine broke and flooded my upstairs laundry area and my living room downstairs.  I have a whole blog post coming on this, probably in 2-3 weeks.

I can't live on 3 hours of sleep.  If I could I would be able to have a clean house, play all day with the kids and blog and work on a few shutterfly books I just dream about making.  But I can't, I have to get some sleep.

My children don't think they need to sleep through the night lately.  At least 1 if not 2 or all 3 have been up 4 out of 7 nights for the last 2 weeks.  Which means I am too tired to stay up at blog.

So, if the posting is sporadic you know why!  Someday harvest will be over and I can hopefully get a little more time to myself, other than at midnight when everyone is asleep. 

Jill and Joe's Engagement Party

The weekend after Labor Day we celebrate Jill and Joe’s engagement!  Joe’s family invited all of us to their house to meet their family (immediate family, aunts and uncles, and grandparents).  I was a little nervous about bringing the kids because there was going to be a lot of people they didn’t know and rumor had it there was a pond and a pool.  I wasn’t as worried about Vince or Cecilia, but Joel doesn’t always do well at parties when he doesn’t know anyone.  At least that is what I thought, but like usual Joel surprised me.  He was outgoing, happy, sweet and made friends with several of Joe’s aunts.  He really wanted to go swimming in the pool, but after attempting to open the pool gate and failing several times he got over it.  The other time that Joel was so outgoing at a party was also with Joe’s family, so I have concluded he must like them.

The father of the bride

The aunts getting to know each other

Jill and Aunt Carol

Nanno and Cecilia

Vincent had a blast at the party!  He introduced himself and shook hands with several people and made friends with most of Joe’s friends and brothers.  He took full advantage of our “party rule” and enjoyed a lot of pop.  At dinner I founded him down by the pool with Joe’s brothers.  I told Vince I had his food ready up on the deck and he said “No, I am going to eat by Jake.”  I told him to eat by us and then he could come back by his friends.  He politely refused.  I said “If you eat down here you will be having water to drink and if you eat by me you can have pop.”  Vincent happily said “fine I will just have water” and he sat down at the table with all the groomsmen (Joe’s friends and brothers).  I agreed and told the guys if they got tired of Vincent to sent him up.  As I kept an eye on Vince from afar I was cracking up!  Vince was jumping in on the conversations the guys were having, he had them all laughing uncontrollably at one point and then pointed toward me and said “That’s Kelli!”  Really, my 4 year old is too cool to call me mom when he is with his older friends!

Joel making friends

Vincent and his new friends

Beautiful scenery

Papa Ron and Joe

It was a fantastic night!  Joe’s family (immediate and extended) was so warm and welcoming.  I felt like I had known them forever!  They were all so great!  The party couldn’t have been better: good food, great dessert and wonderful company!  Jill is marrying into a wonderful family and Joe is too.  I am very excited to for them to start their lives together and for more fun family gatherings.

Bianca, Brandon and Kasi

Joel and Mommy

Joel giving a toast

A lame horse and a lot of fun!

Joel, Grace, Mary and Myles.  WATER FIGHT!!!

On Labor Day as we were packing up and heading home, Aunt Linda left me a voicemail asking if I could stop by and take a look at Grace's lame horse.  Their house is sort of on our way home so I said sure.  It was pretty hot on Labor Day and when we got there Mary and Myles were getting ready to play with water balloons.  Vincent, Joel and Cecilia were thrilled at the short car ride and were ready to go play and our dogs took off to investigate the yard.  Grace and I went to look at her horse, Chesney.  Chesney appeared to have a hoof abscess and will be fine.  It took all of 10 minutes to look at her horse.  We spent the next hour or more playing at the Thompson's.

Myles getting Grace

They were throwing water balloons, playing with water guns and spraying each other with the hose.  It was so hot and I happily jumped in on the fun and got wet.  The water was like ice, but it felt really great on such a hot day.  While we all had fun, Brad went to work on the motorhome.  The driver's window was stuck down and was going to make for a loud ride home if it stayed that way.

Myles, Mary and Joel

They had a small water trough they had filled with water.  Joel was having fun going in and out of it.  Then somehow he managed to fall in head first.  It almost looked like he was trying to do a somersault.  He went under and came back up and didn't know what to think about it.  We all started laughing and telling him good job and he had a big smile on his face!

Joel jumping in the ice cold water

My kids wanted to go play on the swing set and Mary, Myles and Grace were  nice enough to join them.  Someone had the great idea to turn the slide into a water slide!  Joel and Vince were having a blast.  Mary would stand at the bottom to catch Joel and she did well the first few times, but then she started missing completely.  She would have her arms held out and he would just sail right through them into the mud puddle.  After a few misses Myles thought he would have a try at catching Joel and Mary tried out the water slide.  Everyone, but Grace (she was in charge of holding the hose on the slide), went down the slide on their bellies and would flop right into an every growing puddle.

Vince dragging Joel around...I have no idea why

Vince and Joel were very upset when we had to leave and Brad and I made them hose off before we let them in the motorhome!  Not as upset as they would have been if they found out what we did on our way home.  On the way home from Thompson's we stopped by the ice cream shop where Brad and I had our first date.  Brad pulled over on the side of the road, ran across the street and bought ice cream for the two of us.  Then we spent the next 20 minutes in the motorhome secretly eating it without the kids noticing.  The kids can't see the driver's seat from their seats so Brad was safe.  I on the other hand had to eat mine while sitting sideways and staring out the window so they couldn't see what I was doing.  We are mean parents, but it was totally worth it!

Grace, Mary, Vincent, Joel and Myles (Thanks Aunt Linda for the picture!)

I have to say this was the most fun I have ever had on any sort of farm call!