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