Farm Field Trip

A couple days after Pops' farm visit, Burl had a field trip to a pumpkin patch/black angus farm. Ridge and I tagged along and really enjoyed ourselves! As we're getting to know the teachers, the students, and the other parents, I completely understand why everyone refers to the school as a family. (Also, I can quickly become emotional over how thankful I am for his school and how much we all love it!)

There were several fun activities. Corn maze, obstacle course, oversized tricycles, petting zoo, hayride, harvest a pumpkin, and some awesome slides. I asked Burl what his favorite part was: riding the bus. 

Baby Cow's Bottle

There's always something new to do at my dad's farm. This visit we got to bottle-feed a baby calf, which was, of course, exciting! There was a lot of hype going into it. Who would do it? Who would just watch? Once we got up there and saw the calf roaming around like a pet dog, everyone became warmer to the idea. 

Bottom line: calves drink fast and if it doesn't come out fast enough they jerk their heads. First head jerk, and Fern was over it. "Daddy hold me." That's understandable since she was the same height of the calf. 

Burl was all about it. He was even more excited about explaining things to Ridge, and Ridge enjoyed the rowdy show. Or maybe Ridge was laughing because he just got nursed and now the cow was getting a bottle and he felt a special bond with the calf-who knows? {wink, wink}

We each got our turn and got our picture and had our laughs. It lasted just a few minutes, and we earned another proverbial merit badge for our farm uniform.

Thanks for the experience, "Baby Cow."

Pops' 60th Birthday

Well, we made the voyage to my dad's farm again. He turned 60, and I gave him the best presents of all: a day at the farm and grandchildren. The kids still get giddy every time we pull up. As we went through the gate, Burl exploded, "I'm just so excited, so excited, so excited!"

The theme of this trip was babies. Baby Ridge, the baby calf, and baby chicks were the big draws this time. We did the normal farm tasks, but also added Find The Baby Chicks and Give The Calf A Bottle to the list. Somehow our farm "to-do's" grow each time we go up there. (Taking things off the must-do list, on the other hand, is always heartbreaking.)

We had perfect weather, ate BBQ and pie, spent an hour on the 4-wheeler and tractor, and got a few minor injuries. The farm never disappoints-it was everything it should be. 

Couch Snuggles For Ridge

John finally got his sleep on the couch time with Ridge. 

I have a similar picture of John and Burl doing this same thing. With the third baby, there's been less opportunities to do this. Fortunately, Ridge "had a hard time" the other night when I wasn't here, so John had to help him. Translation: Ridge let out a whimper after everyone was in bed, so John scooped him up for some couch snuggles. They got some much needed quiet snuggles. When I got home and found them like this, I had to grab my camera. These moments are so special for John.  

Being Girls Together

Even though the boys were in the woods doing their thing, we did NOT sit home. Fern and I had some girl fun too-we hit the town. 

To celebrate being outdoorsy, Chattanooga threw a party downtown. Bike tricks, water bubbles, corn dogs, live music, slack liners, and good weather were all offered downtown and we watched all the things. 

We love girl time, or as Fern calls it, "being girls together." Our night out and the rest of the weekend were very special. We were very relaxed and dainty and girly and just like the boys, we were together. I loved it. 

Shaving Cream Fun

I finally did the shaving cream thing with the kids and we had a minute of fun with it. 

Father-Son Camping Trip

John took kindergarten Burl for a father-son camping trip and brought back middle school Burl. The picture above is the proof. Even though he has always looked bigger/older than he is, this picture took my breath away. He's getting older, bigger, less-baby, and "letting go" is happening on all fronts. 

I'm amazed at how well the kindergarten transition is going for Burl. He's really learning. Really growing. Really doing well. It's exceeding my expectations, and I can get emotional easily when I start talking about it. 

Last Friday he got "star student" for doing well for the whole week. When he came home and told me, I've never seen Burl so proud. He was genuinely excited over what he did. Then, two hours later, he left to go with "just Daddy" on a camping trip. He was beyond thrilled! 

John was reporting back to me, then came home with more stories. They had a beautiful time. Canoeing, exploring, waterfalls, fire, drawing maps, and doing everything together, their words. I was happy for them. When we do fun things like this, we call it "money in the bank" and wonder what will stick in their long-term memory. Based on the buzz they brought home, this trip is going to stick. 

Star-student and his first camping trip made for a good weekend for this goofball.