'Formal' pictures

My mom and I take the boys each summer to get their pictures taken at Sears. I like to do individual ones around their birthdays and then one of them together at their 'half' birthdays. Unfortunately, it didn't go so hot. This is the best one out of the bunch. I do like this one though. Van is just hard to 'pose.'

Van the assistant

Van's new skill that he likes to do is empty out the junk drawer or the silverware drawer, whichever it may be, and transport the contents to another area. :) He's a helper. :)

Girls' weekend

This past weekend was girls weekend. I remember my husband telling me when we got married, I doubt you will still be friends with the girls you went to college with. And I remember telling him, I really beg to differ. I have been out of college for 8 years now. (that seems insane to me.) But I can honestly say that my college friends are some of my nearest and dearest friends. I speak to a few of them (via email) about once a week. I feel a close bond with them that I don't really have with many people. Not much has changed from 8 years ago (unless you add husbands and babies into the mix.) But I always feel a very special connection to these women and I don't think that will ever change. There are about 8 of us that stay in pretty close contact. We can't always be there for girls weekend, but we try. We are a little more spread out now than we were in neighboring dorm rooms.

I think there are several reasons for this special connection I feel with them. One, we were all on the same cross country and track teams all through college together. This meant that not only did we live with each other but we raced together, and went on overnight trips together during the weekend. We would get together during the summers and run together as well. We went to each other's parents houses when we were in college, were in each others weddings and go to each other's baby showers. We share in the good times and the bad. I can always count on my girlfriends if I need someone to talk to.

We also all have a relationship with Jesus Christ. Having friends that have the same beliefs that you do really makes a difference. We understand each others reasoning for things in a world that sometimes contradicts what we believe.

Girls weekend was very refreshing to me and I am so thankful for these women in my life. We had a wonderful time and I can't wait to get together again.

One of the most wonderful times of the year

This is the time of the year when our cows are 'calving' as my husband and in laws like to call it. All of our heifers are starting to have calves. We have to go out in the field and check them every day to see how many calves we have, to make sure we haven't lost any, and to make sure no heifers are having problems having the calves.

I love this time of year. I love going out and looking at all the fresh calves and watching them romp in the field. I always feel so maternal watching the cows and their calves. I enjoy the feeling of knowing that summer is about to come to an end and we have these wonderful warm days and cool nights.

Right now we have about 12 calves. We are expected to have about 40 by the end of the summer. In a few months when it gets too cold for them all to be outside at night, we will bring them into the barn in the evenings and then start the barn cleaning in the morning. It is a lot of work, we spend about 2 hours in the born each morning. But I really enjoy going out there and scraping the barn with my in laws. And I enjoy watching my boys as well. Last year Van had to stay in the old playpen that Chip stayed in when he was a baby in the barn. This year, he will be running around with Adam sweeping and scraping with the best of them.

I know I have mentioned more than once, and it even is topic of my blog, but I am very happy that my boys will have this opportunity to grow up on the farm. I think they will learn a lot and have a perspective on life that many children aren't exposed to.

18 months (tomorrow)

My dearest little Van-o is a year and and a half tomorrow. :( But we all still refer to him as baby. He actually answers to baby. He is just the sweetest darn thing and everyone that comes in contact with him just eats him up. Here are some fun facts about my youngest son.

-He loves diggers. He always has a book in hand about some digger or excavator or something and hands it to you. Then he turns around and backs up onto your lap. He loves to point at all the machinery and he wants you to tell him about each one.

-He is a junk food junky. Anything sweet, except fruit, he loves to eat. Cookies, ice cream, cake you know, all the good stuff, he's right there looking for more.

-He is starting to talk more now. Just a sampling of words he says are- Daddy, Patty, Mama, Papa, Scott, cheese, apple, uh-oh, hi, bye and a few others.

-He's a daredevil. He loves to jump, climb and actually climb and then jump. If you leave a door open to a place he shouldn't be, he will know it in a heartbeat.

-He shrieks with glee when he is in contact with any animal. He had a ball at the fair and loves to go out to the barn and feed things. The expression on his face is priceless.

The joy he brings to my life is indescribable. He has been a delight since we brought him home from the hospital and I can only imagine that he will continue to be one.

The good..... and the not so good

Here are some pictures of our mini-vacation to the Philadelphia area. We have been planning this trip most of the summer and basically waited for the weather and other things to fall into place before picking the specific days we were going to go. Once girls weekend was finalized (and I am looking so forward to) we decided on this past week. The plan was to leave Tuesday morning and get to Sesame Place and spend the day. Since we wanted to go to a character breakfast and the only day available was Thursday, the plan was to go to an aquarium in Camden on Wednesday and then back to Sesame on Thursday, then home on Friday.

Well that plan sort of worked. We went on Sesame on Tuesday as planned and as you can see. The kids had a great time. They were able to meet Elmo, Big Bird, Oscar and Grover. I posted the pic of Elmo because it makes me laugh to see Adam actually having a conversation with Elmo. They are very good friends ya know. And the pic of Grover is just really cute with both of the boys. We were able to see the Elmo show, go on some rides and go into the water. We planned more for Thursday. Wednesday was the aquarium that was also very cool. A very nice large and clean place, just a little difficult to get to.

After we got back from the aquarium, Adam didn't feel so well. He didn't want to go on the playground at the hotel, didn't want to play, didn't' want to go into the pool. He just wanted to lie around, which is sooo not like him. After a while, I determine he has a fever and he starts to throw up. So at this point I have to decide, should I wait through the night and chance that he will be OK in the morning so we can go to the breakfast and park, or do I just leave and go home to the comfort of his own bed? And ultimately, that is what I decided to do. The hotel was AMAZING. They were so accommodating, refunding us money and getting my money back for the breakfast I booked which was near impossible with less than a 24 hour notice. I want to provide a link to their site in case you ever need a hotel by sesame but my Internet is acting up and I can't open another browser right now. But it is the Ramada Inn in Levittown, clean, great accommodations for families, wonderful place! And my parents were troopers helping out with Adam throwing up most of the way home. He seems better today but a little feverish this evening again. Poor little guy. Maybe next year we could try again.

Wayne County Fair

Last night we went to the Wayne County Fair. We have heard wonderful things about this fair. One plus is that you pay 8 bucks and you get to park, get in and go on all the rides. So the price was definitely well worth it. Chip was off and I noticed a few weeks ago that there was going to be a monster truck show. I asked him if he wanted to do that and he said yes. My sister in law is down from Penn Yan with her three kids for two weeks as well because they are going to Frost Valley Camp. Eric just turned 5 a month ago and he and Adam have been playing nicely together these past few days. We don't get to see them that often because they live about 4 hours away. When I told her the plans, she was all for the monster truck show as well so we all went over, with my father in law too and had a day at the fair.

Well, I am not going to lie to you, this wasn't really one of my favorite days. My mother in law really thought we should leave Van with her, he can't do much at the fair and the monster truck show was at 7:30, pretty much the time he goes to bed. We insisted though that we wanted a family day and that he would like it. Well, we were wrong. I felt bad for him because he was pretty much strapped in the stroller because if you let him out to walk, he's gone. And the monster truck show was really really loud, and we waited in the bleachers for a good hour before it started (our choice but still) and he was less than thrilled. And he was not a happy camper the entire hour home. But what can you do.

I decided that Monster trucks aren't really my thing. Oh, here's a funny story for you. We have been telling Adam for a while now that we were going to this show. At first, he thought we were going to see monsters. Then we have this Sesame street cd that we listen to and there is a 'monster song' so he thought that we were going to hear that. He did ride in a monster truck though. He actually sat in the cab next to the driver. In the second picture you can see my father in law sitting in the back with the green John Deere hat. Adam did like the ride. But when they started crushing cars, he didn't like that so much. I guess something came off of one of the monster trucks. I must have missed it. But he was all concerned about the 'poor truck' because he could see the motor. The entire show he kept saying, 'the truck is OK,' 'they are going to fix it'. 'It won't be broke anymore.' He was very worried. Poor little guy. One event that really took the cake for me was before they started the show, a couple got on the truck with the mike, and proposed. The groom-to-be in pajama pants and pony tail. Oh yes....

So all in all, maybe Daddy can take the boys again when they are like 8. I think I would opt out. Guess what they wanted to do the most? Sit on the fourwheelers and tractors. One of which was the SAME exact John Deere 420 that we have. And Van wanted to feed all the animals. Go figure. My next post will be about Sesame Place and the aquarium that we leave for on Tuesday Yay, yay, YAYYYYY!!!!! I am very excited, Adam will be beside himself!