The 'Road'

Before Adam was born, my husband said to me, 'All he really needs to play with is a rock and a stick.' I thought this was really mean of him, knowing that I wanted him to have all these lavish toys. Lots of fun things that every boy would love to play with. Now that I see the abundance of things we DO have, I kinda am on the same bandwagon that he is. But besides that, I have really come to realize the power of imagination. I love seeing him use things that weren't necessarily intended to be used that way. I remember as a kid playing Barbies at a friends house and I was all upset because the Barbie didn't have a bed. The girl said, 'that's alright, we'll use something else and pretend it's a bed.' It's all in the power of imagination. I love seeing that in action.

This week my nephew has been up staying with my in laws. He is 3 months younger than Adam and they LOVE playing together. I think if I can remember right, it rained a little on Sunday so on Monday we had some lovely puddles in the driveway- every 3 year olds dream. Joe and Adam (and Van too God love him) decided they were going to make a road. Now, this is not any simple road I tell you. This project has been worked on for an entire week, no exaggeration. And to say that they spend hours each day working on it, is no lie either. On Monday they started digging a hole basically. (You can kind of see it right before the stacks of boards, they are left overs from the pool fence.) They would go over to the puddles and pick up about an ounce of mud and carry it over to the hole. They used large shovels and sandbox shovels and sticks. Van was right there in the mix, following along. About 3 hours each day was spent on this road. By about Wednesday the puddles were dried up but that didn't stop them, they just got out more tools. Rakes, hoes, and picks came into the mix at this point. Each morning Adam would wake up he would tell me, I've got to go and work on my road.

Yesterday (Friday) I finally snagged a couple of pictures. As you can see they drug out a bunch of stuff I guess to complete the project? I am not really sure. There was a rope there at one point and they tied the four wheeler up to a cone. They found that piece of paper they are looking at, and they told me those are the directions to build the road. I am not sure if they really need them or not, it looks like they know what they are doing.

Watching them play just made me fall in love with them all over again. I am such a huge supporter of free play and imagination and this was it in the making. They needed nothing more than what they were provided with. They used their imaginations, and worked together. Being outside for as long as they wanted to be, not in a structured setting- they were just acting like 3 year old little boys- and I love it. I am sticking with my husband and saying, all little boys need to play with are two things- a rock and a stick. (And PS, Adam had to wear his work boots EVERY time because he was working.) :)

A Precious Moment

I haven't posted in a while but honestly, there hasn't been too much to report! Today I snagged this picture of the boys in the rocking chair hanging out in their pj's. Adam is reading Van, Red Hat, Blue Hat, one of our favorites. I just wanted to catch this special brotherly moment. And don't you love Van's crazy rooster hair?

Mid-Hudson Children's Museum

Yesterday the boys and I and our friends Cara and Jake went to the Mid Hudson Children's Museum in Poughkeepsie. This is the second time Adam has visited but it was the first for Van and our friends. The kids had a good time. Adam liked the firetruck the best as you can see in one of the pictures. In the bottom picture he is raising a big bubble around himself. We all packed picnic lunches and sat outside and ate them. Adam came home and told Grandma and Daddy all about the day and he wants to go back again soon. It was a fun day for everyone.

'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.