Saturday in Renssy

Tommy has been asking to go in the combine for awhile now and last Saturday, we finally got him there.

Safety first! Grandpa keeps his eyes on the rows while we take a selfie.  Charlotte didn't want to go in the combine because it "scares her tummy" so she stayed with Grandma.

 Tommy even got the drive the combine!

 Boy, did he love that!

 Look at the concentration on his face! He was really into it!

 After the combine, we decided to pack up and head to the Jasper Pulaski Fish and Wildlife area to see the Sandhill Cranes.  I sat in between two carseats.  Tommy smiled with food in his mouth.  Charlotte didn't know what to think.

 They had a great observation deck to see the birds kite in before dusk (that's what the website says!).

 I'll be honest, the kids did not give much of a crap about 5,000 sandhill cranes in front of them.  They instead enjoyed running in the grass and playing in the dirt.  So that was cool I guess.

 They posed for a sweet picture while Grandma and Aunt Shiela took pictures of the birds (geese?) with much better equipment that my phone.  

 Doesn't this make you want to sing "AAAAHHHHH SAHENYAAAAAA BABAEECHEEMAMA!!"

Cartoon vs Reality in Indiana.  Not a bad comparison.

 The kids enjoyed the pathway through the woods that you took to get to the observation deck.  It was very Hansel and Gretel.

The next day we had a mini celebration for Adam's birthday.  Do you like my icing job on the cake? He had been in Chicago the night before celebrating the Cubs clinching the NLCS.  How awesome! And for his 30th birthday, no less!  

We tried to convince Charlotte to ride in the combine again on Sunday but she again refused.  Too loud still. 

Fun times in Renssy yet again.  Hopefully Charlotte will change her mind about riding in the combine someday!

The Newest Stage of Our Lives: Busy Weekends

For awhile, we were busy every weekend with wedding showers, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and weddings.  The next phase was babies, people having them, showering them, etc.  The next phase we have just recently achieved is the birthday party phase.  We've been attending the birthday parties of our friends kids but now we are constantly being invited to parties of Tommy's friends.

So the newest phase in our lives is birthday parties/sporting events.  I think we'll be in this stage for awhile.  

So what did we do this weekend? Kid stuff.  LOTS of kid stuff.

First event: Tommy's soccer game!

 We thought it was going to be 40 degrees.  We were extremely wrong.  It was 65 by the end of the game.  Tommy had on 3 fleece layers, gloves and a hood (I think we were over-prepared for even 40 degrees).  I had to force him to take them off because he thought he wouldn't be able to play well after he took them off.  He was a ball of sweat.  His hair was WET.  It was disgusting.

He definitely looked like the unibomber with his hood and purple Hawaiian sunglasses.  Poor kid.  He felt much better when we took off his layers.

One quick note, there was a bloody nose during the game. It was nasty.  Blood everyone.  Poor little girl on our team bashed her face into a girl's head on the other team.  Ye-ouch. She didn't freak out until she saw blood all over her hands.  Then when they finally stopped the blood, her mom told her she needed to sit out for the rest of the game.  She almost threw a fit because she wanted to get back in the game.  Tough little lady!

 I think Charlotte looks a little bored. Don't worry, Charlotte.  He only has one game left. :)

Charlotte is in this picture.  She is wearing her baby's blanket on her head in grandpa's lap.  No idea why.  Maybe it was too stinkin' hot! We overdressed her too.   Whoops.

 Then we raced home to eat and change and head out to a birthday party!

 This birthday party had a petting zoo!!

 It was also a Minecraft theme.

 Birthday boy Owen and Tommy enjoyed playing with toys before he opened his actual presents.

 Then Tommy and Logan enjoyed teasing the girls in the playhouse.

 Then the kids would go and check out the animals again.  There were ducks, goats, a prairie dog, a pony, a donkey, rabbits, and a turtle.  It was pretty cool!

 But the swingset probably saw more action.

 Then it was time to open presents.  Tommy got Owen a Minecraft type sword.  I think he liked it.  But then he said it wasn't Minecraft so maybe he didn't.  Ha! Good thing there's such a thing as gift receipts! :)

I loved the candy bar set up.  Each of the Minecraft thingies (I know nothing about Minecraft) had a candy in the cup that represented it.  Cute! Gummy fish for the fish, rolos for gold, pretzels for sticks, it was very pinteresting!

On Sunday, we decided to head to Fair Oaks Farms for their new annual celebration "Cowtober".  They had trick or treating so we dressed up the kids and took them to the farm.

 Charlotte decided she wanted to wear her Aurora dress with her Elsa shirt under it.

 Tommy will not budge on wearing anything other than his Captain America costume.  Doesn't he look giant in this picture????

 Charlotte changed her mind before we got to the dairy and went with Elsa.  She can't 'let it go' either.  Groan. :)

 There were many Captain Americas and Elsas but these two were definitely the cutest.

 Especially those pink wellies she picked out to go with her dress.

 Cowtober was super fun! They had a bounce house and the kids could have stayed all day in that bounce house.  It was a monster with inflatable teeth inside.  Fun!

 After Charlotte fell out of the bounce house (don't worry, she was fine), we convinced them to leave to go on a wagon ride.

The wagon ride was fun! They took us through the new apple orchard and raspberries/blackberries expansion. 
 

 They also took us by the new chicken coop expansion.  Chickens freak me out!!!! They are little scary dinosaurs and I am not a fan.  We pulled up and as soon as the tractor was off you could hear the chickens singing this eerie tune.  It was soooo creepy!  If someone made a horror movie about chickens, I would never sleep again.

They're trying to get me! Piling their bodies up against the gate! AAAHHH!! They're like zombies.  Ok ok, they're not that bad.  They are incredibly fascinating.  Crazy chickens. 

Charlotte's highlight of the weekend was riding a pony.  She had DECIDED.  She was going to ride a pony and she stood there, nearly tapping her foot until Mom made it happen.  Doesn't she look elegant with the sun shining in her hair and her dress and cape in the wind.  :-)

I took a quick video of the pony ride.  Right after he asked if she could sing the song from Frozen (when the video cuts off), she pushed the button on her dress.  Why would she sing it when her dress can do it for her?? HA!

We went on the tour of the dairy.  This part is also fascinating. We saw a couple cows refuse to get off the carousel when they were supposed to.  They were definitely enjoying the ride. 

The kids went on their own cow carousel when we got back from the tour.

Then we watched the 3-D movie.  Charlotte was terrified.  It was actually 4-D I guess? They had water squirting and vibrating chairs.  She was NOT pleased.

We got a family picture for Cowtober.  The kids had a really great time going to the dairy for the first time.  I can't believe this is the first time!

 After the dairy, we went to the real farm.  Grandpa was cutting beans! A lot of this field had drowned out so he wouldn't let me take pictures of the yield monitor. 

 Charlotte was terrified of the combine at first.  But she quickly came around and realized she loved it!

Grandpa even saved two of his Oreos for the kids in case we had time to ride with him! They were so excited.  Charlotte also enjoyed pointing at Grandpa's hand and saying EWWWWWWW like 10 times because his hands were dirty from working on the combine.  Ok we get it Charlotte.  :)

We got a family picture selfie in the combine and it is now one of my all-time favorites.  I can't believe the kids are actually smiling for a picture! Awesome!

We didn't get home until 9 that night and the kids didn't nap that day. Yikes!  It was a SUPER busy weekend.  But it was totally worth it.  We had so much fun!

First extremely busy weekend of many! Here we go into this new stage of life. ;)

Hello Tommy! Another Update

What's going on with our dear Tommy T? 

 Well tons of bike riding, of course!

 Biking riding through piles of leaves!! Must be fall!! Leaves everywhere!!

 Always inquisitive!

 Five heads? Why not?

See how hard he's concentrating on learning how to drive a Yogurt Car? The GoPro is capturing every moment. :-)

So much fun! 

 He got to ride with Grandpa in the semi and combine recently.  He loved it!

He asked to be a fire breathing dragon for Halloween.  He's doing a great job of modeling the first draft of his costume.  

He did great at his most recent haircut.  Except for that whole nail biting thing. Ugh.  I just quit biting mine! (Sort of.)  I really didn't want him to have a 30 year habit like I did/do.  :-(

He loves Mama's new car.  The sun roof blows his mind.  So does that sucker.