Farm time again!

Last Saturday we helped celebrate local dairy producers by attending Steele County's annual Breakfast on the Farm. This was our third time dining on the delicious pancakes, sausage, cheese, and milk and touring an area farm -- we first went when Miles was Weston's age in the summer of 2009. We missed going in 2010 because Hannah was in St. Peter (good excuse, no?!). Last year we brought along a couple of other cousins and nearly cleaned the farmers' barns of the pancakes.

It goes without saying (or showing) that the boys loved the food. But I'll say it and show it anyway...
The boys loved the food!

Miles' neighbor friend, Ava, was also at the farm. They enjoyed touring the facilities in a train! They sure look like a couple of city kids, don't they?!

And Weston....sweet baby Westy. He was madly in love with a cement cow. Nevermind all of the cute REAL baby cows, piggies, chicks, and horses. We could have left him with this cow for the entire 2 hours we were at the farm and he would have been just fine!

Oh yes, and I was interviewed on the radio. They wanted to talk with a family who has made a tradition out of attending Breakfast on the Farm, and one of Tanner's coworkers who helps run the show (she hosted the event back in 2009) asked us to take a break from eating flapjacks and say a few words. Tanner and the boys quickly escaped to the tractor exhibit and left me hanging...so I took one for the team and talked about how important it is to me and Tanner that we help our boys learn what life is like on a farm. Our community extends beyond just the Owatonna city limits and it's good for the boys to know that -- and to see just how hard farmers work to produce the foods that we put in our bellies! It's an inexpensive and incredibly fun event that draws mostly old people and families with young children. Not too many in between :) It's neat to see the mix of generations.

And now we're nearing the middle of a busy week of swimming lessons (Miles), adjusting to a new office building at work (mommy), golf (daddy), and battling a summer cold (Weston). To celebrate a good Tuesday, we enjoyed itty bitty ice cream cones.

Until Westy lost the ice cream part. Then Miles and daddy swooped in like a couple of mean crows and snatched it up before the little boy even knew what happened. Poor Westy. I find comfort in knowing that some day he'll get revenge...oh YES he will!

Gone Fishin'!

Last Saturday I took the boys to Cabela's for a free family fun day event in their parking lot. Considering it was already 80 degrees by 10am and very humid, I decided it sounded like some hot fun. The ad that I saw in the paper mentioned free fishing for kids (as in kids could fish for free, not that adults could fish for kids for free). I envisioned a handful of kiddie pools full of colorful plastic fish. If you "caught" one, you got a prize. Easy peasy. Well...I was wrong. And where was my mind? This was Cabela's afterall. They don't take fishing lightly.

We got to the designated area of the parking lot and were directed to a row of fishing reels and a woman handing out cups of worms. Real worms. Very wiggly worms. I got Miles squared away with his supplies and when Weston caught on to all of the excitement, he promptly through a tantrum until he had his own reel and cup of worms. The only thing that matched his size was the cup of wriggling worms, but he didn't mind. He held on to the fishing pole as best he could and scolded me for even thinking about helping.

I quickly went into full-fledged panic mode as I realized I was completely unprepared for this moment. My children were about to fish and I could do nothing to help them. I found another family that lives down the street from us and quickly latched on to them for help, as it was clear this wasn't their first rodeo. Then a Cabela's employee who happens to be a professional fisherman swooped in to further help save the day. He was our knight in shining armor! Well...our fisherman in a sporty weatherproof fishing shirt. He got Miles and Westy all set - worms on the hook and all - and proceeded to give us tips on what to do when the bobber started bobbing. Then suddenly it happened...Miles caught a fish!

He collected three little fishes and Weston caught one. All of the fish were released back into the pond (probably to be caught again...). Weston gave each of them a proper send-off by blowing dozens of kisses as they swam away. I thought about serving fish sticks for supper that night to celebrate our great success, but decided it might be a little risky. Instead we ate ice cream and talked about when we might be able to go fishing again. I'll have to check the schedule for our new fisherman friend and see when he's available :)

More wheels.

It's a bike frenzy at our house! Tanner and I decided 15+ years of the riding the same ol' bikes is long enough. Our buns were sore and Tanner looked like a goon (he's been riding the same Timberline Urban Express since ~1993). So happy early anniversary to us....

They match. Isn't that cute? His and her bikes. So sweet. We got them at the Nicollet Bike Shop in Mankato and STRONGLY recommend checking them out if you're ever in the market for a new ride.

And Miles scored another bike too! One of Tanner's coworkers offered up this tag-along bike, as all of his kids have outgrown it. The bike was a hand-me-down to them from another family, so there's some history with this thing! If only the wheels could talk. Miles loves riding it and I can hardly stand watching him on it because he looks at least 6 or 7 years old. My baby boy is growing up. And my babiest boy is growing up too -- look at him in the background waiting patiently for his turn!

They make a good team.