Field Trip

The kids and I took a field trip yesterday... literally. My uncle is a farmer, and he is in the middle of his crop harvest for the year. We all went up to his place, and he took us for rides in his combine as he was working in a corn field. It was so much fun. I didn't know if the kids (especially James) would be brave enough to ride in it... but, they both did... and they both loved it! When I was young... about Amanda's age... I would ride with my uncle and often fall asleep. So much fun. The technology on this piece of equipment was absolutely amazing. It is so unbelievable to think about the advances in 90+ years. My grandfather used to have to walk behind a team of horses with a single-blade plow to plow fields...

Speaking of my grandpa and grandma, we stopped by to see them, too. Way too much time passes between my visits with them. My grandma was rather sharp yesterday. Some days she is not really quite in her own mind. Thankfully, I have never witnessed this... at least not to the degree that Mom talks about. Grandpa was really with it, too... although he just looked so tired. It's hard to see him looking so tired and frail. He was always such a big, strong man. Nonetheless, our visit was very nice. The kids did great. I think that it really did grandpa and grandma good to see the little ones.

Oh yes... and it was my birthday yesterday as well. Honestly, it was one of the best birthdays I've had. There really wasn't anything earth-shattering that happened. It was just nice to be around my family... The kids and Doug gave me my gifts before he went to work. Amanda is just so sweet. She had picked out a fall wreath with beautiful "plastic" as she calls them leaves. They are artificial... and, I suppose that they may be somewhat plastic... Anyway, she had seen it and picked it out just for me. Then, we had the field trip... I also had several calls throughout the day from friends and family. Those really touched my heart. One of our neighbors remembered my day and brought me a gift and card. The gift is YUMMY wash and body butter in the lime/coconut flavor from Bath and Body works. Oooh it smells good. Doug had to work late... but, he did meet us at Don Pablo's for dinner. Busy day... but a great one.

Today is set to be another busy one. We have swimming lessons. Then, we are headed to PetFest to meet some Great Pyrs!! I know, I know. We aren't going to adopt one... just meet some and see how the kids do. Later in the day, we are hooking up with the aforementioned neighbors for a little cook-out. Both "dads" in the families love to cook on open fires with their dutch ovens. So, they'll be doing some cooking. Should be awesome!! Oh yeah, and somewhere in there, Doug and the kids still have to bake and decorate my cake!!