Down on the farm

Sing to the tune of "Old MacDonald" -

"Kurt and Wyan had a farm, E-I-E-I-O. And on that farm they had some pigs, E-I-E-I-O.
With an oink-oink here, and an oink-oink there, here an oink, there an oink, everywhere an oink-oink.
Kurt and Wyan had a farm, E-I-E-I-O!"

This is a tune sung almost daily around here since we spent Labor Day Weekend at my cousins' place in Iowa. The verses following this one usually include them having a combine, a tractor, and a 4-wheeler, but often when I suggest 4-wheeler, Brock corrects me and says, "No, Mom! We only sing about the big things!" One time when I asked him what else we should sing about Kurt and Wyan's farm, he thoughtfully responded with, "House!". I guess that is a big thing:). Here are some pics of our time on the farm. It's a good thing that they didn't have any work to do that weekend, because Brock and Kyle definitely occupied all of their free time with "I want to ride!"

We started out the weekend with lunch at the Machine Shed Restaurant in Davenport - quite yummy if you're ever in that area. They have these old tractors parked out front and the boys were smitten!

Kyle is all about driving!! Anything with a steering wheel - he's all over it!! I'm already worried about his 16th birthday:).

They also have this pig statue, which the boys thought was pretty cool, too. I love this pic of them with their cheesy faces!!

And, I love this one of Brock:).

My 3 boys:). I love them so!!

The next day the real fun began!! Here's Kyle on his first real big tractor ride with Uncle Wyan. He looks so serious!

"Okay, Mom. I guess I can look up and wave for just a minute, but there's a lot to look at up here."

Telling Dad all about his awesome ride.

Brock needed some gently encouragement from Aunt Kara. This is the typical response to new things - Kyle jumps right in, and Brock needs a little coaxing and encouragement.

He finally agreed to ride, but only if Papa drove the tractor. Papa was more than happy to oblige, as you can probably imagine. You can take a boy off the farm, but you can't take the farm out of the boy:).

Happy as a clam with Papa at his side:).

Kurt and Wyan have a nice long lane - perfect for tractor rides!!

Then, when Kyle saw Papa behind the wheel, he had to have a turn with Papa. Poor Kurt and Wyan. Their tractor had been taken over!!

Papa liked to do circles with the tractor, which the boys loved. It was pretty cool to watch, also.

Next, it was time for the 4 wheeler. Finally Uncle Kurt gets a turn to give rides!! Don't you love those shades?!?!?! This is one cool dude!

Brock gathered his courage right away on this one - and loved it!!

This picture doesn't look like much, but notice where Kyle is sitting. That's right - in the driver seat!! Each time Wyan would put him in the combine on the side seat and then turn around to get Brock in, Kyle would scamper over into the driver seat, and Wyan would have to move him back over to his rightful place. That boy yearns to drive!!

Love this pic, too!

Having the time of their little lives.

Watching with anticipation............what do you think we will get to do next???

Brock got tired of waiting and took off for the shed by himself. We found him in there pondering how to get up on an old skid loader. If we had given him a few more minutes, I'm sure we would have found him in the driver's seat!

Next, we moved on to the pigs. Kyle said, "These pigs stink!!". Wyan got an ear of corn out of the field, shelled it and let the boys feed it to them. Brock is busy throwing corn in this pic and Kyle is reloading:).

Trying to get corn to those piggys in the back:).

Another day led to more combine rides. We joked with Wyan that we probably owed him for a tank of gas, but I'm pretty sure it was true!

Feeling more confident and moving around in the cab - checking out the scene below.

Uncle Kurt got his turn driving the tractor on the second day.

And.....more piggy feeding:).

"Here, piggy-piggy-piggy!!"

One last little kernel of corn. Poor pigs - they expected so much more:).

On our last evening there, Kurt and Wyan were even generous to share their beloved Hawkeye baggo game with the boys, which they loved!! They didn't know enough to let that big yellow bird bother them:).

They actually did pretty well - playing by their own rules, of course!!

Pile on!!

We ended our tractor riding week end with some construction equipment at the mall - definitely not quite on par with the days before, but a fun way to get some energy out on the drive back. We love Bob the Builder, so it was cool to ride in Scoop!!

Can we build it?? Yes we can!!

And, more construction equipment - the dump truck. Now only if this one was Caterpillar yellow........

Thanks, Kurt and Wyan for an awesome time. We would definitely accept another invitation to come and ride next year:). We love you guys and appreciate all that you did for us!!