Living the Dream

Luke started tackle football this week and was very excited to show Gerrit his gear. After the farm, I dropped the boys off and Dahlen's and went and took a shower. When I returned, Gerrit was playing football with the boys in the yard. He could barely stand up, needed help getting up once tackled, could hardly walk (which is why Paul is carrying him), but loved the idea of playing real tackle!

Following football and bike riding, we headed inside where the boys played Wii. Gerrit has now graduated from needing a piece of candy and rubber band on the remote to doing it all by himself. He even beat his dad on a hole tonight!

Its a sad thought to think summer is almost over. I have one week left before I head back to work for meetings etc. Gerrit has so much fun hanging out with the big boys! Good thing they live behind his daycare and will come over and play with him after school once in a while.

Showin' Off for Dad

We took Gerrit's bike to Dahlen's after Adam came home. They took his training wheels off and Gerrit showed his dad his new trick. Dad was impressed and very pleased. Emmit enjoyed the show too. In the bottom right photo, Gerrit is out of the saddle riding - which is not easy to do.

The one thing left to master before hitting the pavement is stopping. He rides into the grass and either falls over or hops off. He's starting to coast to a stop which is easy to do in the grass. If it doesn't rain tomorrow, we will head over to the school where the ground is hard and probably a bit easier to ride on (hopefully Luke and Paul will join us).

The day ended with Anne bringing home Chipolte in honor of Paul's birthday today!

Off to the Races

I don't know who came up with the idea of riding the wagon down the hill, but it was a riot to watch! Luker has it perfected, but Paul doesn't do too bad of a job himself. I think its a bit harder for him because he is taller. Gerrit would race them using his push bike and one of them in the wagon. Usually Gerrit would win. Then they would buddy up with him and ride the wagon together. A few crashes did occur but no broken bones.

I said to Deb that she needs to keep the farm going for a long time because I want my boys to come out in the summer and work for her. Having them learn how to ride the tractor and help harvest etc on the farm will be such a great experience. Luke and Paul are here at least 2 times a week and I think it teaches them good values of hard work - and allows them to be boys and have fun too!

Boys and Their Toys

When Gerrit wasn't perfecting his 2 wheel bike handling skills...

Look What I Can Do

Today was market day for the farm so I went to help pick produce. Luke has been bugging me to bring Gerrit so today I did and boy did they have fun! First off, Gerrit learned how to ride a 2 wheeler! Yep, no training wheels for this kid! The bike was a 16" which is bigger than his bike but he seemed to do fine. Deb lowered the seat for him and Luke helped him get started and he was off. Each time he would ride further around the grounds. He would start to slow down and then fall over of hop off to stop (still working on that concept). All in all, he loved it, was not afraid and will be ready for the road in no time!

OK, so he might not like the idea that his first 2 wheel experience was on a purple bike with a basket, but hey, it was the best we could do at the farm!

Steele County Fair

Seeing we didn't make it to our own county fair, we decided to make a road trip to a different county fair with Rockne's. Adam has been wanting to take Gerrit to this fair because he heard it is a good one - and it is! Its bigger than our fair yet smaller than the state fair - and its free! The highlight of course was the animals. Gerrit fed one animal and didn't like the feel of the tongue on his hand. He did pet a goat (which is more than I thought he'd do). Nikki convinced him to feed the ostrich because that had to be done with a spoon. He loved looking from a distance which was very different from Abby and Oliva who would pet and feed any one of the animals!

I didn't get any pictures of Emmit but he basically sat in the stroller and enjoyed looking around at everything. He was a trooper! I think we will go back to this fair again some time - maybe take Dad with next time.

Let the Fun Begin

Sunday Adam returned home from WI and Uncle Travis had the day off so the 2 of them started on the basement. Oh, the surprises they found! Love the tile and the checker board in the middle of the floor, the floor leveling concrete that didn't work because they didn't do it right and let it crumble, drains that were cemented in, and outdoor siding near the baseboards! What more could they find??

I took the boys to Roch to deal with tile colors while Adam and Travis dealt with the basement. When we returned, it was obvious we were not suppose to go in the basement. Gerrit looked on from the steps and then disappeared. He returned with the tool kit from the neighbor's porch. He insisted on wearing a mask like the big boys and spent quite a bit of time 'working' in the kitchen, near the basement steps.