Eli & Cole - two boys, one big adventure: Fun at the farm

So, now the farm story......Friday after lunch I hit the road with both boys, with no help to defend myself against their toddler ways. The drive down was pretty good. They slept for about half of it and we only stopped once, at a rest area, to let Eli potty and stretch our legs. Of yeah, and get a snack too!! We got to my parents before 5pm and we arrived to see Grandpa gathering hay for the animals. I had just read on Pioneer Woman about their hay harvest and I came home to see a mini-version of our own. Eli watched the tractor and truck, even checking on Grandpa to see what he was doing. We ended up riding in the truck with Grandpa to the barn where he would load it in the hay loft. (Side note here: as I've written before, the barn is exactly like the one my Great-Grandparents had across the street while I was growing up. Dad and Billy deconstructed it and rebuilt it on my parents' land. I remember plenty of Thanksgivings playing in the hay loft and pretending to drive the tractor. Hopefully Eli will have some of the same experiences!)

Friday night after dinner, the boys just played outside. Their biggest fun was playing in the garden that my Dad has just tilled under. Dirt, dirt and more dirt! I swear I have never seen Eli so dirty - literally head to toe and every spot on his body. He ran and slid / dove / jumped into mounds of dirt. Happy as could be. Cole walked around in the dirt, even trying a bite but decided it wasn't very good. Bedtime actually went better than I expected - my Mom slept with Cole and I slept with Eli. He even told me he was tired and went upstairs.

Saturday morning we hung out at the farm for a bit and then went to the park to hike and play on the play structures. We didn't get too far hiking before Cole fell asleep in the backpacker and then Eli decided his legs were tired and didn't want to walk. So we cut it short and headed to the swings and playground. That was what he was really interested in. Eli had a great time climbing, swinging and sliding. Cole had fun doing the same with Grandpa & Grandma. We then had lunch and naps before heading to my Grandparents (the boys' Great Grandparents) for a family cookout to celebrate both their birthdays. We had lots of yummy food and homemade ice cream to top it all off. It was great to see everyone. We left there and headed home. I broke out my secret weapon - a headrest dvd player. Eli thought it was the coolest thing ever and both boys enjoyed watching 'Toy Story 2' on the way home. Cole fell asleep after about an hour and Eli fell asleep after the movie was over. It was the happiest drive ever!

Eli tested me quite a lot this weekend by not listening. Cole was getting annoyed because he couldn't do all the things Eli did. So both boys were not their normal happy selves. And being out of their element, I had to watch them extra careful. But in hindsight, the weekend wasn't as bad as I felt it was and the boys had a great time on the farm and we got to see our family. Now I'm happy to be home for a while and put the family traveling on hold.