More cowboy adventures

At the end of May, we got a free evening at the local farmstead, courtesy of our internet provider. The farmstead is usually free, but for this night they had all the paid activities for free. Josiah got to fish, feed baby goats with a bottle, go on a hayride, AND ride a pony. They usually do not let kids under three do the pony rides, but luckily they were not checking IDs.

Look close - there is a fish there.

The baby goats also enjoyed eating Jason's shorts.

Our little cowboy:

The first week in June, Josiah and I left Jason at home and visited my side of the family during the week because my great aunt Alice was in town from Texas. It was really fun to see her and get to hear about her family. Here she is with my newest niece Ella:

Josiah got to ride around with his Paw Paw on the mower and the tractor. As a side note, when I was growing up and had to mow that grass, I used a push mower and a really slow tractor. This thing practically mows it for you while you take a nap. So not fair.


I tried to get a picture of Josiah and I with our Missouri shirts on (Jason would be so proud), but you can't really see the shirts in this one.
That weekend, Jason's mom came to visit. She took Jason and Josiah to a Royal's game Friday night, took us out to brunch on Saturday, and then to Bass Pro Shops (Josiah's request). They are doing a family summer camp thing right now, and they even put your picture on the cover of Field & Stream! Thanks for coming to visit, Mi Mi!
This past weekend was our 6th anniversary. We celebrated by dropping Josiah off with my mom and staying in a bed & breakfast for a night. We had a nice dinner, took a winery tour, and biked 14 miles on the Katy Trail. It was a fun getaway. Here we are in front of the muddy, er, I mean mighty Missouri river.
We spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with my parents to celebrate my dad's birthday, my parent's anniversary, and Father's day, all a week early. And yes, those all fall within a week of each other.

We got to see extended family, and our friend Eve and her daughter Annie who are visiting from Taiwan.

Eve gave Josiah some body crayons. Before that night was over we all looked like Josiah below:

Josiah got to play with my cousin's kids (is that his first cousins once removed, or his second cousins? I can never remember). Evan, Hunter, Annie, Emerson & Josiah:

Last but not least, Josiah got to "drive" his Paw Paw's fishing boat. He has been talking about doing this for months.
Jason and my dad were fishing from the boat, so Josiah got to help Jason reel one in - but then he was not interested in touching it. He said "it dirty" in a very grouchy voice. Can you tell he needs to catch up on his sleep?

In the midst of the fun weekend, the truck started making a noise that sounded like a dog that then mutated into a bird. So we took it to the dealership and they did not have the part to fix it. So we added another day our long weekend to get the truck fixed (they did not think we could make it back home before the fix). Then we got home around midnight last night to find that all the recent flooding had caused the circuit board on the fan for our A/C to short out. So no A/C. Got that fixed today. Ouch, those little circuit boards are not cheap. But, we are thankful to have air conditioning and realize how spoiled we are.

Have a great week and don't take your A/C for granted!

Day at the farm

On Saturday, we took a tour of the Shatto Milk Farm.

Josiah got a chance to try milking a cow (which he did not want to try twice):

And we got to pet some calves that were born about a month before.

On the tour, we learned about how the milk is stored and bottled. They still use glass bottles so their milk does not taste like plastic.

Then we got to sample some of their delicious flavored milks. Chocolate, strawberry, root beer, banana, and orange creme. They were SOOOOO good. We also got to sample their cheeses which were delicious as well.

Here are Josiah's friends that came with us for the tour. This is the split second we could get them all to stand still.
They also had these cute hats for the kids. Josiah called it his doughnut hat. I may have taken him to Krispy Kreme a couple of times...
It was a fun day at the farm remembering where milk comes from and supporting local farmers!

Family fun in SW MO

For Mothers day weekend, we visited Jason's side of the family. We had a fun trip, but Josiah did not get much sleep. He has outgrown his pack-n-play (and can easily climb out of it), so we bought him an inflatable Lightening McQueen airbed to take to his Mi Mi's house and sleep on. Well, he was excited about playing on the bed, but sleeping was a different story. He would only sleep on it if he was already sleeping when we laid him on it. The first night we were a little too trusting and laid him down with strict warnings about staying in his "big boy bed". He decided to quietly get up, get into his suitcase, and into his toiletry bag, and grab the chest rub (it's the kids version of vicks vaporub). When we found him, he had rubbed it all over his arms, neck, chest, and of course it was all over his hands. Then he must have tried searching for the light switch, because this is how Mi Mi's wall looks after the 'Josiah big boy bed experiment':

These hand prints will NOT come off. We tried several different methods. Mi Mi's guest room will be getting a new coat of paint soon! Somehow, after all of that, Mi Mi and Paw Paw were still smiling.

We spent Saturday at Granny and Grandpa Camp's farm. Josiah of course had a blast riding on the tractor:

Playing in the pasture:

And (for real) driving the tractor with daddy:

As a Mother's day present for Granny, we spent some time re-doing part of her landscaping. New brick edging was laid, rock was poured, flowers and bushes planted, trees trimmed, and gutters cleaned out.

Here are the landscaping supervisors:

We also got to go visit Grandma Mary and wish her a happy Mother's day.

The next day, Josiah got to go to Aunt April's house, and play in uncle Derek's police car! He was so excited. He got to play in there for a few minutes, until he figured out where the sirens were.

It was a fun trip and it was great to see everyone. Jason and I snuck in a date night, and we also got to go running without pushing a jogging stroller. Little things that we no longer take for granted!

Happy (belated) Mother's day to all the moms out there!

2010 Public Works tour

Another one of Josiah's passions: big trucks.

Hanging with friends

We have had some really fun get-togethers with friends lately.
Here's Josiah with his friends (twins) Connor and Jacob who are less than 1 day older.

We went with Michelle, Quinn & Reese to the local farmstead for a very fun morning. Swings, farm animals, and tractors - what could be better for a couple of 2 year olds?

We had a couple of friends over to play - and where do they ask to go? The place they do not want to be at naptime and bedtime!

We have so much fun hanging out with friends! It is fun to see Josiah now as he is getting pretty good at interacting with his friends. Their conversations are pretty hilarious!

Becoming just like daddy

Josiah wants to do everything his daddy does. Here he is helping to mow. Jason is looking forward to Josiah doing this by himself one day...although when that day comes I'm sure mowing will not seem quite as exciting. As a side note - notice his new summer (super-short) haircut!
Eating raisin bran with daddy. No frosted flakes or fruit loops here - he's a bran kid like his daddy was (and is)!

And of course his love for tractors and all things farm-related definitely makes him just like his daddy!

He also mentions from time to time that he wants to go hunting and fishing with daddy. Notice his shirt which reads: I only smell like this when I fish. Yes, he is Jason's mini-me.

Dave & Jess visit

My little brother and his family came to visit in April. It was so fun to see them! Josiah had a blast, even though he got a fat lip at the playground while they were here.

Here's baby Ella:
Dave & Jessica:

Josiah with his cousins Kason (who he calls Kakey) and Ava (Asa):

Posts coming soon: Hanging with friends, becoming just like daddy, Public Works tour, family fun in SW MO, and a day at the farm (yes, I have a lot of posting to do)