Our family spent five days this past week vacationing at my Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna's farm. Last Wednesday morning, Matt hooked the trailer to the van. We wanted to be able to take a big cooler and all the kids' bikes. We crammed our duffel and sleeping bags, pillows and beach towels under the seats of the van. By early afternoon, we were stuffed to the gills and ready for adventure.
My Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna bought the little house next to theirs several years ago. Now we have a "home away from home" whenever we go to visit. The house has two bedrooms, two baths, a laundry room, kitchen and living/dining area. Matt and I get to sleep in the king-sized bed in the master, while the kids all camp out in the living room in sleeping bags on the floor and hide-a-bed. In the mornings, the kitchen makes for a nice place to eat a quick breakfast. The two bathrooms mean that four big people can get their showers taken care of in short order.
Thursday morning, the kids awoke raring to go. Uncle Keith had ordered combine rides for everyone and the kids couldn't wait to get out to the wheat field. Rides on the combine, bank out wagon and semi truck didn't disappoint. Paul and Joel especially liked the ride to the grain elevator and back in the semi. The truck driver, Stan, may or may not have broken a few speed limit laws on the way there and back, which made the ride all the more exciting.
Later that day, the kids had a blast riding their bikes unhindered on the streets of the small farming town in which my aunt and uncle live. The kids thought they'd found the meaning of freedom when they rode their bikes over to the local school yard to play on the playground equipment.
After dinner that evening, we took the kids fishing at a local pond. The owner of the pond, my Uncle Keith's good friend, Jerry, had taken the time earlier in the day to catch minnows for bait and chum (throw minnows in the water) the area where the kids would be fishing that night. Jerry displayed the patience of Job as he dealt with five kids and their can't-wait-to-fish enthusiasm. Every time Jerry would get a fish on the line, he'd hand the pole to one of the littles. Joel kept saying, "Look! We caught another one! We caught another one!" Jude's entertainment for the evening consisted of catching the minnows in the bait bucket and pulling the fish basket in and out of the water. We came home with five Bass and one Blue Gill. Needless to say, Matt met his yearly quota for fish touching.
Our family packed a picnic lunch on Friday morning and headed out of town on a road trip. We went to a lake known for its high mineral content and healing properties. My Grandpa Paul always wanted to take the grandkids to this particular lake, but he never did. I've always wanted to go visit, but it hadn't worked out--until last week. When we arrived at the lake, the first thing we saw was a man in swim trunks walking across the parking lot. He was covered in dried, black mud from his hair and face, down to his feet. We all burst out laughing. Hey, who knows, maybe the guy got healed.
We hadn't come prepared for full-on mud coverage. In fact, I'd just planned on us wading in the water a bit. However, my kids had different plans. Even though they were fully clothed, they got wet up to their necks (the lake is very shallow for about a half a mile out). Good thing the "Mommy Emergency Bag" in the van contained three sets of clean clothes for three sopping little boys.
We headed back to home base and late that afternoon the kids and Daddy went swimming in the community pool. At the beginning of summer, my mom bought both Joel and Jude nifty swimming suits with floaties sewn inside them. The boys loved the freedom of being able to jump off the diving board in the deep end to a waiting Daddy. True to form, Lydia made a few friends at the pool as well.
That evening, Grace made bread from the Hard Red Spring wheat that had been harvested the day before. The bread was a fantastic accompaniment to our evening meal. In fact, had a I had my druthers, it would have been the entire meal. Yummy, yummy.
The next morning, Matt, Uncle Keith and the kids headed out to the farm to do some work. My uncle grows alfalfa seed. He uses bees to pollinate the field. When the bees have done their job, they lay larvae and die. The boxes containing the dead bees need to be disposed of at the end of the season. The kids helped gather the bee boxes and load them into the trailer. The work was cut short as a couple of the crew, Paul and Joel, had severe allergic reactions to the flowering alfalfa and the Russian thistle bordering the field. Uncle Keith then took the group to his office to treat everyone to popsicles. What good CEO doesn't have some popsicles and ice cream bars stashed in a freezer in his office? After a couple of licks Joel said, "Mmmm, I feel better already."
After a hard morning of working in the heat, the troops were famished. Uncle Keith and Aunt Leanna treated all of us to burgers and fries at the town drive-in. A bit of quiet time was next on the agenda. After a short nap, Matt and I got to go on a mini-date to the local coffee shop while Aunt Leanna kept and eye on the kids. When we placed our orders, the woman behind the counter said, "Just letting you know, Keith said this is on him." (My Uncle Keith had called the coffee house before Matt and I completed the four minute drive down there.) Hey, a free date--the best kind!
That evening, after eating dinner, Matt flew a drone my Uncle Keith had bought and wanted to try out. The drone is operated with an iPad or iPhone. In the kids' estimation, watching the drone fly was the cherry on top of an already packed-full-of-fun vacation.
The next morning, we all attended worship together. Once again, our family sat in the never used front pew. The guy who greeted us when we came into church said that the pew is reserved for our family. Good Lutherans never sit in the front pew, but I married a Presbyterian so I've resigned myself to the fact that I'll be sitting there the rest of my life. A little sanctification never hurt anybody.
After church, we ate lunch, packed up and headed home. Most of the kids and their Mama conked out during the van ride back to the homestead. Exhaustion is the mark of a good vacation.
