Harvest!

Jonathan wasn't too sure about harvest and being in the wheat field.

Andrew, on the other hand, was all about it and stuck to Uncle Matt like glue!

Driving in the wheat truck to the elevator. Jonathan didn't move the whole drive.

Andrew pretending to drive the wheat truck.

Calling strangers on the CB

Riding out with Matt on the 4-wheeler to get the tractor and grain cart.
(I was later informed that the 4-wheeler was much cooler than the Ranger we usually ride on and that Matt went super fast! I asked why the 4-wheeler was cooler and was told because it doesn't have a steering wheel or a roof! And did I mention that Matt went super fast?!)

Andrew with Grandpa in the combine

This year we had an extra combine help cut the wheat. After a weeks of rain and battling mud, dad was ready to cut the wheat as fast as possible.

On Tuesday, we went to Hutch to "help" with harvest. Jonathan wasn't sure about the big machines or the loud noises. We did get him to ride in the wheat truck, but only because we all went for a ride. I held him and the whole ride I never felt him move. He was scared to death when I tried to lift him to watch the wheat dump out the back window, even though he was still safe in my arms inside the truck. I think he's still a little young to appreciate harvest. Maybe next year!

Andrew was the opposite! He ran for Matt as soon as we got to the field and I finally had to drag him to the house at 1:30 to eat lunch. He rode in the tractor, wheat truck and the combine and was asking to go back out as soon as he ate. But it was very hot and they had moved to a different field, so we packed up and headed for home.

Happy Father's Day!

I'm a little late with this, but I wanted to post this picture from Father's Day. I forgot to take it right after church, when Keith was still in his nice clothes, but I thought it was a cute picture anyway!

Happy Father's Day, Keith! We love you!

Colorado - Day 5

Taking a train ride

The train was the perfect size for the boys and went through a miniature western town.

Go-Karts!
And the race is on!


Grandpa and Andrew
Keith and Jonathan


By the last lap, Jonathan had started to slide off his seat. His seat belt wasn't quite his size, but he loved every second of the ride and was very safe with daddy!

Andrew kept telling Grandpa to go faster so they wouldn't "lose the race!"

Having fun at the playground with Grandpa!

Andrew kept telling Grandpa to bounce it higher!

Jonathan loved the little slide

Posing in front of a little cabin at the playground.

This was the view of "Death Mountain" the day after we drove over it. So glad this wasn't the weather we encountered!

After dinner, we went for a drive through Estes to see if we could find some wildlife. We found this herd of elk feeding at a cemetery of all places and this is how close we were to them.

They looked at us, but never were afraid enough of our cameras to run.

On our last day in Colorado, we took in some of Estes Park. Mostly the little shops and then after the boys took a great afternoon nap, we went to a little amusement park. It was perfect for the boys. They had a little train and Go-Karts, which were the real hit of the day. They also had mini-golf, which we decided to skip because you had to play 18 holes and it was close to dinner time. So we went next door to a cute little playground by the marina at Lake Estes.

After using up some extra energy at the playground, we headed to dinner. It was still threatening rain after dinner, so we went for a drive a little ways up the mountain looking for wildlife, and we were not disappointed. When we were starting to give up on seeing any and heading back into town, we came upon a large herd of elk feeding. We drove right up, practically next to them and started taking pictures. It was amazing to see! And I'm sure if we had let the boys out of the car they would've scared off the elk in about 2 seconds!

The next morning we headed for home. I wish I could say the drive was easy and uneventful, but I can't. As we drove out of Estes Park, down the mountain, none of us felt very good. Andrew kept saying his tummy was sick and Jonathan didn't say anything at all. We descended from around 9,000 feet to 5,000 in about a half hour. And all of sudden, Jonathan threw up. We had just reached a little town, so we pulled over and changed him and cleaned up the car the best we could and continued driving. And then somewhere in western Kansas, Andrew got a bloody nose. I tried to stop it by leaning into the backseat, but we once again had to pull over to care for him. We eventually got it stopped and drove the rest of the way without incident. We were very happy to see our house after 10 hours in the car!

All in all, it was a great trip and now the boys judge distance by asking, "Is it as far as Colorado?" And the other day Jonathan asked me while driving if we were still in Kansas? Umm, yes and we will be for quite a while.

Colorado - Day 4

Don't they look "welcoming" next to the Welcome bear?!

A moose we spotted on our way through Rocky Mountain National Park.

Just a sampling of some of the yummy food we ate at the reunion. No can say they didn't have enough to eat!

Andrew and Uncle Matt playing the Railroad Rush Hour game.

Jail or a giant wheel?

Andrew trying on some hats at a shop in Grand Lake.

A cute toy store in Grand Lake, managed by a woman from Hutchinson of all places.

My view on the drive from Grand Lake to Estes Park.

AKA - the drive up Death Mountain.

This was Keith's view the whole drive - the tailgate of Dad's white Ford in front of us leading us on our treacherous drive.

Monday was check out day at the Lodge, and we decided to stay in Colorado for a couple days with mom and dad. We left Breckenridge and headed to Grand Lake. The drive to Grand Lake was down a mountain and then slowly back up again. Not too hard of a drive. We had a leisurely lunch and then walked around the town for a little while going through some of the shops. The boys did pretty good at first, but got a little tired of shopping and found a playground to entertain them while we finished shopping.

We left Grand Lake mid-afternoon and headed for Estes Park, our final destination for the day. To get there, we followed the shortest route according to the map and the GPS. Bad idea. The shortest route involved going through Rocky Mountain National Park. At first it was a lovely drive with wildlife all around. But the higher we climbed, the more narrow the road and the tighter the turns. I tend to get a little car sick and this was no exception. And did I mention there was some construction - on a mountain! One lane traffic up a mountain, following a pilot car, on a dirt road. Fun. After the construction section, the boys fortunately fell asleep and slept through the worst of the drive.

We continued to climb up the mountain, with no guard rails on the death side of the mountain, which also happened to be my side of the mountain. I refrained from describing the view to Keith. He has a healthy fear of heights and by the time we reached the top, around 12,000 feet, he was sweating and the car thermometer said the outside temp was 53 degrees and the wind was blowing strong. We didn't stop for photos or to check the weather. We just kept praying we could get safely down the other side to Estes Park. And eventually we did. It was not a fun ride and not one that we will take again for a LONG time, if ever!

We were all very happy to reach our hotel and find some dinner. Then it was off to bed to rest up for the adventures in Estes Park the next day.

Colorado - Day 3

Andrew and Annette displaying their Rush Hour game masterpieces.

This was the Railroad version of Rush Hour - HUGE hit with all the kids!
Andrew, Roxton and Tanisha strategizing

A serious meeting on the stairs - Victoria, Annette, Tiana and Courtney

more Grandpa time

Sunday afternoon we took a little walk up the mountain road to see what we could see.

There were A LOT of rocks the boys needed to collect.

Happy with his rock collection

Andrew told us there was a waterfall around the next corner, but we didn't believe him. (He had been on this walk before with Matt and Sarah.) Next time we'll listen to him.

It was amazing and rushing fast with all the melting snow.

a surprise pile of snow on the side of the road

We tried to get the boys to pose in front of the waterfall. All they wanted to do was throw rocks in the water.