Eli had been sick for a few days before Thanksgiving and we wanted to make sure he wasn't going to get my grandma sick because she would also be at Papa's Farm. We thought we would be okay but by late Wednesday morning, Eli started heading downhill again. When Brad got home from work around 12pm, I took Eli into urgent care again. They said his ear was all read and gave him antibiotics for an ear infection. They also gave him some steroids for the nasty cough he was having. Although we got a very late start, at about 3:30pm we headed up towards Papa Farm. It was a long drive but we finally pulled in at about 10:30pm. The boys did a great job on the ride.
We all slept well and were excited for the next couple of days. On Thursday morning, Aiden was playing on the iPad (Eli and mommy slept in late) in the living room. Papa tried to show Aiden that the fire place was okay and wasn't going to hurt him but he wasn't so sure about that. Brad, Aiden, and Papa went exploring this morning around the farm.
Once Eli and I finally woke up, we put together a train track that my dad got from a friend. The boys LOVED it!! It took Brad and my dad a little bit of time to figure out how to make the track but once they did, we were good to go. The train has 3 cars plus the engine but since it's a little old, the rubber on the wheels doesn't grip the track too well so it can only pull 2 of the cars. It even makes train noises!
We gave Papa the picture that we worked on with all of our handprints. It turned out good. I even added some real grass at the bottom by gluing pieces on (after this picture was taken).
We decided to take a trip outside because Eli and I had been in the house all day. We walked down one of the many huge hills and Papa was showing the boys something at the bottom.
Aiden was very interested in what Papa had to say. He's like a little sponge. Eli wasn't feeling well yet so he was pretty fussy and just in a bad mood for the most part.
We headed up the the other side of the hill and Aiden took off with Papa. Eli wasn't feeling as I already mentioned so he was .... a little slow. Also, he's just a little lazy and doesn't like to walk unless he has to. Needless to say, I carried him up this giant hill and a got a great workout in the process. haha.
I love that our boys (for the most part) are so kind to each other. This picture makes me smile because I see how happy Eli is and I can tell from Aiden's cheeks, he is smiling too. They are such good friends and I hope it stays that way forever.
Eli went inside after out walk and didn't want to come back out again. Aiden still wanted to do something so papa took him on his first ever 4-wheeler ride. I was so excited for him because ... I loved 4-wheelers as a kid. My sister and I would drive it around our property in Inverness (FL) all day long. Well, I should have remembered we were talking about Aiden. Pappa was driving nice and slow and did a little circle with him around the part of the property that is relatively flat (except for the one huge hill down and another one that's not as steep that we get up). Well, Aiden didn't like it. He was yelling for Papa for to stop and for him to get off. He got off but you could see he really wanted to like it. He then said he wanted back on so we put him back on. He rode for a little bit longer with Papa.
This is the view from the front door of the farm house if you look to the right. It looks about the same looking to the left except there is no flag. Haha!
Eli saw Aiden riding around on the 4 wheeler and finally decided to put real clothes on come outside (he slept almost naked that day for nap time). My dad said I could drive the boys around for a bit while he got Thanksgiving dinner ready. Aiden went with me although he was still very hesitant. He said numerous times he wanted to get off and then when I would stop, he would change his mind. Poor kid.
It was turning into a beautiful night. The weather got a little colder and the sky was beautiful colors so I wanted to take some pictures. That said, I changed spots with Brad so he could drive the boys around on the 4 wheeler. Here is a little collage of the pictures I took of Aiden. He is such a sweet boy. He found a dandelion and I told him if he blew all the white things off of it, he got to make a wish. He wished for the sweetest things like "Eli feeling better and finding mommy a present in the woods."
They had fun watching each other take turns on the 4 wheeler. Eli liked the 4 wheeler right away! You can see him below grabbing onto the barb wire fence to try and get closer to Aiden and daddy. Don't worry, God was watching over him and he didn't actually grab a barb. Brad and I did scare him to death by both screaming as I took this shot.
Eli wanted me to drive him around too so I happily obliged.
Actually, Eli didn't care who drove him around ... he just liked it no matter what.
When Eli wasn't napping or riding the 4-wheeler on Thanksgiving, this is how you could find him. Poor thing didn't have much energy and was just laying on the floor watching the train drive around.
It was raining Friday morning so we had to stay inside. Eli didn't want to wake-up from nap so we didn't get moving until pretty late; about 3:45pm. The only way we even got Eli out of the house was to take him on a 4 wheeler ride. After both boys got a ride, we went to a local park for a bit and let the boys play. It was pretty cold out and I don't have any good warm clothes for Eli (Aiden didn't need them last year in Florida). He was not feeling great and was very cold even though he had a couple layers on. He wouldn't even smile for me to take a picture this day (the day he's wearing the mickey mouse hat).
We tried to take some family pictures at the park but Eli wasn't having anything to do with it.
I even got a few pictures with my dad. I'm so bummed I didn't get any with my grandma but am so thankful to get to spend some time with her and let the boys be around her more than just an hour or two on a holiday.
Aiden discovered that he could fit under the bed and that entertained the boys for an hour or so. They started playing on their air mattresses in the bedroom and we didn't see them for an hr or two. They finally came out and their faces were all red from jumping around on them.
It wasn't until Saturday morning that I actually got a tour of papa's farm. Brad and Aiden and I walked around for a long while. It was FREEZING outside but it was good to get out. Eli didn't want to come which was fine because I would have had to carry him and I had NO IDEA how hilly my dad's farm was. I would have been exhausted after about 5 minutes. It was neat to see his farm and it was extra cool that Aiden was telling me about it. He did such a good job of listening to papa talk about it on Friday morning, that he was able to tell me quite a bit. He even told me how Indians used to live under some rocks and how my dad grows clover for the deer to eat. Brad was a great tour guide too. He filled me in on lots of info that my dad told him on his tour.
I just love this picture of Aiden and Brad. It was so hilly and uneven that Aiden had to hold onto a hand going up or down hills.
We stopped at a spot that Aiden picked out so that he could have a giant stick in the background. He was excited to wear papa's orange hat (so he wouldn't get shot)!!
We got back home and found Eli having a good ole time. He really wanted to watch Monster Trucks so I got the DVD out for him and let him watch some. He was pretty happy with that.
We ate lunch, packed up, and got on the road at about 1:30pm. After 2 gas stops, a dinner stop, and a quick potty break, we got home about 8:30pm which was good. We were all exhausted and the boys were little wired from sitting for so long but it didn't take long for us to get our schedule back. We had a great time at the farm and it was nice to just unplug from the world for a bit. I say that but I did do a little black friday shopping on my phone!! Anyway, we can't wait to go visit again when the weather is a little warmer and try some family camping!
No comments:
Post a Comment