Tractor Pull

Can you tell we like tractors? Day two at the National Threshers Show is a big deal. It's the kiddie tractor pull, a pedal tractor with a sled that has weights on it that move forward as the tractor goes forward making it difficult to pedal. The boys got in lots of practice time leading up to our trip. They pedaled up and down the hills around our house pulling dumbbells. They came prepared.

There are three divisions by weight class. Under 40lb., 40-60lb. and 60+. Before we left, Josh was weighing 39 lbs. which was perfect but, somewhere along the way, a growth spurt happened and he was put in the same weight class as his brother Benjamin. Even though he was with the bigger kids, Josh had a smile on his face the whole time and just loved being in the moment. Benjamin did fantastic, out of thirty kids, he pulled (pedaled) 155 lbs. a distance of 46.5 ft., just 1.5 ft. short of a full pull for fourth place. It's a moment we hope he will remember when he is a grown man.

What did Gracie do this whole time. Why, she sat in her stroller so nicely and clapped for her brothers. She was so sweet, and yes girls can compete so we will be entering her next time we go. Maybe the Buffkin kids will sweep all three classes.

National Threshers

A couple of years ago, the boys were watching one of their many tractor DVD's. On it was a tractor show with 19th century antique steam tractors and also a kids pedal tractor pull event somewhere in Ohio. Out of curiosity, my friend "Google" and I checked it out. Turns out it is an annual event only two hours from Larry's hometown. Ever since, we always combine our trips to visit Pat (Larry's mom) with the National Threshers Steam Tractor Show. This year was a bonus because the featured, gas, tractor was John Deere, Yeah!

We had some excited kiddos in the car who couldn't wait to get there. This is how we know we are close to the fairgrounds, look for the big black sooty cloud. These tractors use coal or wood so the air quality is not the best. It's noisy, smoky and grimmy, it makes you appreciate modern farm equipment. It's considered a working event with plowing, hay baling and saw mill demonstrations all using vintage equipment. Even the homemade Amish ice cream is churned using a hit-and-miss engine.

We spend two days at the event. A favorite is the parade. All the tractors are introduced and blow their steam whistles, it's really loud. We enjoy being able to do this for the boys. If you ask them, they will say they love it better than going to Disney World. It certainly is A LOT cheaper.

Chattanooga Choo Choo

Benjamin has become a train nut thanks in part to his best friend Steven. Together the two of them plan out and build all kinds of elaborate train layouts. So, while we were in Chattanooga, we took a ride on the Tennessee Valley Railroad so Ben could ride on a steam train, his favorite. Unfortunately, the steam train was under maintenance for a "boiler wash" but the whole family still had a blast riding on a vintage diesel locomotive. The trip goes through a pre-civil war tunnel, which only had six inches of clearance on either side. A working turntable, the boys loved that. And a tour of the maintenance barn where they restore the trains. It was a really neat trip, we hope to return someday and take one of the longer excursions.

Summer Vacation

Every other summer, we drive up to Ohio to visit Larry's mom. To break up the sixteen hour trip, we stopped in Chattanooga for two days to do some fun stuff. The Children's Discovery Museum was a big hit. There was a special Curious George exhibit, one of our favorite kids shows, with lots of hands on science experiments. They learned about river systems, music, all kinds of mechanical stuff and a big favorite was digging for dinosaur bones. Gracie had a great time getting wet in the river exhibit. I mean really wet, thank goodness for hand dryers. It was a great place to run around and explore.

Open House

The family was invited to a special event, it was the grand opening of our neighbors' playhouse. They had spent many days and hours constructing a very grand playhouse for their daughter and it was time to celebrate. Every detail of the party was beautiful, at one point a group of kids lead by my sons turned the tea party into this secret agent hideout game which was so very appropriate for them. All the kids, especially Grace have had lots of fun playing house in this enchanted cottage.

End of the Year Awards

School is now officially out and we are super proud of Benjamin's accomplishments this year. He was recognized for being an honor roll student (straight A's) for the entire year. As well as Math Superstars, AR Reading, Governor's Fitness Challenge, Coach's Award and the Citizenship Award. It has been amazing watching his progress this year in first grade and we can't wait to see his achievements next year.

Birthday Boy

My baby boy turned 7! For the longest time Benjamin has requested all of his parties to be John Deere themed. Out of the blue he asked for a Mario Kart party. I was excited about a whole new theme to work with because I am just a little burnt out on tractors.

The kids did a "coin battle" in the backyard competing on who could find the most gold coins. Afterwards, they broke up into two teams and had a Mario Kart tournament complete with hats and moustaches. We had pizza of course and "Mega Mushroom" cupcakes. It was a lot of fun doing something different.

Easter

Easter week was so busy. It was my brother's year to host, we alternate, so at least I didn't have to do the crazy clean the house from top to bottom. Nonetheless, I still squeezed in lots of baking and of course sugar cookies. And since it was Easter, I did carrot shaped for the Easter bunny. They are so fun to eat because the kids joke they are eating their veggies. I was also able to bake some Challah bread and I decided to try a six braid which was insane. I had to watch a YouTube video simultaneously to get the braid sequence right.

If you have been around my family for Easter you know that shish kabob (and grits) is on the menu. My brother Paul did a fantastic job and I think it was one of his best. Check out the photo, doesn't it look yummy!

I didn't get a good photo of Grace in her Easter dress since we were a little hurried getting to church. The one I have of all three kids is a little squinty, they hate for the sun to be in their face for photos, oh well. They looked really cute though.

The baskets were a big hit and the kids had a nutritious breakfast that morning...chocolate bunnies of course. Later that day for the egg hunt, which was our largest yet. Lot's of cousins and extended family this year. Benjamin built his basket out of Rokenbok parts, he is unbelievable in the things he can build. Grace had a great time finding eggs and wanted to open each one as she found them. Josh didn't mess around and was smart to follow behind Grace to pick up all the eggs that would fall out of her basket each time she bent down to pick up a new egg. It was a fun day and the kids were able to finish it off with a Gator ride with Uncle Paul.

Mickey's house

Just one more post to catch up and then I can get to Easter.

We had been trying to take the kids to Disney all winter and either illness, weather or work managed to interfere. Our chance finally came at the end of March, Larry and I decided to make it a surprise and didn't tell the kids where we were going that day. After a leisurely breakfast at "The Barrel", that's code for Cracker Barrel at our house, off we went. We knew going in that Josh would be very excited at every sight he saw and was. Benjamin would take some convincing. If we lived close to Lego land this would not be an issue. But for some reason my oldest son thinks that unless tractors or some type of construction equipment is involved, it's boring. I am so glad the monorail was his first encounter otherwise it would have been downhill from there. We sat up front with the driver and "the magic" began.

I was expecting to do the "cheerio dance" with Grace all day. You know whipping out snacks and toys to distract her. Instead she was so content to be in her stroller all day and watch everything around her. She even took a long nap! It was endearing going on the rides with my kids that I had enjoyed at their age, definitely a full circle moment.