A day on the farm!

We had a great time with the kids a couple weekends ago when we joined our co-op on a field trip to tour the Mayfield Dairy and then to visit a farm that was all set up to entertain families for the fall season!
We enjoyed a host of activities on the farm including a hayride, animal-feeding, learning how the milkers work, a hay jump, seeing the sunflower field in bloom, a corn box to play in(think sandbox but with corn), pretend cows to "milk", walking in a silo, a corn maze, the faceless characters painted onto plywood just begging for little faces to fill them for photos, and other exciting things that I am sure I have forgotten!Vitali in the corn box. The corn box was a big favorite!

Even the big kids enjoyed the corn--for that matter, Steve was in there too!

Children of the corn.

Steve offered to take the day off and go with us.
We were so thankful that he did. It was a great family day!

One of the things I forgot to mention--a giant stack of tractor tires.
Perfect for a little boy whose main dream in life is to be
BIG!!

The hay jump! Max's favorite spot.

Ivy enjoyed it too.

And Vitali, AKA, Tigger, also loved the hay jump.
Though he nicely paused his bouncing to pose for a picture for mommy.

Ivy in a pumpkin. I love this little pumpkin head...
See? Told you.

The hayride was a lot of fun, too. Notice all the smiles?
More hayride-prompted grinning.

I am amazed at what huge strides Misha has made since he joined our family! Anyone familiar with sensory issues will appreciate the fact that it is a giant accomplishment for this little guy to let a donkey eat out of his hand!

All the kids. Look at Vitali. That pretty much sums him up in a snapshot! Haha! That boy is all entertainment and funniness!

It was a chilly day. I didn't notice how chilly till I got into the car and realized that my fingers were stiff! But no one wanted to leave and all were chattering and smiling on the ride home, overflowing with happy memories of the day.

From the shoebox blog

A surprise in the mail!

Steve asked me to clean off the front porch today because he was expecting a package. I didn't ask what it was but made sure it got done. I was hoping that he had ordered more rags because he uses so many this time of year.

When the truck arrived, I was in the back yard taking care of the chickens. I hadn't gotten dressed yet and so I was avoiding going over to the truck to get the package, letting the kids get it instead. As I walked into garage, I called, "Do I have to sign anything?" No, I didn't.

Then, I heard the boys say, "Who is it for?"
"Melissa Eimers." the driver read.
What? Curiosity got the better of me and I abandoned my scoopful of chick food and stepped out of the garage for a better view.

There was no doubt about it, that was not a box of rags!

Around me the kids were saying, "What is it Mama?" I felt a blush creeping over my face as I stated what would have been obvious to better readers, "Daddy sent me flowers!" I looked up and saw the driver grinning in amusement at my reaction.

What a fun and sweet surprise from my honey!

As we walked into the house, Max kept a steady stream of conversation going. To me he said, "Mama, you are going to kiss Daddy?" To Misha he warned, "Mama and Daddy are going to kiss. You will have to watch them!" (Misha makes a big giggly deal of it when he sees kissing.) To everyone else, "Daddy loves Mama! He give her flowers!"

Aren't they beautiful?

The flowers are beautiful! Once before he has sent me flowers. Other times he has hand delivered them. I am not the sort of girl who requires flowers all the time, but how fun it is and how flattered I am that he thought of me, ordered them and kept the secret until I was surprised today!