tractors, cows, and big red barns

Every summer we make a trip up to Michigan to see my dad’s side of the family.  He is one of seven brothers, and they live all over the country.  My grandma still lives on the farm where my dad and all his brothers were raised, so it makes the most sense for us to meet there so we can see her.  Our family get togethers used to be somewhat smaller (small is relative when you have 6 uncles on ONE side of the family), but now all the cousins are getting married and having babies.  It’s crazy big but always lots of fun!  Here’s a picture of all seven brothers…in order of age (from left to right:  Dave, Dan, Steve, Phil (my dad), Joe, Paul, and Jim):

We made the 9 hour drive (well, it really took us around 11 hours) on Friday.  Owen has become an awesome traveler due to the purchase of a DVD player for the car.  I have no problem showing him movie after movie after movie to keep him happy.  Molly, on the other hand, is not quite the traveler her brother is.  She must sense that the car seat means long car ride (can’t blame her…she’s been to Michigan twice, Oklahoma, and Kansas City in her short two month life!) and starts to scream the minute she’s buckled in.  The only way we can keep her quiet is if one of us strokes her cheek and holds her paci in her mouth.  Let me tell you how fun THAT is for 11 hours!  Anyway, on the way to Michigan we were telling Owen all about the cows and the tractors he was going to see on Great Grandma’s farm.  Because the small highways that take us to the farm are deep in the heart of midwestern farm country, he entertained us by pointing out all the “big red barns” that he saw along the way.  And there were A LOT.

The next morning was the 4th of July!  Not too 4th of July-ish in Michigan this year.  It was chilly and overcast and we didn’t see any fireworks this year.  Oh well.  Regardless, I dressed my kids in their red, white, and blue.

Molly’s outfit lasted about 10 minutes…until she spit up all over it, and I realized that temps in the 60’s probably didn’t warrant a tank dress.  After breakfast we headed to the farm so we could introduce Great Grandma to Molly.  Here’s a shot of her cuddling her 7th great-grandchild!

After meeting Great Grandma, we took Owen on a tour of the farm.  He’d been talking about seeing the “moos” all morning…and there sure were a lot of “moos” for him to see!  When my dad lived on the farm it was a dairy farm.  My Uncle Dan lives on the farm and still grows crops, but the cows are owned by someone else.  It was fun for me to watch my dad with the cows…even after all these years he still seems very comfortable around them.  He sure did have a different life back then!

I think Owen was a little amazed at how big the cows are in real life!  After checking out the cows, Owen got to see the rest of the farm…including the tractor!

Later that day, Uncle Dan took Owen on a ride in the big tractor.  He was a little freaked out by this at first.  To his credit, the tractor is pretty huge up close!

After the tractor ride, Uncle Dan let Travis take Owen on the 4-wheeler.  Again, this freaked Owen out at first but he liked it in the end!

Here’s a shot of my mom and Owen walking around on the farm.  I included it because behind it is the farmhouse where my grandma still lives and where my dad and all his brothers were raised.  This house is well over 10o years old, and it’s the place I’ve been visiting every since I was born.  Lots of memories here!

I wish I would have taken more pictures of the cousins.  I guess I was too busy catching up and playing games than taking pictures.  Oh well.  Here’s one picture of my cousin, Enid, and her son, Declan.  Declan is 6 months younger than Owen.  I’m sure they’ll become good playmates over the years!

It was a whirlwind weekend…lots of time in the car and then a full day of family time.  We are glad we got the chance to see everyone again.  Our next reunion will be next summer at my cousin Jocelyn’s wedding where Owen will make his 2nd debut as ring bearer!  Hopefully he’ll keep his clothes on for this one!