Wicked Awesome Weekend!

We took a long weekend this past weekend to go out to the Wainwright area. We went with some friends, and stayed at their parents house, who were away, but they graciously allowed us to invade their home. With 7 kids and 4 adults in our two families, we really do invade!! We had an amazing and busy and fun time away....

We had picked up Art's new truck on Thursday, so he was excited to drive it and play with all the new features in it!  Ellie Mae as loving sitting in the front between us!

Here was our view....we drove behind our friends, The Fords, the whole time, on "quad duty"...making sure none came loose from the trailer.  We hauled 5 quads out there, so it was a full trailer!

Friday was the perfect driving day.  Not too hot, and just beautiful and sunny.  Take a look at these clouds!

I love seeing these old grain elevators along the way!

Once we arrived in Wainwright, Friday night we headed out to the Stampede and Chuck Wagon races.  It was a long night for the little Girls, but we had a good time regardless.  Gotta love those mini donuts!

Saturday morning, we headed back into Wainwright for the parade.  It was a great parade...and we brought home lots of candy, so it was truly a success in the Girls eyes!  Here is the whole brood!

Both Abby and Hannah got to drive the new truck (before me, even!) at some point during the weekend.  I must say, they both did really well....and were very careful and conscientious!  Check out Abby's concentration level!

Saturday afternoon, we all suited up for the much anticipated quad riding!  Ellie Mae looked quite adorable in her helmet!  She actually fell asleep while riding the quad later on in the afternoon....

Here we all are, ready to go!  We hauled up 5 quads, and the Ford's parents generously allowed me to borrow their quad, so we had a total of 6.  The funny thing is, they were all red except for one!

It started out a bit cloudy and overcast, but as you can see, that didn't dampen our spirits!  We were laughing because at one point, we had to cross the highway, and where we live, people may report quad riders for doing that.  There, they honk and wave!  I love that!

Abby rode with one of the Ford boys at some point, and they all found mud!

Hannah and Shaye especially found the mud.  They were covered....face, backs, pants, boots.  We actually figured it wasn't only mud, but also manure.  Yummy!!  Needless to say, my washing machine is working hard today!! 

We rode down to the railway trestle, which was quite amazing.  I believe it was built around 1908.  We quaded all around the area, and you can see the river on the top left side of the photo.

  I didn't get any pictures of the events leading up to this picture because Art had the camera, but our friend Darcy decided he would try and cross the river.  He was about 3 ft. from the other side when the river got a bit deeper, and he stalled his quad.  He was in so deep that the only thing you could see was his handlebars and back seat.  Then, Art drove in and had to stand on the back of his quad and throw out the winch to pull him out.  The kids, of course, thought that this was loads of fun to watch!  The next hour or so was spent with the guys trying to get Darcy's quad dried out enough so that it would start.  Eventually, it did.  We later found out that there was a cell phone in the quad, so naturally, that was one of the victims of the day!  It was dripping wet!

While we were watching the parade, I had commented that I would

like to drive one of the huge tractors that went by.  Well, Saturday evening, we drove over to one of Darcy's uncles' farm, and they let me drive their tractor....and seeder....and seed bin....This was quite the tractor!  It was a brand new New Holland tractor, complete with GPS and everything.  I think that was definitely the most expensive vehicle I've ever driven....BY FAR!  It was pretty intimidating to drive that whole rig, but also a lot of fun.  There we go...another life long dream has come to pass.  I know, kinda crazy, but it's true! 

One of Abby's favorite things during the weekend was to pick eggs.  I think she has Art convinced to build a chicken house, so we'll see if that happens.  I've only been asking for 5 yrs......!  Here are the eggs the kids picked on Sunday morning, which we were able to bring some of them home.

Sunday afternoon, we headed to CFB Wainwright, as Darcy's mom works there.  She works in the cafeteria, so she gave us the grand tour, complete with hats and lunch.  She was telling us that when training exercises are going on, they make 4000-5000 box lunches for the soldiers to eat.  Talk about a big job!

After the tour, we headed back to the farm where I got to drive the tractor, and they also raise (is that the correct term?) bees, and harvest honey.  They had suits for the kids (and adults) to protect us, and they opened up a couple of hives and gave us an education on how bees work.  Are they ever amazing!

Molly said that this was her favorite part of the weekend!  I must say, it was a little disconcerting, walking up and hearing a loud "bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz", but after you got used to that, it was pretty darn cool!  This wooden frame, when they honey is ready to be harvested, will hold around 10 lbs. of honey.  We got to try a little bit of "fresh honey" as well.

After that, we headed home in time to unload everything in a torrential downpour and electrical storm!  Oh well, that was the only rain of the weekend!  So there you have it.  Our very fun, and very full weekend!  Thanks, Ford Family!