Last Saturday we FINALLY got to take a trip up to the farm with all of our friends and their kids. Kenny and I have been trying to get this kind of trip together ever since Riley was born four years ago. For one reason or another, we just couldn’t make it happen.
We used to go every year with our friends and stay the whole weekend. Fishing, skeet-shooting, hay riding, trebucheting, campfire cooking, drinking (shhh), tent sleeping, and so much more. SO MUCH FUN.
However, once we all started having kids, it got a bit more complicated. But now that many of the kids are older, we knew we had to start including them in the fun, with a few slight adjustments. (No guns when the kids are around!)
We picked last weekend to go, and although many people couldn’t make it, we did end up having a good turnout. We also had really nice weather. It was a bit warm but there was absolutely no rain.
We got up and out of the house early on Saturday morning, stopped at Tastee to pick up our traditional headed-to-the-farm breakfast of doughnuts, met up with Uncle Jeff, Aunt E, Kate, and Claire and her family, and got on the road. We made good time and arrived before 10am. Other families started trickling in shortly after that. Claire helped Kenny start the fire, and our fun farm weekend was well underway.
We took a break for lunch and to celebrate a special occasion: Dana’s birthday. I broke out some purple and gold cupcakes, we lit some candles, and everyone sang to the birthday girl. Claire and Riley were very excited, mostly about the icing.
Karen and Stacey and their families had prior commitments Saturday morning, so they weren’t able to get to the farm until mid-afternoon. As such, we held off on doing the hayride until they arrived. After a bit of fishing first…..
…..we all piled onto the trailer (crossing our fingers and saying a little prayer it wouldn’t break…it didn’t) and prepared to head off in search of the cows.
We drove into the pasture where Kenny thought one herd was and taught everyone how to call the cows. (“Haaaaayyyyyy UP!”) They came running down the hill right away.
Many of the group had never been so close to cows before, let alone getting to touch them and feed them. I think this was a favorite activity of the weekend, even though Riley got a little too close to a pair of younger ones and the male got a little jumpy. That was a bit scary.
A few people had to leave after we returned from the hayride, but they all said they had had such a great day. The rest of us settled in to stay the night, making dinner over the campfire, attempting to get the LSU game on satellite (we did not succeed but we did have a radio), and keeping the kids in view while they ran around with their glow sticks and flashlights. They had a ball.
Rory and Colin naturally were the first to go to bed, with the older kids continuing to play until well past their bedtimes. Slowly, though, they started to drop off. Riley was actually the last kid awake, but only because neither Kenny nor I would move from beside the radio until the game was over. LSU actually beat #3 Ole Miss. GEAUX TIGERS!!!!
The temperature dropped down into the 50s that night, but both boys slept fairly well in the tent. As you saw on Wednesday, Rory was in the pack-n-play, and Riley slept in a sleeping bag in between Kenny and me. Neither of us got a lot of sleep, but it wasn’t too bad. Big thanks to Uncle Jeff for providing a tent mansion big enough for all four of us!
We got up the next morning and had a yummy campfire breakfast. Then the kids did a bit more fishing (Riley also fell in the pond. Super.) while most of the adults started breaking down camp. Since our hayride the day before ran a little late, we still needed to feed the other herd of cows. So everyone piled onto the trailer again for one last ride. We found the cows and gave them the last two bales of hay then headed back to the campsite. Claire and Riley held hands most of the way back.
Kenny was also kind enough to let some of the older kids “drive” the tractor with him on the way back. Claire, Nathan, Benjamin, and Kennedy each got turns. Dana told me later on that Claire said driving the tractor was her favorite part of the weekend.
Everyone packed up and left to go home after that. Kenny and I put everything away, closed up the houses, and dropped the tractor off at the barn before heading out ourselves. It took a little while but we soon had two sleeping boys on our hands.
However, it was about 60 seconds after I snapped this picture that all hell broke loose.
Without any kind of warning, Rory threw up. A lot. And then started crying. Loudly.
Amazingly, Riley slept through it all. Kenny pulled over, got Rory out, and stripped him down to his diaper. I held him while Kenny cleaned up the car as best he could. Once the nausea had passed, Rory was as happy as could be: babbling, watching cars go by, and pointing out birds flying in the sky. We found a clean shirt for him to wear, strapped him back into his seat, and got back on the road.
Less than 20 minutes later, he threw up again. This time, Riley did wake up. We pulled over again and cleaned up again. We had run out of clothes, so we just left Rory in his diaper when we put him back into his seat. Luckily, we made it home with no other incidents, and he even fell asleep just before we got on the Causeway.
When we got home, we washed a lot of laundry and cleaned the car thoroughly, inside and out. And though I tried to keep them inside and quiet, both boys ended up playing outside, like nothing had happened, as Kenny and I were cleaning. Rory did throw up one more time during dinner (we think maybe because he got some carwashing soap in his mouth), but since then has been fine. So strange.
Despite the ending, I’d say the first friends + family farm trip was a great success. We got lots of compliments on how much fun was had, and we truly hope this can become a semi-regular thing.
Thanks to everyone who was able to make it. For those that weren’t able to join us, don’t worry. There will be a next time.
Have a wonderful and safe Halloween weekend everyone!
