Fall Tractors

I think this September has officially been the month of tractors at our house!  The boys love driving their tractors so much that it's one of the last things they talk about before going to bed, and a motivating conversation piece in getting them up in the morning.  They drive them at least once (usually twice) each day, and the beautiful fall weather has made it hard for all of us to want to come inside for lunch or dinner.  An added bonus for me - those speedy little tractors have given me some exercise walking (often running) up and down the driveway to catch up to and keep track of all 3 boys.  The yard has an endless supply of acorns, leaves, and sticks to collect and drive around, so they're always on the move.  There's a small difference between the two large tractors - a tiny plastic knob on the top that is red on one and black on the other - and the boys make this out to be a huge deal, demanding either the "red" or "black" tractor.  Oliver has firmly staked his claim on the red one.  Most of the time Owen will settle for black, or Oliver will agree to ride in the wagon and let Owen drive the red.  One day Owen got hold of the red one and Oliver tried to sweet talk his way back on it and even kissed Owen for a turn!  Another favorite destination is the end of the driveway where our house number is posted on the fence.  All 3 boys love driving down to this spot, getting off, and pointing at and saying the numbers.  And the last 2 pictures will give you an idea of how wild even little Spencie can get on the tractor.  One day he saw Oliver trying to drive over the "cliff" from our driveway down to the gully.  This is actually a really steep hill covered with plants and ending with a little rock wall drop-off into the yard.  Not something you want to drive anything down!  They've been trying to sneak the tractor over the edge when I'm not looking and Spencie has succeeded a couple times.  That thing is not light to pick up and lift back down!!  Well, here are some tractor highlights from the past 2 weeks - picking out a few pictures made me realize we have TONS of tractor pics :)

Train Tricks

The motorized Thomas the Train ride-on that my dad setup during his last visit (while Ryan and I were in Portland) gets a good amount of attention, but always in the shadow of the more fun and exciting tractors of course.  The boys do go out and play with Thomas most mornings after breakfast and sometimes in the afternoon if it's raining outside.  Owen likes a good, old-fashioned ride and might mix things up by putting his baby blankie on top while the train goes.  Oliver on the other hand has been brainstorming wild and crazy new ways to ride as you can see in the first video!  At one point we were tying down the button that needs to be continually pressed with a handkerchief, but the twins quickly figured out how to hold it down themselves.  Spencie still isn't able to keep it pressed for long periods of time by himself, so we got out some velcro today to keep it in motion for him.  After a couple minutes, Owen and Oliver came inside while I was making lunch in the kitchen.  Spencer seemed quiet and happy on the train so I finished making their sandwiches while he was riding.  A few minutes later, I started thinking he had been quiet for too long on that train (I could see him sitting on it going round and round from the window in the kitchen) and went to go see what was going on.  I found him SLEEPING at the wheel!!  I can sort of see how it happened - the twins vacated the area leaving it nice and quiet, close to nap time with a cool outside breeze on the deck, add in the lulling sound and vibration of the train and that tired boy was out!

Corollary to Peacock

After our viewing at the farm on Wednesday the boys have really been into peacocks!  Saying the word peacock, pretending to be one, and even finding and pulling out an old friend from the garage yesterday!  I don't know how Oliver spotted this thing through the mounds of stuff in our garage, but he appeared out of nowhere dragging the strange decorative item across the driveway and giving it kisses.  He's been pretty protective of the peacock, not really letting Owen or Spencer have a turn with it as he clutches it by the neck and takes it for walks around the yard.  He tried to bring it inside the house last night, but I told him the peacock had to sleep outside.  Today Spencer finally got his hands on it and took it for a spin by dragging it around my car a few times.  He was very upset to find out the peacock doesn't roll like all his other driveway toys!  But we all adjusted to the sound of scraping metal pretty quickly!  Who knows, if they don't grow tired of the peacock over the next week or so as I suspect, then maybe we'll have to fashion a skateboard or other mode of transportation for him...

Picnic and Peacocks

The weather was beautiful on Wednesday morning, so I made a quick decision to pack up a picnic lunch and head over to Frying Pan Farm.  We got there just in time for an 11:30 carousel ride followed by an 11:45 tractor ride and then lunch!  Our tractor driver pulled over at the corn fields to pass around a sample of the hard corn fed to the animals and the boys thought it was pretty cool to be able to take turns holding it.  I'm surprised Spencer didn't try eating it given how much he loves a piece of corn on the cob!  For lunch I found a nice shaded spot to set out a blanket and eat.  I bought some frozen PB&J sandwiches called "uncrustables" last week to try out for such an occasion and they were awesome!  They thawed out perfectly by lunch time and were almost mess-free with their completely sealed, rounded edges.  While I was cleaning up after we ate, the boys wandered down to some nearby picnic tables and were climbing all over them like a jungle gym.  I was just glad they were nearby and together - you never know who's going to pull a wild card when we're out and they're all "loose" like that, free to run (in any direction)!  After lunch we walked around the farm and visited some of the animals.  The boys really liked the turkeys and peacocks, and there were some brand new baby peacocks to see too!  I love this place and need to remember to visit many more times this fall!!