Happy Friday Morning

 It's been a very happy Friday morning at my house today. Lincoln stayed over night so we started the day at 6:30 a.m. with blueberry waffles and the garbage truck! It's a great morning at Grammy's house.

Biker Boy

He is his father's son! Lincoln loves his bike and it is amazing me how he has learned to handle himself and the bike. He is a brave boy.  It's built for kids 18 months to 5 years and he is certainly ready for it. I am so impressed at how he has learned to balance. This system of no pedals and no training wheels makes so much sense. I have never posted a video before but I want to preserve this memory for sure. He makes me very nervous but he is having fun, seems to be learning a bit about caution and he is wearing his helmet.

September Woods

 Blame the recent heat or a busy schedule but I haven't been in the woods in over a week. Today I ventured in for a nice walk and found this beautiful orange surprise. It made me very glad that I had gotten out on the trails rather than walking in the neighborhood on this cool and overcast day.

 The leaves are still green and the trails are pretty clear. I will be on the watch for the fall changes soon. Mowgli was again my motivation to go on a good walk and I am so appreciative to have him as company in the deep quiet woods.

Welcoming Annalise

Annalise Rose joined the family in July but this was my first chance to meet her and celebrate with the family. My nephew, Jeff is the proud daddy. This is the fifth grandbaby for my brother and his wife. I am enjoying the baby phase of our family again! It was very nice to gather with many family members for Annalise's baptism and a traditional Lutheran worship service then get to spend the day in Mason City. Annalise may be tiny but she has a brother and a sister as well as many other extended family members who love her already!

Kirby Meets Marlee

Somehow everything fell into place perfectly and Kirby got a chance to meet Marlee and Jill on Sunday. Jay and Briana were in Mason City to visit Betty and I was there for a baptism. We were close enough that I asked if I could take Kirby with me for a while. It was so fun to get to bring Kirby to my parent's home for his second visit and meet Jill who is a big dog lover. Kirby got to visit a couple of homes and several family members as well as meeting Marlee. They are pretty cute together, all three of them!

Rodeo and Motocross

 Dale  and I headed out to National Cattle Congress on Saturday afternoon to catch a couple of our favorite events. We always enjoy a rodeo and this was no exception. The animals are amazing and the cowboys and cowgirls are pretty impressive also

 Last year was our first motocross event and we wanted to see more this year. The little guy above is from the 50 minis group, ages 4-6. It's pretty impressive to see these little guys maneuver the same course as the big boys. It's crazy to think that Lincoln would be old enough for this category in just three years. I could see him doing this very successfully especially since his daddy loves the sport.

We did make one trip through the cow barn and they were resting peacefully. I guess three days worth of people parading through their barn wore them out. I guess it's time to mark my calendar for Cattle Congress 2014. It's been a great event again this year.

Cows, Bunnies and Chicks

 Most of my Thursday was spent in a cattle barn and I loved it! I asked Ashley if I could take Lincoln to Cattle Congress today because our weekend schedules didn't work well. Lincoln and I met up as mommy headed to Bible study this morning. As we would have guessed Lincoln was most interested in the cows, especially the two very young calves that we were allowed to pet. Lincoln was so gentle and loving.

We got to see the cows poop and I will tell you that it was most certainly a highlight and something that he watched carefully and will remember.

 

Mommy joined us after Bible study and we knew that Lincoln would be happy to go back to see the Cattle Barn and the Hall of Breeds. This black and white calf was named Cody and was probably Lincoln's favorite friend of the day.

This tiny little bunny was named Lincoln. They brought him out because his is very accustomed to small children. We all thought it was cute that the bunny had the same name. When we went back through that barn with Ashley, the bunny lady brought Lincoln the Bunny over to us right away so that Mommy could see too. Again Lincoln was so very gentle and cautious.

 

 We did leave the barns a few times; once for a bag of mini donuts to share. It seemed like fair food would be a good idea and it was. We also saw the tiger show and the pig races. Lincoln was very attentive but when asked what he wanted to do next every single time he wanted to go back to the barns to see the animals.

The chicks were a favorite also and the people working with the chicks got to know us well just like the bunny people and the cow people. In the cow barn they referred to Lincoln as their "biggest fan." I was impressed that Lincoln could name all the animals we saw, even the huge turtle. One of the farmers commented that some of the second graders called the cows horses but that Lincoln "got it right."

 

I am one happy Grammy again today. We actually stayed at Cattle Congress for five hours. Lincoln's nap was very late but he held up perfectly, always anxious to get back to the cow barn. We walked back and forth many times and it never got old to him. I am so glad that Ashley could join us too. I usually work on Thursdays but this worked out perfectly when my schedule had to be adjusted this week.