Summer Revisited: The Farm

For the last two summers, we have had the opportunity to visit some of our family on their farm in eastern Kansas.  The kids and I have absolutely loved it!    Uncle Steve and Aunt Sherry are two of the kindest, most generous people I have ever met.  Truly the salt of the Earth. 




Nathan and Brady ride with Uncle Steve in the front loader,
loading a mixture of corn and silage into the feed truck. 

Nathan doesn't warm up to everyone.  I take that back.  Nathan doesn't
warm up to most people.  But Uncle Steve was different.  Nathan loved him
from the first tractor ride they went on together, and was his constant shadow
while we were on the farm. 



On the farm the day starts every morning around 5:30 or 6:00, and Nathan was always the first one awake.  He was so nervous that he would miss his chance to go out with Uncle Steve to load the silage and corn into the feed truck, that some mornings he was awake even before Uncle Steve was.   After loading the feed truck, they would drive to the various fields and feed the cattle.  Then it was back to the house for a quick breakfast before going out to do more work. 

This year, Kansas was so hot that we nearly melted while we were there, so we spent a good amount of our time in Aunt Dawn's swimming pool. 




Grandma Hema, Aunt Sherry and Aunt Dawn


John was doing his summer internship in Wichita, Kansas, which is only about 3 hours from their farm, so he drove up and spent two days with us. 



Hemas trying to stay cool in Aunt Dawn's pool
with Aunt Sherry's daughter Jana and her husband



Yummy enjoying the water






Cute Avery had so much fun with her cousins

 Avery, Grandma Hema and I spent most of our time with Aunt Sherry, trying to help her keep up with feeding and cleaning up after everyone.   Every day she cooks enough to feed all of the farm workers, basically a small army and YUM, she is a great cook!

Grandma Hema with Aunt Sherry

Will was fascinated with the slobbery calves we were bottle feeding.
He kept barking at them.



My attempt at taking a picture while trying not to get smeared with slobber
by the calf.




Uncle Steve and Aunt Sherry let my "city" kids bottle feed calves, bail hay, load feed for the cattle in their front loader, drive the golf cart all over the farm, and ride along with the men as they cut silage in the big combine tractor.  Nathan is convinced he is going to be a farmer "like Uncle Steve" when he grows up.  My kids were in heaven.