We paid a visit to Grandma and Grandpa Blair at Blair Farms this month. This was by far our biggest adventure since the lockdown, and we could not be more grateful to Joe and Deb for making space for us for an extended stay and for giving us a much needed change of pace from our regular Oak Park lockdown routine.
We started out Fourth of July weekend. As soon as we arrived, the boys were ready to test their remote control planes up in the open alfalfa field.
Plenty of open space to fly!
Gator Rides with Grandpa.
Watermelon break!
Gloria and Joe.
Bike ride for Gloria and Amy.
Checking out the chickens at Marc and Jessie's.
One of Gloria's favorite places: the barn where the kitties hide at Marc and Jessie's!
On day one, the kitties were a little shy, but that is okay -- Gloria was setting the stage for making some fun kitty friends.
I brought the happy hour fun and was glad to have plenty of delightful customers.
Time to do some rocket launches!
Audience gathered.
Beautiful full moon for us on the Fourth.
Luke.
Oliver.
Marc brought a fireworks show that was first rate entertainment. Tons of wow moments, right from the middle of the fields by the short cut.
Wow indeed!
A show to remember! Thanks, Marc!
We enjoyed our own Sunday church liturgy at home, complete with readings by the kids and songs accompanied by Chad on clarinet and Oliver on trumpet.
Lazy time enjoying the breeze.
Time to help Grandpa Blair with some projects.
Good work, Gloria!
Lunch time!
We paid a visit to Great-Grandpa Clyde's final resting place. We also paid our respects to Great Grandma Arlene and saw the graves of three prior generations of our Wolfram ancestors.
Amazing eggs from Marc and Jessie's! Thanks, hens!
Looks who warmed up to Gloria! Gloria named her Jelly (after the Jellicle Cats from Cats the musical).
Gloria.
Oliver and Joe.
Luke.
Amy and Oliver.
Another plane flight show!
Some birthday presents! Thanks, Aunt Joann!
Some more presents! It's great turning 11!
A visit to the big cow barn.
More projects with Grandpa. Here, fixing up a bird bath.
Luke helping Grandma Blair with some cookies.
Some amazing star gazing. We got to see Jupiter! Such wonderful open skies out at the farm!
A great bonfire.
A little hide and seek.
Oliver and the Oliver Tractor.
In addition to Jupiter, we also got to see the Neowise comet, as well as dozens of constellations.
We were surprised with a visit from a turtle.
A big guy!
I got to work on some fun weed wacking.
Let's make brownies, Grandma!
We love driving up to see the incredible wind towers. They are beautiful and something amazing to behold up close.
Wow indeed, say Oliver and Gloria.
Luke and Oliver.
Gloria.
Luke and I made a quick day trip back to the city so he could move from a long arm cast to a short one. The arm had been healing well and it was time for a new cast. Luke didn't want to miss a minute more of the farm than he needed to, so he and I drove to the appointment in the city and returned the same day.
Quite the star patient.
Cool new cast, Luke! Blue is awesome!
More biking between farms for Gloria and Amy.
Amy and I enjoyed a great hike at Apple Canyon State Park. What a lovely place for a walk!
Amy.
The boys got a special treat with Joe taking them to see the crop dusters taking off and landing. They got to get up close and see the inside of the planes.
Happy 70th Joe! Gloria presented her video gift for Joe, a presentation with 70 different types of leaves.
Happy Birthday!
One of Deb's world famous pies! Quite a treat!
Happy Birthday!
Joe turned 70 on July 16 and the boys turned 11 on July 17. Three birthday guys!
We got to visit with Jude and Ken who had this fun game for us to play, filled with fun surprise treats!
On the boys' birthday, they got off to a perfect start with early morning fishing at George's pond.
Luke, good catch!
Gloria.
The boys got to do some ride-alongs with the farmers as they cut hay.
Luke and Oliver.
Fun presents from Gloria.
A wonderful visit from Aunt Joann, including some amazing math games and lessons! What a treat!
We had planned to do some more excursions away from the farm thinking we would need to do different things; however, we all agreed that being on the farm with Grandma and Grandpa was exactly what we needed so we ended up staying close to the farm and finding new fun things to do each day right there. What a great respite for us all and a great place to celebrate some birthdays.
Time to clean up a little bit!
A very special time for us to get some fresh air and adventure.
Thanks for making this a special time for us, Grandma and Grandpa Blair!
What a great time!
No comments:
Post a Comment