4th of July: 2012 (Part 1)

The morning of the 4th of July, Casey and I headed down to his grandaddy's farm to pick up the boys and spend some time with family. Nonnie and Papaw (Casey's parents) had been keeping the boys for a few days previous to this.

The first thing Grandaddy asked the boys was, "do you want to ride the tractor?" And despite the zoned-out looks on their faces, they really loved it.

Grandaddy drove them all over the place and even taught Ethan how to use the arms and scoop. Which resulted in Ethan scraping up a good chunk of their grass. Oops.

It was very cool for Casey and I to see our boys riding the tractor with Grandaddy. It is something that Casey remembers doing as a kid. And I rode my Granddad's tractors on his cotton farm when I was a kid too.

Then it was time to split up and let the boys each have a turn to "drive" the tractor. Logan let daddy ride with him this time. He was pretty thrilled when he got to steer.

And I know I've said this before, but that child is so excited to drive anything. This was no exception. He would not let Casey hold the steering wheel at all, which is why Casey is laughing in this photo below.

While Logan was driving the tractor, Grandaddy got out his mower so Ethan could take it for a spin.

Then, the boys switched and Ethan drove the tractor.

And Logan drove the mower with Papaw. Again, he did not want Papaw to help him drive.

And this next photo's caption should be "a real family photo." We tried, but it didn't happen. At least Ethan is smiling while he's trying to break free. Logan is actually trying to hit me. Casey and I are apparently having some sort of conversation, which probably concluded with, "let's give up and try again later." And so, we did. We ended up with a pretty good shot that evening after the boys had taken really good naps.

After we had all worked up an appetite on the tractor and mower, Grandaddy put his famous burgers on the grill. But Papaw had to step in and help since the little child just had to be held.

In the photo below, Logan is telling Grandaddy that he wants to go somewhere. Right after this photo, Grandaddy put him down and Logan grabbed his hand and dragged Grandaddy down the porch steps.

They headed off across the yard and Ethan ran to catch up (not wanting to be left out of anything).

They went down to the creek and back. Picking up sticks, throwing rocks, and wearing themselves out as well as Grandaddy, I'm sure. It was hot.

Then they made their way back to the house (Ethan ran) and we all had some fantastic burgers with home-grown tomatoes and apple pie with ice cream. Such a perfect meal any time, but especially on the 4th of July.