Blyth Threshers 09

Like many other years in the past, today we went to the annual Blyth Threshers. It's a wonderful weekend of seeing antique tractors, different steam engines, a tractor pull, horse drawn plow demonstrations, threshing demonstrations, antiques, a petting zoo, craft show, tractor parade and much, much more. This weekend draws hundreds of people with camping trailers to the small village of Blyth which is buzzing all weekend long with garage sales and visitors.

Every year the kids make a rope using an old fashioned metal rope making machine. It's always a must stop while walking around.

Here the kids are using an old fashioned machine to take dry corn of the cob and then grind it up.

It was a perfect day, not too hot, not too cold and the rain clouds kept moving without stopping on us!

Another tradition of the day is stopping to watch how people used to make iceream, then getting to buy some for a treat!

Kaitlin was the only one who wanted to try this rope bridge!

I love this picture.....this man was on the wagon forking the grain onto the threshing machine when the wind blew off his hat. Kortney was quick to grab it and give it back!

Travis and Dan watching the threshing demo. The grain that was coming off was actually being loaded into one of our wagons and coming back to our house!

The other part of the night.

If you ask the kids what their favourite jam is they will all tell you elderberry. These are tiny purple berries that grow wild on our farm. Each Sept we cut off the bunches of berries then take them home to gently take off each little berry while our fingers turn purple! It's really a pain, but since you turn the berries into a stained jelly it's fine if you miss some of the stems. The rest of the year it's worth the bit of work having homemade jelly that the kids just love that came from our farm!!

Learing to drive!

Tonight we were heading back to the pond to pick elderberries. Kaitlin and I decided to walk and Dan decided Travis could drive! The take off was a bit quick, but the drive was slow after that!

There he goes.
He was very proud and happy of taking over the wheel!

Dixie was ahead of us in the field. Travis took caution of the dog, trail and fences!

Dawson and Dan.

The girls and the sunset from the backseat.

My girls!

Travis did a great job, and hopefully realized how lucky he is to live on a farm that he can drive around....can't do that in the city!!

Back to school!

The summer flew by and before we knew it the first day of school came. None of us were really ready for our summer to be over, but Sept 1 came anyway.
This year Travis is going into grade 6, Kaitlin into grade 4, Dawson into grade 1 and Kortney into Junior Kindergarten. We got our shopping done, bags packed with their new school things and they were off for another school year. Travis was not very happy about being back and into the routine of homework and having a bedtime. Kaitlin is enjoying being on the senior side of the school and is now old enough to be a peer monitor at recess and enjoys having time with her friends. Dawson is thrilled with grade 1. He is loving being out of the kindergarten room and learning to do what the big kids are doing. His class is a 1/2 split and of course the boys he is playing with are the older ones! He is however still very close to Chloe and Sara and spends a lot of his time with them. Kortney was happy to start school and is learning to do things on her own. At home she is still wanting to be picked up and have me come with her to the bathroom, but slowly I'm hoping she will gain some more Independence.

The older three started school together on the 1st. Kortney started on the 11th.

Off they go! I'm enjoying having some time to myself to get things done around the house without being interrupted every five minutes. The school day ends early and the kids are home by 3:30, so we still have lots of time to be together and share part of the day.

A bit of Shebe

Another year has come and gone for our holiday at the cottage- aka Shebe. We had a wonderful week this year full of good weather, warm water and great memories of fun. The kids love the freedom they have there being able to wander around the "resort" and Dan and I loved our freedom of not having little ones who need us at every second. Even Kortney was able to wander a bit this year with Alex from theirs, ours and Grandma/Grandpa's cottage.
Here are just afew of the pics from our week.

Dan and Travis fishing on the dock.
Kortney, Alex, and Julie on the boat the Pryce's boat.

A view of our beach. The 14 cottages are behind it.

Dan and Travis canoeing.

Cheri and MacKenzie.

A bunch of the kids jumping from the dock.

Hard to see....but this is Dan and Dawson on Dawson's first tube ride!

Kaitlin and Travis

Kaitlin paddling back to the beach.

Alex, Kortney and one of their water lilies.

The girls in the canoe.

Dawson and Travis making "water ways" in the sand.

The kid's water and sand project that kept changing as the week went on.

Dawson and Kaitlin on Grandpa's boat while fishing.

Grandpa and his catch!

Saying goodbye

After a great stay it was time for us to say goodbye. I must say it is very odd to meet new people, spend time getting to know them and then saying goodbye knowing it's slim to see them again.....I really didn't like it...there's that part of me that then thinks I wish we never meet, then it wouldn't be so difficult, then I remember a conversation with a friend recently. Her husband, after losing a long loved family dog had said he would never want to own a dog again, because burring them is too hard. I understand exactly what he feels, as I too have lost pets and a Grandpa I was close with. No one wants to feel that pain. It's so easy to keep from getting close for fear of the enviable - separation. With that said, I know that keeping yourself safe from those hard moments life also means keeping yourself from the most wonderful, magical moments too. I just hope God continues to give my the strength to keep on dancing.....Some lyrics in Garth Brooks song The Dance
.....Yes my life
It's better left to chance
I could have missed the pain
But I'd of had to miss the dance....

Mami, Travis, Mom, me, Kaitlin, Korntey and Dawson.

Mami and Kortney

Here is Mami playing the piano and Kortney singing! They spent a lot of time together at the piano that day....too cute!