Trip to the Farm

Last week we rented a 12 passenger van, drove for 13 hours with four adults and four kids, and visited Grammy and Grandpap at their farm in West Virginia.

Let me back up a minute here. You might be wondering why we would subject ourselves to that long of a drive with eight people in the same vehicle. Travis and his twin brother Trevor thought that it would be better to rent a van together so that the two of them could do all the driving. It was also the most cost effective with the price of gas. Relaxing in the back of the van without driving sounded pretty good to me and my sister-in-law, so we were all for it. I was a bit nervous about how Joel would do for that long in the car, but he was amazing! Probably because of the two things he had plenty of: food and DVDs. I did at least attempt to fill the time with books and other educational means, but our main goal was to get there without meltdowns or trauma, so food and DVDs it was.

Travis's grandparents visited us about two years ago, and we haven't seen them since. It was a long overdue trip that was supposed to happen five times already. So we were glad to have the time to take this trip.

Anyway, after our long drive, we arrived at the farm. It was so great to see Grammy and Grandpap again, and they were happy to see all of us, too. The farm they have is not a working farm anymore, although Grandpap still raises bees. It's still a farm in the sense that they have a barn, silo, and a John Deere tractor. Oh, and four wheelers. And a golf cart. Tractors and four wheelers and a golf cart? Yes, Joel was in heaven. After some good visit time with them, we headed outside the next day to explore the farm. The kids had a great time, and Travis and Trevor told us all about how it used to be when they were kids.

Here's the barn. Naturally Travis had to climb the ladder up to what used to be the hay loft.

 One of the many things I love about the farm is the beauty. All the wide open spaces, gorgeous trees in bloom, and peace and quiet. In the summer, millions of fireflies light up the fields surrounding their house at night. It's incredible.

 All of the kids (the big ones, too) really, really enjoyed the four wheelers, tractor, and golf cart. Many rides were given on each one, and many requests were made for more rides. Looking back, I'm a little in shock that I actually allowed Joel to ride the four wheeler without a helmet and body armor.

Besides all the fun outside, we enjoyed a visit from Travis's cousin Heather and her family, visits with Travis's uncles, a family trip to Golden Corral, and my first trip to Costco. (Funny that I had to go to West Virginia for that.) Our time was short, and we were scheduled to leave late Wednesday and drive through the night. Before we left, we had one more special gathering. This one was with Travis and Trevor's ex-step-mom and her family. When their father died, he wasn't married to their mom, but to Sue. They hadn't seen her and her family in around twenty years, and when they found out we were all coming, they wanted to see Travis and Trevor again. It was such a special time! There were about thirty people there, all excited to see "the twins" again. Everyone was so warm and welcoming, treating us just like family. There were tears, looks at photo albums, and telling of stories. It was the perfect way to end our trip.

We hope to make this a Spring Break tradition. We miss Grammy and Grandpap and the rest of the family, and getting away is always good for the soul.