Back from the country

We returned late last night from a long weekend in South Dakota where we made our annual trip to our friends the Heckathorns. It has been almost a year since we saw them and their family has grown with the addition of Carter last September. We had a great time as always. A moms' day shopping (until the van overheated), a dads' day fishing (they caught 63 between three people almost entirely in one hour) and a lot of time for kids to play.

Sarah had her first official wagon ride one night and the girls headed out in the soybean field to see how they compared in height. (In the second photo it is Rachel, Mariah, and Elizabeth.)

I was reminded of walking beans and riding bean buggy in high school. For all of you city people, both are ways to eliminate the weeds in bean fields. Walking meant pulling weeds by hand, riding was spraying them with pesticide. I don't believe they do either any more, but they were my first summer jobs.

Sarah has expanded her vocabulary with the addition of 'me'. It appears to be her version of "I want". Whether it be a drink, a snack, or an object, she makes her request known with 'me, me, me'. I'm still waiting for 'no, no, no'.

I thought it would be mean not to include a picture of Carter since I mentioned him. This one is my favorite. We had a hard time keeping him down in the wagon for our walk. He just wanted to stand up!