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Is another weekend almost over?! I’ve been on my own for the past few days while Keith was away on a vacation with his dad and brothers, so I’m even more tired than usual right about now! I’m WAY outnumbered with these guys…

So let’s backtrack a couple of days and just fill you in on some highlights since my last recap. We started our week with some not-so-fun excitement when we discovered a leaking pipe in the wall next to the kitchen. The good news is that we got it fixed within 24 hours. The bad news? It wasn’t cheap. Sometimes homeownership just isn’t that cool…

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Casey spent quite a bit of time tending to the garden this week, and the fruits and veggies just keep on comin’! He has picked about a half dozen tomatoes, more cucumbers than we can eat, and quite a few squash and zucchini. The grape tomatoes are also ripening by the handful, but none of them seem to make it into the house. My hungry little offspring prefer to eat them straight off the vine!

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The boys had a play date with their buddy Liam on Thursday afternoon, and after running around outside in the 100 degree heat for a couple of hours, they decided that an ice cream stop at Yoder’s would be the perfect refreshment. You know it’s summer vacation when they get giant ice cream cones right before dinner!

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And on Friday morning they really had a treat! We headed about an hour south to visit some friends in Batesville. Mary and John have a creek (and sandy beach) in the backyard, as well as a grandson with a lot of trucks. This was total boy heaven!

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They swam in the creek for an hour or two before getting hosed off and changed for a ride on John’s tractor.

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Steering the moving tractor just may have been the highlight of little Spencer’s life so far…

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And he was so exhausted from all of the excitement that he took a 3 hour nap when we got home. Success!

As if that wasn’t good enough, John baked a Blueberry and Peach Pie as a belated birthday celebration for Casey. Let’s just say that the 4-year-old approved!

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We picked up dinner at the local Italian restaurant and enjoyed Friday Movie Night before baths and bed.

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On Saturday morning we woke up to another rainy day, which meant that our Saturday morning swimming lessons were cancelled…again!

When the rain stopped, we made our way to the Farmer’s Market for just a couple of items. Since we have so much in our garden at the moment, I didn’t need to stock up on too many veggies. We grabbed some kale, a cantaloupe, a watermelon, 2 dozen eggs, monster cookies, and some blueberries.

A young cattle rancher also gave Casey a longhorn skull. How did he know that Casey would love this?!

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And since the folks from Virginia Tractor were setting up their John Deere display for Saturday night’s big Tractor Pull, Spencer was following them around non-stop. As we were getting ready to head out (and Spencer started to cry), Doug offered to drive everyone around on the 4-seater Gator. Those were 3 very excited kids!

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We then made a quick stop at the grocery store, which was a 15-minute adventure that I don’t care to repeat any time soon. 🙂

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And Saturday evening was one of Madison County’s biggest events of the year: the Tractor Pull! If you’re not familiar with a tractor pull, you can read more about it in my detailed post from two years ago HERE. It’s small-town America at its finest. Think lots of cowboy boots and lots of big diesel pick-ups!

I packed a cooler with some food for dinner (grapes, cheese, peanut butter crackers, milk, and cookies), and we hung out for a couple of hours and took in all of the “scenery.” The boys loved it, of course!

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Spencer had a lot to say about the huge, loud tractors…and at one point he was chanting, “Oh yeah! Oh yeah! Oh yeah!” in between each pull! 🙂

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Everyone crashed in their beds as soon as we finished with baths last night, so the boys were up and ready to go again this morning. Since the weather is absolutely beautiful today (no air conditioning necessary!), we headed to our favorite local hiking trail. We have found the perfect wading spot in a creek that feeds into the Rapidan River, so the boys wore their bathing suits, carried their shovels, buckets, and sieves, and went “gem mining.” I packed snacks and clean clothes so that we could spend the morning in the woods.

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We made it home for lunch, the boys are now quietly resting, and we’re all anxiously awaiting Keith’s return home this evening! Have a great week, and be sure to check back here tomorrow for an easy, family-friendly, one-skillet dinner idea!

blair

Hey, I’m Blair!

Welcome to my farmhouse kitchen in the foothills of Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Inspired by local traditions and seasonal fare, you’ll find plenty of easy, comforting recipes that bring your family together around the table. It’s down-home, country-style cooking!

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Hands serving a platter of sheet pan sausage and potatoes

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  1. Sounds like you had a really fun time with just your boys! That is so fun that you went to a tractor pull and your youngest absolutely loved it, he seems so cute! I wonder if my son would enjoy something like this when he gets just a bit older.