The Combine Crunch

Last year after I was done judging 4-H projects at the Wright County Fair, I noticed that they were having the 1st annual Combine Demolition Derby. I knew that there were several members of my family that would love to go to that.

In case you aren't familiar with the Combine Demolition Derby (or also known as a Combine Crunch), it's essentially an event where they take old combine and smash them into each other. The last one standing is the winner.

In June we ordered our tickets and have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the big day. Kelly's cousin John and his son Trevor joined us. Noah, Grandma and Grandpa Petersen were suppose to come too but Noah got a fever and Grandma offered to stay home with him. Grandpa was on a FEMA trip in Illinois.

We got to the fairgrounds and the stands were packed. They do a parade of all the combines entered 1st so that you can vote on the People's Choice winner. Then they run the combines in several heats of 4 or 5 combines. The top 2 in each category end up championship round. The others in the consolation round. This is all provided that they can get their machines up and running for the 2nd round.

Benjamin LOVED the derby. For 3 hours he sat glued to the events going on in front of him. He screamed and hollered everytime they smashed together. We thought for sure he would get bored and want to leave but that was not the case.

Here are some pictures from the event.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kellystrei/CombineDemolitionDerby

Vacation highlights

July 11-16 we had a chance to go on vacation to a cabin near Pelican Rapids. We went with 2 other families we are friends with. In total there were 9 children under the age of 8 (yes, we are crazy). In theory it was a good idea since everyone would have a playmate. We also knew we would eat very good as our friend the chef was going along too. He even brought his own mixer!

We spent 5 days at the cabin. The first 2 days were basically spent inside due to the rain. Finally on Monday, the sun broke out and we all jumped into the lake. We spent 2 days playing in the water and soaking up the sun (more than enough in some cases). There were only a couple incidents of near panic. Noah ended up in the lake when he leaned over too far on the dock while trying to turn the wheel for the boat lift. I stepped on a bee which stung me between my toes (ouch)

Overall it was relaxing and would definitely go again if invited. Here are some pictures of the fun.

http://picasaweb.google.com/kellystrei/LakeLizzieVacation

The good, the bad and the embarassing

Today all the kids had a long-awaited trip to the dentist. Do you know how long in advance you have to schedule 3 kids' appointments for the same time? Try January....ugh. We almost didn't make it because the battery on the van died last night. There was NO WAY I was going to try and re-schedule it. My very good husband went all over town last night looking for a replacement (Thanks, Dave! You're the best!!)

We made it to the appointment right on time and the kids all waited patiently in the waiting room. Literally, 2 minutes before they called our names Lauren says to me, "Mom, my tummy doesn't feel so good". Yikes, this could be bad! We went back into the room and each kid took a chair to get their teeth cleaned. I warned Lauren's hygienist that she just mentioned her tummy was hurting. I told her that I thought it was nerves so she said she would take it slow. Noah's hygienist got the "you'll need a strap to hold him in the chair" warning. The cleaning took place and the dentist started looking inside their mouths. The GOOD - No cavities for anyone (whew). The BAD - She predicted that probably all 3 of them will need braces at some point. :(
The last thing that needed to be done was the fluoride treatment. They now have this new type of fluoride which they just brush on with a little paintbrush instead of the trays of gooey stuff they put around their teeth like when I was a kid (thank god!). Lauren was done first and I leaned over to say something to Benjamin when suddenly heard Noah's hygienist scream. The EMBARRASSING - Noah had puked all over the hygienist. YUCK! They were really nice about helping him clean-up. They even had a spare shirt for him to wear home. Obviously that was not the first time it has happened. He was the last one I expected that from. Needless to say, I won't let Noah pick the mint flavor fluoride treatment next time.

Happy Birthday who??

Today the kids were so excited to wake up because of the 4th of July. We stopped by the local fireworks stand yesterday for each of them to pick something out...and mom and dad too! They wanted to shoot them off right after breakfast. We were talking to them about what we celebrate on the 4th of July. Benjamin sat and thought about it. I gave him a clue by saying it was a birthday. All of a sudden you saw the light click on in his brain and he said, "I know, I know....it's baby Jesus' birthday!!!" Close baby, but not quite.

Happy 4th of July!!!

The Beach....FINALLY!

Today we spent our first afternoon at the beach. It has been so cold for so long that we haven't been able to get there until today. When we heard the temperature was going to hit 80 degrees, we packed up and loaded up the car. It was the most perfect day. Lots of beautiful sunshine, light breeze, not a lot of people there and we even ran into several friends. Ahhh! This is the life.

The Dump Truck Cometh

Right now I have 2 little boys sitting on the kitchen table with their faces pressed up against the window. That is the best vantage point to see the dump truck that is coming to our house this morning. The truck is bring 7 yards of dirt for a garden project I'm doing this summer. (2 yards is for the neighbors and Yes, I know how much dirt that is!). The truck will be delivering it sometime this morning and they can't wait to see it. I imagine their interest in the truck will end pretty quick when they see the pile of dirt it's going to unload. Then they'll be on top of the pile. Probably with their sleds. Can anyone say "bathtime" tonight?

1 Fish, 2 Fish

The first scheduled event for the summer is swimming lessons. Lauren and Benjamin both started on Monday. Each are in the pool at the same time but in different classes. They are having a great time and it's fun to see how much better swimmers they are becoming. Lauren has always been the fish of the family and her favorite part is going off the diving board into the deep end. She has been doing that for years now and there is no fear on her part when she jumps off the end of it. Her goal is to try and touch the bottom of the deep end. Benjamin on ther other hand is much more hesitant. He like to go in the water and put his face under. Once you ask him to go on his back, he'll do it but he's not crazy about it. He goes off the diving board too but with a lot of coaxing by the instructor waiting in the water right below him. Noah and I just sit and watch the fun. He would LOVE to be in the pool with them but the rule is you have to be potty trained before you can take swimming lessons. Since that hasn't happened (and might not...ever!) we just sit and watch. He does like to scream their names and wave as they get ready go to off the diving board.