the weekend

this weekend we took a little mini roadtrip to the farm to have a little mini family reunion. it was maddox's first time meeting my family and his first time to the farm.

 (evan took that picture and there is no filter on it. skys that blue, fields that green.)

that place holds a special place in my heart because going to grandpa and grandma's was something we did every summer. it's where i learned to drive a car and it's where i drove for the first time (sitting on my parents lap "steering" until i was big enough to see over the steering wheel and old enough for them to yell at me for going over 30 mph and for taking turns too fast). it's where i later learned how to drive a stick shift in a truck on a dirt road. it's where i watched my uncles milk the cows and where i washed their dirty hooves because i felt bad for the cows. it's where i threw pieces of cement at the bull because i thought it was ugly. (i was like 6, okay? calm down, PETA.) it's where we watched jay leno every single night on the teeny tiny, rabbit-eared TV, because i secretly think my grandma was in love with him. it's where i ate my weight in sunflower seeds every summer and piled the shells on a napkin on the plastic tablecloth. it's the only place in the world where i enjoyed mowing the lawn because riding lawn mowers and eight-year-olds. it's where we ate puffed rice cereal and shredded wheat with cups and cups of sugar poured on top. it's where i rode on horses and in tractors. it's where my cousin shot me in the leg with a BB gun and my brother shot me in the hair with a bottle rocket. it's where my cousin and i found my grandma's diamond wedding ring and my grandpa's dentures while we were burning garbage. it's where my cousin and i raced through life to see who is taller (i was in the lead for a great long while but he eventually won).

so we took along the baby and introduced him to my childhood. i mean, minus almost all of that. we make our own memories now that consist of a lot of porch hangs and fly swatting and mosquito killing and beer drinking and food snacking and picture taking. and maddox flirted with everyone and charmed his way right into everyone's hearts. he took a gigantic nap on my shoulder for a good long while and that was amazing because he never does that anymore. so we cuddled in the unbearable heat and it was totally worth it.

i can't wait for maddox to make memories with his cousins and his grandparents and to have silly memories like bringing along jugs of water because you think the water tastes like salt. or playing "don't wake daddy" with your cousins. or getting locked in the closet and probably almost kicking the door down. or jumping on the trampoline for an entire week. or catching bull snakes. or being afraid of the dog tied on the flag pole. or playing in the loft in the hay bales. or letting the calves suck on your fingers. or being bucked off the horse in the garden. or the bags of curly fries in the freezer. or the box of nutty bars in the freezer. or roller blading in the basement around the metal poles. or playing pool and smashing your fingers too many times. or the only spot on the cement sidewalk that gets cell phone service. or the smell of the garage that brings you right back to all of this.

i love that place.