Wagons Ho!

wagon teams . . .

cowboys . . .

88 degrees . . .

wide open lands . . .

dusty trails . . .

blazing sun . . .

dust devils . . .

. . . sounds like a snippet from your history books, don't it?

Well, lucky us, that was our fantastic day today! Cowboy Cal (my mom's brother, pictured above) and his girlfriend, Sue, organized a huge wagon train shindig that our family got to participate in and be a part of. I donned my cowboy hat, Kevin broke out his chaps (ok, no not really . . . but I wish!), Kaden wore his cowboy boots and the other kiddos brought their enthusiasm for adventure!

And boy, did we get adventure!!! 8 miles, 3 hours of adventure out and all around Maybee, Michigan.

Within the wagon train we had pairs of draft horses pulling double wagons, single drafts pulling wagons, teams of miniature horses pulling carts, single minis pulling carts (little body, BIG attitude!) and a wide assortment of riders. There was a huge span of ages in the crowd too and, of course, the boys quickly made friends with two other little boys on the wagon and back at the farm.

Each of the boys had a blast taking turns riding Uncle Cal's pony (named Pony - so original!) and Elijah even got to try his hand at driving a wagon! I was so amazed at how calmly he handled the horse and cart and was one proud mama!

(I just love sharing one of my passions with my kiddos and family.)

We finished up the afternoon with a huge spread of food that Cal and Sue provided and we pigged out, gathered around tables in their pole barn. What a great time meeting new people and getting to know Cal and Sue's friends and neighbors.

Yes, it was killer hot. Yes, we were all stinky and sweaty. Yes, we are all fried to a crisp, despite applying layers of sunblock. Yes, we all forgot our water bottles and felt majorly dehydrated. Yes, we stopped traffic as we traveled the roads of Maybee. Yes, it was an awesome day and a great memory-maker! Yes, sign us up for next year!