I mentioned in my PREVIOUS POST that Luke and I had just returned from a trip to Winnipeg -- a city in the province of Manitoba in the country of Canada.
"Why are you and Luke going/did you go to Winnipeg," is a question I have been frequently asked.
WELL, my very good friend, Tammy, her husband, Reynold, and their two boys, Caleb and Jesse, live up there. We were LONG overdue for a visit. Marc and I were last there in the summer of 2006. (Tammy and I met during our freshmen year at Bethel College....getting close to 20 years ago).
Anyways, this trip involved Luke's first trip on an airplane. Yep, he was excited. And yep, he did VERY WELL on an airplane. I'm very glad I waited until he was 3 to fly with him (by myself) because he can definitely understand and execute simple directions I give him. PLUS, he is not a kid to run off from me.
**As a SIDE NOTE -- we flew on Delta Airlines. I fully am aware that it's really not a "picnic" anymore to fly. BUT, I want to very publically compliment Delta Airlines. They were EXCELLENT in assisting me with a child. AND, all of the flight attendants and pilots (that Luke talked with) were EXCELLENT with Luke. Luke asked a couple of the pilots some questions, and they answered them at his level in a very friendly manner :)
Moving on.....
We left on Thursday, November 3. My dad took us to the airport. I purposely did not schedule an early time to leave; therefore, Luke was wide awake and ready to go.
A V.E.R.Y. serious boy -- ready to "go up high."
The taxi out to the runway...VERY long for a 3 year-old who didn't fully understand the whole process....
After fairly loud squeal (a happy one) during take-off and after we were told "we could use approved electronic devices," I pulled out the DVD player....borrowed from my friend, Lori.
The highlight for Luke -- getting to have juice and cookies on the flight (didn't get a good pic of that one).
Luke did very well through the remainder of that flight, during our layover, and on the second flight. He never once tried to take his seatbelt off. He wasn't loud. In fact, I was complimented once we arrived in Winnipeg when another passenger approached me and told me how she was sitting 2 rows in front of us and didn't even realize there was a small child.
Once we arrived in Winnipeg and went through customs, our friends were waiting on us.
That evening, it was kept low-key. Luke was MESMORIZED by new and different toys than the ones he has at home. These "different" toys kept him pretty content most of this trip.
Ooooohhhh...LEGOS....
*****
After a good night's rest, we began Day 2 of our trip.
In the morning, Caleb had school (he's in kindgergarten), and Reynold was at work (he's a pastor at Bethel Mennonite Church in Winnipeg).
SO, Tammy, Jesse, Luke, and I took a little trip to Canadian Mennonite University -- where Tammy works. She showed us her workplace as well as introduced us to a few of her coworkers.
In the afternoon, after Caleb was finished with school, we took a little trip out of Winnipeg to a farm. This farm belongs to Reynold and Tammy's brother-in-law, Eric, and his family.
Let's just say that this farm was a HUGE hit for the boys.
First, Eric backed out the BIG John Deere combine.
Luke immediately wanted Eric to lift him up into the combine....
They sat up there for quite awhile. I'm sure Luke was asking Eric quite a few questions.
Then, we moved into the BIG shed and saw another little tractor....probably prepared to move some snow very soon.
This is Caleb on the tractor....
And, this is Jesse on the tractor....
In this next photo, you'll see 5 boys....Jacob, Caleb, Levi, Luke, and Jesse....
(Jacob and Levi are Eric and his wife, Sandra's, two boys).
Did you notice which boy did NOT have a hat on? If you noticed, Luke, you'd be correct. It was a rather blustery day. The wind was blowing rather hard. In fact, I thought I was in Kansas because of the wind. Luke started out with a hat on. He then told me his "hair was hot." So, he took his hat off. I find it humorous that the one boy who was NOT from Manitoba is the one who wasn't cold. On the other hand, those other 4 boys, I'm sure, are WAY more used to wearing hats than Luke.
We then headed outside to the big blue tractor.
I personally really like this pic of Caleb in the big tractor wheel....
And then, we moved to the old farm truck....really fascinating to the boys.
(This is Luke and Jesse, though neither would really look at the camera for me).
Eric and his dad have approximately 4,000 chickens on this farm. They collect eggs daily....and yes, it did stink.
Each day, either Eric or his dad hand collect the eggs. Eric says he can collect all of the eggs himself (remember -- eggs from 4,000 chickens) in a little over an hour. I was IMPRESSED! Then, they're stored in a large walk-in cooler until they get picked up from a local company who distributes them to local grocery stores.
Lastly, we saw the horses.
Eric pulled out a bucket of carrots to feed the horses.
This pic is of Jesse and Tammy...Jesse was not at all afraid of feeding the horses.
On the other hand, Luke did not want to at all feed the horses -- even with Eric's assistance. BUT, he did watch closely.
And, that ended our very FUN farm experience. We drove back into the city....on the drive, we saw a couple of John Deere implement dealerships. Yep, the boys were mesmerized by that.
Also, Winnipeg is about to get an IKEA store (bet you all want to visit now)....SO, Tammy drove us by the construction site where seriously, we saw about 12 excavators all MOVING! That completely excites two 3 year-olds boys and a five year-old boy.
That evening, Reynold had a "function" at church to manage. So, he wasn't home. Tammy and I did our best to keep the boys occupied with a bit of crafting. We had them make (or we made) a Thank-You note for Eric showing us the farm.
Promptly at 8:00 P.M., the boys were in bed and asleep. Tammy and I were then able to stay up and catch up without being interrupted by children.
Stay tuned for more of the trip!
4 comments:
so glad you had fun!!!
A great trip for Luke!!! When our son was that age, he loved going to the farm and I have lots of tractor pictures.
What a fun start to your trip. I remember Ben at that age and how much he loved heavy equipment.
And Luke was a cute construction worker, too. :-D
What a great trip! I remember taking our son Jeff on his first plane trip from LA to Iowa. We visited aunts/uncles and had fun on the farm. Eggs from 4000 chickens! YIKES. I remember gathering them with my aunts when I was a girl. Could be very scary!
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