We definitely made the right decision to postpone the party by one day because the next evening was just perfect. The farm wasn't even that muddy considering all the rain we'd had. We had a bonfire for everyone to roast hotdogs and smores, there was a playground, sheep to pet, two of the cutest sweetest pigs wandering around hoping to steal your food and an arena where they all got to ride horses till their hearts' content. It really was so much fun. 
After each of the kids rode the horse, she taught them each how to lead. Here is Brax leading Xander.
Even all the little ones got to ride as much as they wanted (even if they couldn't keep the helmets on). Owen got a little extra help from his Daddy.
Martha Ann, Daisy, Ben and Josh down at the sheep pen.
Time for a cheetoh break
Cousin Becca and BeBe roasting hotdogs.
Beautiful baby Brenna and her beautiful mommy.
Looking down from the arena
Then - as if all that wasn't enough - Tricia took all the kids into the stables and they all got to paint the ponies! She wrote "Happy Birthday Ben and Drew" on it, and they all got to paint him as much as they want and put their handprints on him. They all LOVED it. 
All that was left to do after that was take a picture with the pony and Patrick the pig. That was a little difficult since Ben doesn't like to be the center of anyone's attention and certainly doesn't want his picture made. So this picture doesn't have him in it. 
But with a little coercion he let Miss Tricia hold him for one group picture with all his buddies. 
Here they are each blowing out four candles.
And here they are licking all the icing off all the props on the cake.
I thought we were all done with all the excitement, but Tricia went way above and beyond for all these sweet kiddos and pulled out little horse-sticks for each of the kids to pretend to ride on in the arena. 
Once it finally all came together it turned out to be a really special day. Drew and Ben had been looking forward to their farm party for weeks and would ask every single morning if it was the day for their party yet. They loved every minute of it and we were so happy to watch them enjoy it so much.
Ben and Drew, may you always know how much your Daddy and I love you and how lucky we feel to be your parents. You both bring us so much joy, laughter and love. Our prayer for you on your birthday is the same as it is every day: thank you Jesus for Ben and Drew and may they live a long life of love for You.
So he huddled them up, and the team decided their team name should the "The Swipers" (you know, from Dora). He had tried to explain to them the concept of the two teams of four running after the ball and trying to kick it into the goal. But I guess that felt much different than our nights of playing two-on-two in the den. Because that first game there were many tears over not getting to kick the ball in the goal and falling down, a little bit of timidity when lots of other unknown boys started running towards them, and generally not wanting to play on the field at all. Thankfully, we had a little boy on our team who had played the previous year, and he knew just what to do. He was our star player for the first couple of games, and then all the rest of the boys caught the hang of it. We had several games rained out, but once we started playing them again, they seemed to really enjoy it. Drew was hilarious and went after the ball every time he was on the field, cheering for all his buddies. Ben, very true to his nature, took a little while to get used to the idea of the game. When it was his turn to be on the field he ran right next to Daddy the whole time, cheered for his teammates, and avoided the ball (and any attention). I think that he finally did kick the ball once during the last few minutes of the last game. 
The way the Y has this age group set up is really great for introducing kids to the game. They don't have goalies, they don't keep score, every body on the sidelines cheers for all the kids, and at the end of every game all the kids get to run through a little tunnel made by the parents while we cheer for them. (But just so you know, we did win every game by a ton of goals....they were little star athletes, all of them, and - even though they didn't know it - they were by far better than any of the other teams we played. And no, I'm not biased at all.)
We got to make a few new friends that we really enjoyed getting to know....
...but one of the best parts for Ben and Drew was getting to play on the same team as Brax. (Doesn't he look so tough waiting for the ball here? Yes, that is a black eye he's sporting here. But its from an unrelated incident. That's another story for another day....more in the next post.)
One of the best parts for Michael and I was getting to spend our Saturday mornings hanging with our good friends Josh and Darci...and any of the other spectators that came out for some good entertainment (BeBe, Jeff, Aaron, Bobber and we can't forget Brody).
I confess, I stole this picture from Darci's camera. But I just couldn't resist putting it on here because it was just so cute. A little good-luck booty bump from a buddy.
And a good-luck-hug-turned-wrestling-match on the soccer field followed by lots of laughing. 
And here's our team from left to right: Cooper, Jayden, Ben, Michael, Drew, Jackson and Brax. 
I've never had so much fun cheering on my three favorite guys. Luckily they really enjoyed playing, so I think this was the first of many chances to be their cheerleader and biggest fan. 
The three macho tough guys with all of their loveys that none of them can sleep without. So adorable!
I will say I was prepared for the worst - crying at bedtime, up all night, maybe even some fighting over toys. But none of that happened. In fact, it was so much fun I told Darci and Josh that I wasn't sure why I hadn't thought of this before. It was really the best of all worlds: something fun and special to pass the time while Daddy's away for us, and a small break for Josh and Darci.
And here Pop lets them see their first catch
They never pass up a chance to run at full speed and play outside
