We had a luncheon today to raise money for the domestic violence shelter in Ames at The Plex. All of the money raised went to the kids who stay at the shelter to do special things to give them a fun time during an awful family situation. The stories we heard during the luncheon were heart wrenching. To uproot your kids and have to flee and hide. I got sad just thinking about kids in an unfamiliar situation and having left behind their blankie or favorite stuffed animal...not knowing what's going on. I'm so thankful for our family! There were 16 tables, all decorated by different "hosts". Here's a picture of my table. It was fun to decorate and to see everyone elses creative ideas! I had fun making this table arrangement from $5 worth of flowers from Walmart and branches, vines, leaves, and berries I "pruned" off bushes and trees around town. Don't all things need a little pruning in the Fall?
Annika got to have her first combine ride tonight at the Greenfield's farm. She LOVED it! She was so excited all day to go to the farm and ride the tractor. Little did she know the size of it (not just the John Deere riding lawn mower that Uncle Dale has)!
It was really 21st century farming with a whole computer system with GPS that literally drives the combine for you....It has sensors that "feel" the ground to move up or down, tell you the moisture content for the corn and the number of bushels harvested.
She was so amazed to watch the back of the combine fill with corn after it got "eaten" in the front...and then loved watching it get emptied into the other tractor driving next to us. What a cool experience! I grew up in Iowa and didn't get my first combine ride until 3 years ago!
Annika now wants to be a farmer when she gets big "just like Lyle" (though she still wants to be a princess too). I think she'd look really cute in her pink dress and tiara driving a combine through the fields.
