THE AWESOME ADVENTURES OF AIDAN & NANA
at the
ROCK'n D DUDE RANCH
I was so delighted when Elizabeth and Jason agreed to let Aidan come down to the ranch with Patrick and Candy. It was funny because I phoned a couple of times before his arrival day, and he was too busy with Uncle Patrick and Aunt Candy to talk to me. I was so excited but he was living in the moment like a 4 year old does, and he did not need to discuss his trip with me! Anyways, Aidan arrived and the first thing we did was go for a tour of "vehicles" as he called them. This tractor was the first one he saw and he very willingly climbed right up into it. He also calls them mighty machines. Aidan was mighty brave as this is a long way UP!
As you can see by the SMILE on his face, he is one happy boy on this mighty machine!
He also got a ride with Uncle Patrick on Jamey's tractor pulling the grain cart...Jamey even let him drive it. Candy and I were watching the tractor coming out of the field, and were wondering why it was driving loops and zig zagging all over...well...Aidan was driving. Sorry, no pics of that! But believe me, Aidan was SMILING again!
The John Deere Gator was Aidan's next vehicle of choice. He loved spending time on this vehicle! He sat on my knee behind the wheel and he did drive it. He was doing very well by the end of his stay. He is so very smart...and adorable too!
It was really very cute when we came up to the house the first evening Aidan was here, and he had been on the first tractor, driven Jamey's tractor, and driven the gator...we parked by the shed and he saw the ride-on lawn mower...he said, "let's ride on that vehicle now!" He wanted to experience everything while he was here. He was also quite take with Sam and Ty. He did not like Ty licking him though and he tried his hardest while here to stop Ty's licking, but Ty could not help but lick, lick, lick! He also fed them doggy biscuits till they wouldn't even come anymore when he called their names...that was quite funny!
Please notice the SMILE!
This picture is how we rode another vehicle.
For the two mornings that Aidan was here he helped me move irrigation. We both got all dressed up in our rain gear...head to toe, and we were all set to get WET! That is what happens when you move irrigation here, as the sprinklers are running the whole time you are moving it. We move it on Aidan's next favourite mode of vehicle...the Honda four-wheeler! We tried him behind me on the Honda at first as I thought he would be more protected from the spray of water, but knew right away that he was not a boy to take a back seat. He moved up in front of me and off we went. He was such a good help. He learnt very quickly to duck at the appropriate time and he would yell "DUCK" to help me out. He also would hop on and off the Honda to pick up the rope and take it off the hitch or put it on. Nana loved that! We were a finely tuned team...he did not complain at all about getting the water in his face! He kept up with us and there was no reason to slow down.
This little trailer helps us do the irrigation too.
Aidan takes a well deserved break after moving irrigation.
Aidan was very pleased when I told him that he would get a ride on this mighty machine. It is the front end loader at the rock quarry. Loader Bob runs this machine everyday and loads all the huge dumptrucks that come to get filled up with gravel or rocks. I told Aidan that Loader Bob would give him a ride. Do you think Aidan smiled at that! Well, he not only got a ride. First he climbed up inside (about 10 feet off the ground) and sat beside Loader Bob and he talked to him. Aidan climbed up on Loader Bob's lap and off they went for an adventure. They went round and round the piles of gravel and Aidan was driving it...I knew because Aidan likes to go in circles. Then a truck came into the quarry. Loader Bob and Aidan were talking to the driver on the CB radio. The truck started blowing smoke out of its stacks, and spinning it tires, generally putting on a big show for Loader Aidan. It was quite funny to watch. He got loaded and off he went. Then suddenly there were about 5 trucks...some just dump trucks and a couple of belly-dumpers...Loader Aidan talked to them on the CB and filled them up. He got out of that loader with a SMILE from ear to ear! What a happy boy he was!
HAPPY! HAPPY! HAPPY!
Another fun job at the ranch is moving cattle to greener pastures! Aidan was very good at this job. He rode on the Honda with me and told the cows and calves to "HYUP! HYUP! Let's go cattle...let's go!" The first part of the journey was on gravel and grass and then...
...it got very dusty! But Aidan did not complain...he just smiled and said..."Let's do it again!"
While Aidan was here it was very difficult to get him into bed at night and very difficult to get him to take a nap...I think he thought he would miss something fun! I asked him on the second night he was here what his most favorite adventure was. He was quietly thoughtful, and then he said, "Nana, I liked all of it." I asked if he had to pick one thing only what he would say, and again, he said "Everything Nana!"
The last night he was here we had a fire down at the pond and Aidan did all his tricks for everyone there. He even got us doing our tricks! I wiggled my ears. We finished off our fire time with a rousing rendition of the "Hokey Pokey"! It was a great evening!
This is Aidan watching his favorite channel...Animal Planet, and sitting in his favorite chair...Ron's chair!
This is Aidan actually sleeping! He did not want a nap, nor did he need a nap!
SMILING AIDAN! MY GRANDSON! THANKS FOR COMING AND STAYING WITH NANA!
YOU MADE ME SMILE TOO!!
I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON!!!
The other boat was captained by John. They were fortunate to have an anchor, so when they found a hot spot, they would stop for a time and fish it. All of sudden we would hear a lot of yelling and cheering and look over to see Pam holding her hands out about two feet apart signalling a "big" fish, or rather, a big fish "story". We never really got to see the size as it was catch and release for the day. Most of the day it was Lois fishing...I don't think I saw her sitting much at all. Pam may look like she is fishing here but I think she was just holding the line for John. Right?!?! Pam!?! Holding the rod!! You did not catch the biggest fish of the day! Right?!...
...and Lois fished!
At one point in the river, we found ourselves in the company of a flotilla...some inflatable rubber canoe type flotation devices piloted by some very happy people with large coolers of beverages. Then two other men joined the flotilla...two policemen. We all had to pull over and they examined our boats, and checked out fishing licenses...and Lois fished! They pulled the four boats out as they have strict rules here about boats, drinking, and life jackets. We carried on down the river...and Lois fished!!
