What an awesome day!
Yesterday, I mentioned that we had driven on into New York and were staying with a very nice couple who had graciously agreed to host our family. Well... we just had a day where we were treated like royalty! Here are Wendy and Gary:
Yesterday, I mentioned that we had driven on into New York and were staying with a very nice couple who had graciously agreed to host our family. Well... we just had a day where we were treated like royalty! Here are Wendy and Gary:
These two were incredible. Wendy prepared dinner for our arrival last night. We were provided with nice comfy rooms to spend the night. They fed us breakfast, lunch, and dinner today, and were just great hosts! They are members of Scipio Community Church (our venue tonight). Turns out, most everyone in the church knows about Wendy's cooking, and creates every reason they can to get it- she's famous!
Here's another example of their generosity- we have a prop that we've been having issues with. The wheels just don't seem to want to hold in the (probably cheap) steel. So, I had a plan to fix it today and when Gary asked what we were going to do during the day, I mentioned repairing the wheels. He immediately asked what kind of wheels I needed. This morning, he spoke with the pastor of the church and before I knew it, pastor Adam came to the house with new wheels and hardware! Can you believe that?
Gary also took us to see the dairy farm where he works. If you ever get the chance to see one of these, I'd highly recommend it. We were shown how the 4,000 cows (yes, 4,000!) are milked 3 times every day. The cows enter a carousel-type setup and go for a slow ride around the circle. Automatic milking machines are hooked up and take care of everything. It's quite the sight!
Here's another example of their generosity- we have a prop that we've been having issues with. The wheels just don't seem to want to hold in the (probably cheap) steel. So, I had a plan to fix it today and when Gary asked what we were going to do during the day, I mentioned repairing the wheels. He immediately asked what kind of wheels I needed. This morning, he spoke with the pastor of the church and before I knew it, pastor Adam came to the house with new wheels and hardware! Can you believe that?
Gary also took us to see the dairy farm where he works. If you ever get the chance to see one of these, I'd highly recommend it. We were shown how the 4,000 cows (yes, 4,000!) are milked 3 times every day. The cows enter a carousel-type setup and go for a slow ride around the circle. Automatic milking machines are hooked up and take care of everything. It's quite the sight!
Here are the cows all fighting to get into the milking parlor:
The kids were thrilled to see the baby cows that had just been born. We missed seeing one born by just minutes. Gary says that with that many cows, they average 25 new calves every day!
When we arrived back, Lydia caught one of the tiniest frogs I've ever seen:
When we arrived back, Lydia caught one of the tiniest frogs I've ever seen:
So, after fixing the wheels on the prop, we headed to the church to set up. Pastor Adam was incredibly helpful in every way. We set up quickly so that we'd have time to go back to Gary and Wendy's house for dinner. The grilled pork was great!
As for the actual show- pastor Adam did a great job with getting the word out, because the place was packed to the last row, even with kids on the floor up front!
The crowd here was so much fun! After the show, the church had cookies and lemonade for the audience. Several guys from the church stayed to help load- I really think we set a new record for fastest time loading the trailer.
We're really having a great time on this tour. Today was show number 18, and while it feels like it's flying by, it also seems like a zillion years ago that we were in Alaska. We're staying tonight in Utica, New York, and tomorrow is Vermont- another state that none of us have ever visited. We can't wait!
We're really having a great time on this tour. Today was show number 18, and while it feels like it's flying by, it also seems like a zillion years ago that we were in Alaska. We're staying tonight in Utica, New York, and tomorrow is Vermont- another state that none of us have ever visited. We can't wait!