Life in the country is never boring.

One morning this summer, I had to call in to work and explain that I would be late for a reason I never thought I would use. "Mr. Boss man, I'm going to be late...I have to wrangle cows." No joke. 

It started on June 3rd as Ryan and I were getting ready to leave for work. Out of the corner of my eye, I thought I saw something moving in the tall grass beyond our yard. I told Ryan I thought I saw something out there, and he jokingly said "Uh, duh, those are cows." Ha, ha, very funny. Yes, our yard backs up to a cow pasture, but I was certain I saw something in our yard. A few minutes later, my suspicions were confirmed - I had seen something. Ryan's joke had also been confirmed - it was cows. There were calves running and playing in our backyard. We snapped a couple of pictures out the kitchen window:

Then we chased them back into the pasture and called farmer Merle. Merle told us that he would be out to fix the fence and that if it was just a calf or two not to worry - they will always go back to their mommies.

4 days later, we were again getting ready for work when we heard a truck in our yard and walked out to find our neighbor driving on our lawn. Looking toward the backyard, we discovered a full-scale prison break. Cows. Everywhere. Big ones. Little ones. It was funny, fascinating, and a little scary. We chatted with the neighbor, who told us that he found a mama cow near the road and chased her back towards the pasture. He also informed us of an unfortunate personal situation that made farmer Merle unreachable, and that meant getting the cows back in the pasture and fixing the fence had to be done by, well, us. The neighbor headed home to change clothes and get his tools for fence fixin' and I went back to the house to call work and get the camera. For the next hour, we yelled, clapped, walked towards the cows and eventually got them all back. Admittedly, I was a bit afraid and kept myself and Patrick away from the action whenever I could, but we did have to get involved. It was overall a lot of fun, with the exception of when Ryan was trying to get a baby cow to move and the mama cow got a little...protective. Luckily, the mama was behind the fence and Ryan was in no real danger. Still scared me! Here are the pictures from the big escape:

Ryan and Patrick check out the action.

Cows EVERYWHERE!

The little ones liked playing in the mud...and were not afraid of us. 

This one was so stubborn it took 2 people to get her back. 

It was a situation I never imagined I'd be in, but certainly one of the better excuses I've had for being late to work :) 

 

Party Time!!

***NOTE: This begins a series of entries that will get us caught up on the summer. It has been a long, fun one thus far, and I've been terrible at documenting. Let's get started on the catching up!***

The Sunday after Patrick's birthday, we celebrated with family and friends. Patrick really loved all the attention, the cake, and getting to play with his friends and cousins. Check out the festivities:

The Birthday Boy with Aunt Julie

This kid LOVES balloons. 

Patrick loves it when cousin Madison lugs him around.

Cuddles with Grammy Dorothy

Sammi and Finn (along with Brett and Cooper, not pictured) came all the way from Indianapolis to celebrate! {Thanks, guys!}

The Aunts and Uncles putting the back deck to good use.

Patrick's friend Henry really digs watermelon! 

Mommy made the cake, but wussed out when it came to decorating. Thankfully, Mommy's creative friend Leslie stepped in and saved the day!

Make a wish!

First time wearing the Morge birthday hat!

Messy Monkey

So many presents that Patrick had to get his daddy, cousins, and friend Henry to help open 'em.

On the cool CAT power wheels!