A Perfect Ten!

October 10, 2010 (or 10/10/10), will go down in history as an absolutely gorgeous day. I'm not sure if any weather records were set...but it was in the 70's...which is not exactly normal for October in Minnesota. My dad turned 78 years old on the 7th, and we all got together to celebrate his birthday on the 10th. Below, is the birthday cake I made for him...unfortunately, when I placed it on the seat of my van to take it to the party, I accidentally cracked it right through the middle...so just ignore the huge crater through the center of this cake:

There was to be a hayride, beginning sometime between 4 and 4:30pm. We were running a bit late, and it takes a little over an hour to get to my parents' house. I decided we'd better stop for gas though, when we were about 10 miles from our destination. While I was fueling up, my daughter Jessica called. She'd gone straight there from work, and had beat us there. She told us they were loading up for the hayride right then. It was around 4:25 by this time. So, I decided I'd just drive to where ever they happened to be by the time I got there, and drop off my daughter Molly, and Jessica's son, Christian so they could hop on. We found them, the kids got out of the van and jumped onto the hay wagon with the rest of the bunch. Dad drove the tractor and wagon around me and went a little ways and turned into the closest driveway.

I wasn't sure what he was up to, but then I saw the sign. It said, "Llama Gardens" or something like that, so I followed them into the driveway. The guy that owns this llama farm is a friend of my dad's and he had arranged for him to bring the group by for a visit, which was a surprise to everyone on the hayride. If Mom knew, she hadn't told anyone else.

My dad collects and restores trucks and tractors. Most of his tractors are Fords, but this is one that he had been trying to add to his collection for many years. It's a Minneapolis Moline. He finally aquired it a few years ago, and here it is, fully restored.

I was going to take a picture of everyone on the hay wagon...but they jumped off too quickly.

Remember that song "Down by the Bay?" You know, "Down by the bay, where the watermelons grow, back to my home, I dare not go...for if I do, my mother will say..." Have you ever seen a mama, kissing a llama, down by the bay?" Hehe, I don't think she's actually kissing it, but that's my mother, and that's what it looks like from here.

My niece, Shelby found a new friend. This St. Bernard's name is "Flopsy" and Shelby thought it was the best "llama" there!

Here a llama...

There a llama...

Everywhere a llama, llama...

Here's most of the group at the llama farm.

Since I was driving my van, I obviously couldn't join the others on the hayride, so I drove a couple of miles back to my parents' house...where there were plenty of other family members that hadn't gone on the ride.

Others were still getting there too, my nephew Kirk, his wife Annie and their 3 little girls arrived shortly after I did. Great niece Julia, along with her two sisters, came running to greet my sister, "Grandma Peggy" and brother-in-law "Grandpa Tim." This is Tim holding Julia, who just celebrated her first birthday.

Here they come!

Here's my dad, driving his Minneapolis Moline tractor. He seemed to be enjoying it.

Here's the wagon from one side...

And here it is from the other.
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But wait...There's more.

Since everyone hadn't gotten a chance to go the first time around, Grandpa said he'd do another one! Yeah!! I didn't get to go the first time...some of them decided to hop back on for seconds, too.

Here's the other side...again. I hopped (or climbed, rather) up there beside my niece, Missy on the quilt.

I took a few pictures of the beautiful autumn-colored countryside, along the way...

Here's some more.

And my beatiful nieces, Jackie and Missy and great niece, Kasey. Jackie's husband, Jim is in the background...yes Jim, you're beautiful too.

More brilliant colored scenery...

Meanwhile...back at the ranch...they were getting supper on, and people had started getting their food. We had a wonderful spread. Chili, bouja, several pasta salads, taco salad, a delicious cashew cole slaw, among other tasty treats.

Shelby had gotten a new "Hannah Montana" hat and modeled it for me while I took her picture.

My older brother, Dan has FINALLY joined the grandparent club. Here he is holding baby Lauren with his daughter Holly, looking on.

And here is my sister Peggy, (a veteran member of the grandparent club), holding her youngest grandchild, Julia.

It really was an awesome day. The weather could NOT have been nicer, and I think I counted about 56 family members there that day... I think that's about 50% of us. Happy Birthday, Dad!