Becker Farms and Papa Pike's Birthday

This past Saturday we attended a barbecue at Sean's dad's house (AKA Papa Pike) in honor of the June birthdays in the family: Papa Pike on the 7th, Uncle Mat on the 12th, & cousin Jocelyn on the 15th; plus a little Father's Day celebration thrown in there. Sean's Aunt Diane (Papa Pike's younger sister) and her two girls Samantha (16) & Jocelyn (15) were in town from Madison, Wisconsin, so it was a wonderful family gathering. Above: Jackson enjoys some time on the tire swing at Papa Pike's house.

Jackson poses with Aunt Diane.

(L-R) Aunt Diane, Samantha, Jocelyn

Three generations of Pike men.

On Sunday we took Jackson to a local farm where we paid $10 for unlimited access to the slides, playground, duck pond, & petting zoo, plus a pony ride for Jackson and a hay ride for all three of us. Yes, my son, who is afraid of just about everything, rode a pony. And liked it. And yelled "Neigh!" the whole time he was up on the pony's back. I like the first picture because the look on his face says, "You want me to go where?!"

This is one of the two Becker Mountain Slides that the farm boasts. As you can see, it is not much more than a drainage unit stuck into the side of a hill. But alas, so much fun for the kiddies. This is the smaller one that is reserved for smaller children. We never thought Jackson would go for it, but he wanted to walk up the hill with daddy, anyway. When they got to the top, to our shock and amazement, he sat down at the top of the slide and went down. This is a child who will not go down toddler slides at the park by himself.

This is the best picture ever: the end of the slide. You may have to click on it to get a clearer view of Jackson's face, but please do because it is hysterical! At this point, we thought, "OK, he's done." Then he proceeded to walk up the hill and slide down three more times. We think that the trick was that he closed his eyes. Heck, I think I would too.