This past weekend we all headed to IL because Grandma was going to have an auction of some of Grandpa’s farm equipment and random things around house and barn that she didn’t need anymore. I was mostly excited because Josh was meeting us there, and it was fun to get to go see everyone.
It was a little (or a lot) sad to see this on Saturday morning:
Grandpa was such a John Deere man, it was hard to see so many of his tractors all lined up down the driveway, waiting to be sold… but there’s no sense having all those tractors just sitting around; Grandpa wouldn’t have wanted them rusting in the barn anyway… So, after a bit of nostalgia and sadness, we got down to the business at hand: organizing a major auction! Dad came down to do the auction, as the owner of a new auction company, Black and Gold Auctions. It is definitely a “family affair” anytime Black and Gold Auctions has an auction, because Ruth clerks, Mom’s the cashier, and Dad is obviously the auctioneers. This trip, it was even more of a family affair… everyone helped out! Ellen and I ended up doing most of the checking-in/checking-out of bidders, because Mom & Susan had to go to somewhere with better wireless (ahh, the joys of So. Illinois) to take care of the proxibid (online) part of the auction. Then my uncles, Clint & Cullen spent a lot of time being ringmen for Dad, my girl cousins all ran the snack bar (and did a fantastic job- they made $72 each after paying back everyone who bought supplies), Charlie helped with the proxibid by relaying the bids Mom & Susan were getting… it was pretty crazy! But, overall it went really well, and while it was hard to see so much of “Grandpa” get sold, at the end of the day it was still just stuff. Grandpa wasn’t in those John Deere tractors. Perhaps Laney said it best- He’s in Heaven, and we miss him, but he’s happy there. And even if it’s not his tractor, I never will see a John Deere without thinking of Grandpa Price, sitting tall on the top of one, with a ball cap on and a big grin.
Anyway, enough sadness and nostalgia, on to the pictures… some of these are mine, some are Ellen’s, because I was too busy during the auction to even get my camera out!
Dad & Grandma, looking over some quilting frames.
The snack bar girls, before the craziness started! They were pretty much busy the rest of the day…
Laney and Aunt Jenny, inside the auction trailer (where I stayed pretty much the whole time).
Susan & Ruthie, up on a tractor
My youngest cousin, Max, who is 5. And, man, is he ALL BOY or what?! He spent awhile in the corn field, picking up corn cobs, then came racing in the trailer and dumped them on the desk, proclaiming “I HAVE CORNCOBS!” He was so proud…
Max & another of my cousins, Gabe. These two are quite the pair! They spent a lot of time racing around the trailer, banging on different sides, and jumping down the ramp, making the whole trailer shake.
After the auction, everyone hung around for awhile, helping people get stuff loaded up (it’s not like you can just pack a tractor or a combine into your trunk!). It was such a beautiful day, it was awesome to just be hanging out outside.
Max & Audrey… he was fascinated with her. Suppose Rachel (the dog) has any idea what’s coming? :)
Cullen, helping someone load something heavy on a trailer…
Gratuitous shot of a tractor as I was playing with my prime lens, trying to figure out how it works… came out pretty good, I thought.
Sunday we all headed back to Grandma’s house to help clean up and pack up after the auction (after a trip to Thompsonville Cafe for breakfast, of course). It was beautiful outside, so we spent lots of time hanging by the trailer or the barn (partly because of the weather, and partly because Grandma sold most of her living room furniture/recliners, so there wasn’t much to sit on!). And, of course, no trip to IL would be complete without a mule ride to visit all of the animals! Ruth, Ellen, Laney, Audrey and I loaded up in the mule, and Charlie followed us (or sometimes circled us) on the four-wheeler.
Yaya and Laney, ready to go!
Charlie and his girl, calling the cows!
They may live in Columbia, but I’m raising farm girls! :) My girls, hanging on the cow gate… or, in the case of Audrey, licking the cow gate… gross! But at least it looks cute from a distance!
So, that was about it… it was good to see everyone there, and hard to watch the stuff get sold, but comforting knowing that, no matter how much got sold, Grandpa wasn’t really in the stuff. And the auction did really well, so that will be good for Grandma. And Dad got lots of compliments on how the auction went/was handled, so maybe we’ll be headed back to So. Illinois to do some more auctions! :)
In KY news, well, there isn’t really much news. We are still waiting on our house to sell. We’ve had a lot of showings, and one set of serious lookers, but no real bites yet. We’re praying, and trusting, that it will happen in God’s time. As for a job for me, well, no news there, either. But school districts are just now starting to really decide where there are going to be openings, so I’m not too worried about it. Again, God’s timing and plan…
I did take Laney to the eye doctor last week, and have mixed news from that. She does not have to have glasses; actually her prescription is pretty good. BUT, she does have to have surgery. It wasn’t a weaker eye that was causing the lazy eye, instead she has what is called a roaming lazy eye, which means that the eye muscles don’t work together, so only one eye is ever really focused at a time. So, they will do some kind of surgery to correct it. Basically, I took her to an optometrist, and he referred us to a pediatric ophthalmologist. But, he did say that we could wait until we’d moved, which means we’ll be able to be settled. So, planning to cross that bridge when we come to it…
I think that’s about it… gearing up for another busy weekend, friends getting married on Saturday (which means Daddy’s home… yay!!), Audrey’s first birthday party on Sunday, and lots of family in town. Thankfully, next week is Spring Break for me, so I can catch up on some rest!! :) I will try not to wait a month before I update again, but, well, life is a little crazy ‘round here right now!
