Category Archives: family

State Fair

This year we realized we hadn’t been to the State Fair since before Phoebe was born, so I figured it was time we gave it another try. There’s nothing wrong with the State Fair, it’s just usually very hot and very crowded and neither of those things are our favorite. The kids were excited at the prospect and I was looking forward to some tasty food, so we figured it was a win/win.

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The kids were thrilled when we decided to take a bus. It’s absolutely the little things. Our day started off slightly rough, however, when we arrived at the Fair only to realize that neither of us had grabbed the tickets, our coupon book or ride tickets (all pre-paid and therefore much cheaper). SIGH. Oh well. We got in line, got our tickets and since the kids were already starving, got cookies because there’s no other way to start the day. The kids were really only interested in ice cream and rides, so we made our way there.

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For some reason, Phoebe was only a fan of the rides if they weren’t moving. As you can see from the picture above… let’s zoom in a tad… she didn’t fully enjoy the rides, which is odd because she had a blast the last time we went to a carnival.

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We did at least manage to talk her out of the mini Ferris Wheel, which we knew would freak her out. Instead, Enzo had a fun time riding it by himself. He’d try to look as stoic as possible and not acknowledge us and then you’d see him fighting back a smile when we’d wave and make faces at him.

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We did get the kids to go to a few other things here and there and we continued to snack on things like cheese curds and deep-fried Tacos. We each had a beer and were glad we went on a Friday rather than a weekend. It was still busy, but definitely not has bad as on a Saturday or Sunday.

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We decided to just bring one stroller and the carrier this time, and it worked out really well. Enzo rode in the stroller for a bit and Phoebe at one point very happily napped in the carrier on my back for at least an hour. The weather could not have been more perfect and no one got too hot, which was a surprise for this time of year.

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Overall it was a fun and exhausting day. We had some hits and misses with food – the maple glazed bacon donut sliders were a sad let-down, and now I want to make the version I had pictured in my head – but the bunnies and babies never let us down. The kids did great with all of the walking and being out and about all day. I think they could have kept going, but by late afternoon, Josh and I were DONE. We probably won’t go every year, but it’s fun to go to every 2-3 years – maybe more frequently once the kids are older and don’t have to be carried around. 😉

Why don’t we do this more often?

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to walk down to the river with the kiddos and do some fishing. Well, the boys fished. Phoebe can’t be trusted with a fishing pole yet, and I’m indifferent. Plus, someone has to keep an eye on the munchkins to make sure no one falls in. It’s about a 15-20 minute walk with the kids depending on the route we take. We probably could have ridden our bikes, but chose not to this time, and I can’t remember why. Old age is creeping in, apparently – I can’t remember anything lately.

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We met up with Josh’s sister Leah and her son Malcolm for a bit since they are close by. It was a beautiful day and the mosquitoes weren’t terrible yet. Since these pictures there was major flooding, but I think even that has gone down now too. See where Enzo’s standing? The river covered this area completely and went almost to the road. It tends to happen every year.

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The kids stayed interested in fishing for a little bit until we found another area where you could walk right into the river! Phoebe wanted to splash, so I told the kids they could take their shoes and socks off to get their feet wet. Well, about 5 minutes later Phoebe started pulling her pants and undies off informing me that she wanted to sit in the water, but (thankfully) didn’t want to get her clothes wet. Ha ha! Before long both kids had completely stripped and we scared off another mom and her older kids. Heaven forbid small children be naked. Yeah, yeah, I know there are creeps out there, but every now and then I like to encourage their innocence if I’m safely nearby.

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We snacked while the kids dried off and Josh kept fishing. Nothing was caught, but it was relaxing and a nice way to spend the afternoon. Who knows, maybe we’ll do more of that this weekend… well, maybe. The mosquitoes are out in full force and Enzo and I tend to get eaten alive. We’re off to the State Fair on Friday, though, so that should be a lot of fun and then Josh and I are going to see a special showing of The Neverending Story at the movie theater! Woohoo! Maybe I’ll actually have more to post about next week. 😉 Ha ha.

When Less is More

I had my yearly checkup and apparently stress is contributing to slightly high cholesterol. Wee. How can I be old enough to worry about crap like that? Oh wait, I shouldn’t worry… that’ll just make it worse. There’s been a lot going on, to say the least and I’m stretched pretty thin lately. I haven’t picked up my camera lately and seem not to have time to keep the house clean between one thing and another. So… I need to re-prioritize and I think that means blogging less. I think for a few months I need to completely focus on my work endeavors and then see where I’m at. With so little time I like to focus on my family when I can and my own personal needs, so… yeah.

As far as the kids go, despite there being more stress and chaos in the house than usual, Enzo has been doing great in preschool lately, which also seems to coincide with his preschool teacher leaving and a new teacher stepping in. He’s been having so many good days and has been bringing home more worksheets and seems to be learning more. I can’t even tell you what a relief that is.

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Things I want to remember about right now.

Enzo
- Has an ongoing imaginary game/story where we travel to outer space. Typically it’s him, me and Phoebe since we usually pretend we’re in a spaceship on the way home from preschool, but now and then Josh is allowed to also come. My job is to drive the spaceship and Enzo is in charge of “Pewing” (sp?) bad aliens. They can usually be found on meteors and Enzo uses a special gun that shoots fish that eat the aliens. The fish also have the powers of expansion to eat and/or destroy anything in our path.

Phoebe
- Has started telling little white lies like asking her if she washed her hands and her saying she did when she very obviously didn’t and other little things like that.
- Is a tad bossy and adorable at the same time. She often holds up her little hand and will say, “Just one minute” if you ask her to do something. It’s all in the inflection and hand motion.

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With luck this next year will give us much more time together and the current chaos will make it all worthwhile.

Day In The Life – July 4th Edition

Time for another Day In The Life post! For previous posts see here, here, here, here or here.

A holiday is never a typical day, but I figured it would be more fun. I also decided to just use my phone and had Josh take pictures as well. Funnily enough I thought I would take more photos if I just stuck with my phone, but I think I usually take more photos for these posts when I pull out my big camera.

While it could have been earlier, I still wasn’t thrilled to wake up before 6:00 on Monday, so I decided to let the kids crawl in our bed and watch some TV while Josh and I dozed on and off.

The kids went to the store with me the day previously and Enzo had picked out donuts, so we had those for breakfast. It turns out the kids don’t like cream filled out donuts, so more for Josh and I. 😉

Knowing it was going to be a late night and that the kids needed naps, we nixed anymore TV and I tried to keep them occupied with random activities throughout the morning while Josh and I did a little tidying up in the kitchen.

The kids had some fun with perler beads. Enzo decided not to keep his truck design, but Phoebe decided to keep her ice cream cone. The bigger beads are perfect for tiny hands, and let’s face it, me too.

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The rest of the weekend…

Both kids were very excited to go to the “beach” on Sunday morning. It’s really just a man-made swimming pond, but it’s really nice and has a huge shallow wading area for little kids. We also go there early enough to grab one of the big umbrellas; however, within an hour we had people plopping their stuff right down next to ours despite their being a ton of open space everywhere. Apparently everyone was doing that (crowding for shade) and we were not the only ones perturbed by this. I assumed first come first serve? I would never invade someone’s space like these people were doing, which is also we bought our own sun shade – for when the umbrellas are already taken. Okay, rant over. I just really hate having my personal space invaded. Okay, rant actually over now.

The weather could not have been more perfect with a nice cool breeze now and then. Phoebe was completely in her element and refused to leave the water even when she turned blue and was shivering with chattering teeth and all. Enzo is still fairly cautious and would only go out so far, but he enjoyed himself nonetheless, especially since we brought the squirters.

Eventually, once it started getting busier and the lifeguards arrived we decided to eat a snack/lunch, get changed and head over to the playground, which also happens to be one of the biggest playgrounds I’ve ever seen. Perhaps next year we’ll get a seasonal membership and go swimming more often. It really is the perfect way to spend a morning.

Happy weekend all! We get to leave early and I’m taking Tuesday off, so it’s an especially long weekend for me!

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures