So, as you discovered by reading the June 2013 post, I am a little behind in blog writing. It’s now the week before Thanksgiving and I have set a goal for myself to get caught up to the current month before I am allowed to eat a single spoonful of dressing. Forget the pie, I go for the good stuff…with butter. Wish me luck.
July is a blur…I have no mental representation of what we did that month. But, thank God it’s 2013 and I can resort to looking at text messages and pictures on my phone to make memories for my children.
4th of July- my kiddos love this holiday, and I am sorry to say I don’t share their sentiment. It’s usually 100 degrees by 10:00 am, and we have a full day of activities that are sans air-conditioning. In all fairness, in 3 of the past 7 years I have been largely pregnant, so just getting dressed in the morning causes me to sweat. This year was no exception to the heat nor the activities. My darling husband played in his usual golf tournament (are y’all starting to see a pattern here?), while I participated in the neighborhood parade. The parade route is a good 2 miles long, and only one of my children is able to ride a bicycle. So, guess who has to lug 70 pounds of sweet princesses around in the bike stroller? Yup, me.
Exhibit A
Meanwhile, my little man rode his a$$ off trying to keep up with the parade, whist at the same time trying to hold his hat on and keep his balloons from tying up in his spokes. Bless his heart. He sure had fun though.
Exhibit B
Even though it was hot and sweaty with no adult beverages, I will ride in that parade every year just for these sweet faces. God Bless America!
Not to mention that later in the day, I was rewarded at the pool with this gem….
The middle of July was spent doing a lot of this:
Which led to a lot of this:
All of that in preparation for an event that I had been looking forward to for months….The Warren County Fair in Indianola, Iowa. A full 6 days of Midwestern hospitality, complete with carnival rides, homemade ice cream, and some of the best people watching around. Oh yeah…and some of my favorite people on earth.
There are so many awesome pictures from the trip, that it’s hard for me to choose. But, here are a few of my faves (along with commentary):
Our first day at the fair was chock full of carnival-type activities….
Jackson attempted to win the bubble gum blowing contest. Sadly, he fell a bit short but did bring home a beautiful participation ribbon.
Next up, rolling around in a knee-deep pile of corn kernels. Some cat has likely used that as a litter box, right?
How many college-educated people do you think participated in assembling this death-trap? Poor Beau looks scared out of his shorts…I think he knows something more than we do.
The reward for a hard day at the Fair? Homemade ice cream….clearly Jacce is eating more than his share.
Day 2…a trip to the pool.
I think Reese still had a bit of carb-induced lethargy from our day at the fair.
She decided that a little sunbathing was in order, which led to TWO hours of this…
While we girls and kids were at the pool, the boys took to the links. It’s rumored that they may have had some drinks while playing. So, when it was time to go home, what do you do with the person who had the most drinks?
Yup, that’s right. You put them in the trunk. Don’t feel sorry for him…we gave him a roadie.
So, later that day back to the fair we went for the adult portion of the entertainment. I REALLY want to explain what is happening in this next picture, but fear that Aly may never speak to me again. Instead, I’ll just say that the Tilt-A-Whirl was exactly as we remembered and did not disappoint.
I can imagine that everyone reading is getting bored at this point because even I am, so I will try and wrap this up. No trip to Indianola, IA is complete without a little hot air balloon action. The National Balloon Classic is an event that I have fond memories of from my childhood, and even though it may sound boring to the average Joe, I can assure you that it’s really something to see.
Also, no trip to the Midwest is complete without a trip to Adventureland. I think everyone has memories of trips to amusement parks from their childhood. But, each and every HOT and HUMID summer, my Aunt Peg would schlep the four cousins to Adventureland for a day of vertigo and vomiting. As an adult with three kids, I can appreciate what an “adventure” (pun intended) that was for her, and am forever thankful because it was AWESOME. I had almost as much fun watching these four cousins reenacting some theme park fun.
FINALLY, because it is my absolute FAVORITE picture of the whole trip, I give you this gift:
Fits like a glove!!!