It's Fair Time

Knowing we wanted to go the Fair this year since we don't know when we will be back in Iowa in August I bought advance tickets. We decided last minute to go on Saturday night since it would be cooler and we had the time. We ran home, changed clothes (we had both been at work) and headed out. The first thing we wanted to do was eat so we grabbed the famous smoked turkey leg (the first of many delicious items to be eaten) and headed in to watch horse pulling. Neither Eric nor I had ever seen horse pulling so we thought it would be a cultural expeirence. I missed the first one thinking it was going to be really slow but they hook the horses up let them go and it is all done in about 5 seconds. We didn't stay the whole time since it does get a little repitious.

As we were leaving horse pulling we ran into Tyler and Margaret from our ward. We had talked about going together but never did find a time that would work. We both decided last minute to go and ran into each other at the fair. It was a blast. Being an Iowa native I had to show these Utah folks where to go so we headed off to see the buttar cow and astronauts. My favorite part was the buttar tv and popcorn.


Then it was time to see the animals. Tyler wanted to see all the really big animals and I liked seeing all the little animals. One of the cutest was a little pigmy goat baby. It had curly hair.



I also like the piggies. I didn't get to see the babies because the line was too long so I had to settle for the normal size one.


One thing that was new to me was the "World's Smallest Cow". I know it is hard to tell from the picture but they are little cows. I thought they were adorable-much cuter than the biggest bull that was like 1 1/2 tons.


At one point Tyler and Margaret were looking at hats and boots so Eric and I took Shannon around to keep her happy. I thought it would be cute to have her sit on a saddle. You can't really see it in the picture but she is on a little saddle that would bit a miniature horse.



We finished the evening by watching a hypnotist. It was really funny and a great way to end the evening. Here is the only picture of the two of us. Sorry it is so dark.

a fun new toy

Friday night we went to dinner with my parents and then walked around the mall for a while. We stopped by Brookstone (a really fun store) and spent sometime looking around for things. My mom claims she has never been in one before but my dad thinks they have. Either way by the time we left my parents had bought two little remote control helicopters; one for my dad and one for me. Don't worry my mom bought me a shirt and lotion for herself so no one was left out. We went back to my parents house and the boys had a blast playing with their new toys.

Valle Drive In

Back in May Eric and I made a list of things we wanted to do this summer and one was go the drive in movie in Newton. One Friday Eric picked up some snacks, Subway sandwiches and then me and we headed out of town. We got there early which was good since we have a little car so we could park in the front. The parking lot filled up as we got closer to showtime. The theater still has the old speakers that you can hook up to your car or you can tune your radio to a station to listen. Eric and I sat on chairs in front of the car and had a gret time. The weather was beautiful and the movie (G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra) was fabulous. We only stayed for the first movie since Eric had to work the next morning but it was a lot of fun and highly recommended it to everyone.

Tenting

A few weeks ago Eric and I were over at my parents house doing laundry and my brother Travis and my sister-in-law Bri came by to show us their new tent. Next week the family is heading up to Clear Lake and Travis and Bri will be tent camping. They wanted to make sure they knew how to set up the tent so we all went out to the front yard to help/watch.

A thought or two I have been pondering

Last week a friend called to give me some really good news and I was so happy for her. At first she was worried because she knew her good news had the potential to make me sad. I was truly happy for her and was grateful that she had been spared a trial I am going through. I have been thinking about this for awhile and I keep remembering the idea/quote that I heard somewhere once: if everyone put down all their trials and challenges for all to see more often than not we would take our own trial/challenge back realizing we are able to handle what we have been given. I think this is very true. As I thought about my friend and the trials she has I wonder if I would have the strength and patience she has if I had her trials. This thought process has given me comfort that last week or so as I have dealt with my own trials in my life.

I have also been thinking a lot about goals. Last Monday I made a list of goals to try and use my time wisely or be healthier. Since then I have not been able to get to bed early so I am sleeping in and not working out etc etc. Basically once I made the goals I started doing worse than I was doing before that. I have two conclusions. The first is that they are not the right goals for me and I should pick different ones. The second being they are the best goals and I should redouble my efforts. I personally like the first option better but only time will tell for sure.

My Sweet Husband

My sister posted this picture on her blog from the Balloon Festival and I loved it so much I wanted to share it too. Eric is so sweet to Isaac. As with most two year olds Isaac did not want to sit and wait so Eric walked around with him going where Isaac lead. For a while Isaac was on Eric's shoulders and would use Eric's hair like reins to steer.

UP UP and AWAY

On Saturday night Eric and I went with my sister Jenn, brother-in-law Jake, nephew Isaac and niece Leah to Indianola to the Hot Air Balloon Festival. None of us had ever been and we figured with the weather being as nice as it was this would be a great summer to go. And apparently everyone else in Iowa wanted to go also. The traffic was crazy!!! When we got there the wind was too strong so the balloons couldn't go up and we were all really bummed thinking that we had gone all that way to eat knock-off fair food. At about seven the wind died down and so the balloons went up and it was really cool looking. I think about 60 balloons went up. I am really glad we went and saw it since we won't be here next year to see it.

Baby Blanket

 
 


I made this blanket for my friend Erin who is about to have her first baby girl. I had a great time making it and thought the pattern was so pretty.