City meets Country

A few weeks ago we took the girls to the County Fair. We headed straight to the animal barns and tents. Amelia had a good time, but we didn't quite get the same reaction out of her as we did when she saw the goats while on vacation. It was cute because she was walking by a goat pen and one "baa'ed" at her. I think she about jumped out of her sandals as she didn't expect that. She did good though and wasn't afraid of them after that.

We walked through one of the horse barns and several of the 4-H members were there taking care of the horses. The teen girls took a liking to Allison and Amelia and let them pet their horses. Amelia was in heaven and petted one particular horse for the longest time. She didn't flinch at all, even when she was face-to-face with the huge horse.

Even though we brought the double stroller along, the girls didn't want to ride in it. There were too many exciting things to look at. As we were leaving one barn, Allison stepped in some cow manure that was on the ground. Brian was telling Allison to stop walking and she was clueless to what was going on. I was trying to help, when I realized that Amelia took off. I went to get her, when I heard "OHHH JEEZ, DON'T TOUCH IT. GROSS. DON'T MOVE." and "WHAT DAD? WHAT?" I grabbed Amelia who was trying to sneak between the two barns and brought her back. Brian (who isn't a very happy camper at this point) is trying to clean up Allison's shoe. I looked up and saw a 4-H family watching the whole fiasco take place. They were all cracking up. Another gentleman walks by and is trying his hardest not to laugh. Yep....city meets country. We were that family. We were that family as we continued to go through the fair with Brian and I snipping at each other, the girls going off in one direction or dragging their feet at every exhibit, and me trying to find an inexpensive way to give the kids a treat without paying $7 for french fries or buying day-old popcorn.

Despite that, I think the kids had a good time. Since we were there so early in the day, the carnival rides hadn't opened yet, so the highlight of the trip was snack time and then "treat" time, where I managed to find them a Tootsie Roll sucker at the 4H booth (they were out of frozen treats, so I scored the suckers for a quarter each.) Next year, we will go again. However next time maybe we will put the kids in "muck" boots and we will also make sure that everyone has been well-fed before we leave.

Joys of Bath Time

Bath time fun came to an abrupt ending...all over who gets to hold the tube of red bath paint.

A Visit to the Lake

A few weeks ago, our good friends Rick and Tina and their boys Zach and Colin came in for a visit from Texas.  They invited everyone to a friend's cottage along the lake. It was kind of chilly that evening, so we didn't bring the girls' bathing suits. We figured that the girls would be content dipping their toes in the water.  I think Allison would have been fine, however, Amelia was not happy at all. She wanted to jump right into the water. We managed to get away with only a wet skirt.  Luckily, I had a change of clothes in the car.

Neighborhood Party

Earlier this month, our neighborhood and business association threw a party for National Night Out.  It was a chance for people to come out and enjoy free, family-friendly entertainment and meet their neighbors. We finally met and introduced ourselves to a family that lives down the street from us. We always see them with their kids but have never spoken before. Their third child is less than a week younger than Allison.

The event had a petting zoo, pony rides, music, and the fire and police department were also there. The police had their SWAT truck out. We hoisted Allison up there, thinking she would sit on the bench, however she proceeed to jump right into the driver's seat, which freaked me out a little since the truck was running. The police office sitting in the passenger seat, who was enjoying the cool air and talking on his cell, didn't seem too concerned. Once Allison left the drivers seat, Amelia hopped in and pretended to drive the truck. Between the SWAT truck and the police car, I thought for sure we were going to get stuck with a bill to repair some "button" that Allison pushed. 

At the end of the night, we treated the girls to a treat from the ice-cream truck. Overall it was a fun night. Hopefully by next year, the girls will be old enough to enjoy the outdoor movie they played later in the evening.

The turtle kept trying to escape.

Amelia sitting in time out.

The girls sitting in the fire truck.

Amelia leaving an impression (facial impression that is) with the fire department

A Belated Birthday Post

At the beginning of the month Brian celebrated his birthday. We dropped off the girls at his parents' house while we went out to dinner. While the girls stayed with Grandma and Grandpa, they prepared a "surprise" birthday party for Brian, complete with Toy Story 3 plates and napkins. The girls had fun throwing a party for their dad and especially liked the party favors that you blow into, even though it took Amelia a while to figure out exactly how to do it.  

100% Pure Joy

Read Me, Momma

The other night when putting Allison to bed, I decided to tell her a story about when she was a baby and she thought that was funny. The next night I put her to bed and she told me "Read Me, Momma." Luckily I remembered that I told her a story the night before and assumed that was what she wanted. When I finished with her story, she said "Read Mia, Momma", so I told her a story about Amelia.  Now she is really into me telling stories.

The only thing is that I stink at telling stories. Creative writing was never my forte in school. They say stick with what you know best, so I guess I will tell her stories about when she was a baby.  I told her that she used to cry and cry and she thought that was funny (there goes my plan for making her feel guilty about her colicky days in an effort to get a better Mother's Day present some year). When I was putting her to bed last night, she was laying on her tummy and her butt was up in the air a little, so I told her how she used to sleep with her butt right up in the air (I still haven't figured out how babies can do that).  When it comes to telling stories about Amelia, I always end it how Amelia had a excellent big sister named Allison that took very good care of her and gave her lots of hugs and kisses. When I tell that story, Allison always gets a very proud grin on her face. 

Now lets hope that Allison doesn't get into stories about fairies, princesses, and fantasy kingdoms, because I'm toast if she does. Anyone have cliff notes on those subjects?