Howard County Fair

I have so much to catch up on, but first, a little bit about our trip to the Howard County Fair on Monday.

It was hot. I had Emma and her cousins for the day, so we took a vote and decided to go to the fair. We had to wait a little while until the rides opened, but I'm glad we did. Lots of fans inside the animal barns. :)

First, we visited the animals. So many to see, and we could get up really close. There were brand new baby bunnies, and the cutest little piglets I've ever seen. Look at those tails!!


The fairgrounds are actually open all year long, as many of the 4H kids come here to work. The kids got to relive their beach days, by burying each other in corn kernels. Such a brilliant idea! SO much less messy (?) than sand!


Not the best pictures below, but a funny story. Emma found a baby goat inside the show animal barn. This little guy was making the most noise in the entire barn. But he was so cute and friendly, and she just sat and talked to him for ever. Finally, she told me that she was going to name him. It was loud in the barn from the animals and all the fans, so this is kind of how the conversation went:

Emma: "I'm going to name him Parker!"
Me: "Aw, Parker? Like our dog?"
Emma: "No! Barker!"
Me: "Barker? Because he makes so much noise?"
Emma: "No! Hooker!"
Me: "Hooker??! Hooker??!" (getting terrified)
Emma: "NO! Mom! You're not listening! Honker!"
Me: "Ohhhhhh! Honker! Yes, that's the perfect name!"

Sheesh. I need to get my hearing checked. :)

Finally, the rides opened, and it was time to get our wristbands! There were lots of rides, but some of them had restrictions for height. Wouldn't you know it, she was one inch too short for the "big" kid rides that she wanted to go on with Morgan & Tommy. Probably just as well. This one's quite the daredevil.

Did I mention it was hot?


Hilarious. Pig races. We missed the duck races by 30 minutes.


Morgan & Tommy were a dream, and we spent FIVE hours together and everyone got a long great! They got to go on a few rides by themselves, and Emma was devastated. Luckily, she'll be tall enough next year!

Our last ride of the day - the Tilt A Whirl!

You can't forget the fair food!


It was a long, hot day, but everyone got along great. M & T were so helpful. This was the last picture of the day. Yeah, Emma is DONE.


Happy Thursday!

bethany beach 2011

This will mark our 2nd annual trip to Bethany Beach with family. It's a great time for everyone - Bruce and Linda make it so easy to enjoy and relax. Convenience is key!

There were 10 of us, in 3 condos, all on the same floor. Plus, we have the pool and the beach right out front! The biggest decision of the day is which bathing suit to wear, and which sandwich to pack for lunch.

Speaking of lunch, if you haven't already, you MUST try these! They were hands down, the most popular thing (besides the donuts) on the beach. I bought a pack of 16 of them at Costco for our trip. They were gone by the 3rd day. Your kid won't be able to eat just one.


Ok, so back to the week. Isn't he handsome? I think so. :)


There was a lot of this..


and some of this..


and even more of this..



We cruised the strip...(ok, not really. there wasn't much activity past 9pm, lol!)


Sweet, beautiful Morgan.


A little last-day-of-vacation-photo shoot:


All of the cousins! This one's for you, grandma lee! :)


Thank you Bruce & Linda!

our new friday night ritual

So nice to have a little slice of nature right in our backyard. Going for a sunset canoe ride has become our Friday evening ritual, and I love it. Dad & Em are the fisherpeople, and I try my best to steer. This particular evening, the water was like glass - a mirror image of the marbled blue sky. It's so quiet and still and all you have to think about is which side to paddle on. We can talk (or not) and just be together and make memories.

These two crack me up - cut from the same cloth, I tell ya.


Aaaahhh, now that's a nice way to end a busy week.

emma-isms

It's been 90 miles an hour around here lately, and that provides the perfect incentive for some comic relief. Here are some of Emma's most recent hilarities:


"It's ok mom, your ears don't stick out."

"Mom, by best friend knows ALL my secrets." (???)

"I'm being a shape detective mom, you're going to have to entertain yourself."

"Mom, do you think the Paci Fairy gets lonely?"

"No, I don't want to work on that. I don't have any insurance."

"Mom, can I be *Jay's girlfriend? He needs me to drive him to work."

"Dad returning from his business trip: Hey Emma........I brought you something! Come see!
Emma (very excited): What is it? Is it mustard??!!" (??????)


*Jay is our 38 yr old next door neighbor, with whom she is completely infatuated.

mushrooms

None of these pictures are technically perfect, in fact, few of them are even in focus. But I just couldn't delete them. The blur of her twirling and that big, gappy, buck-toothed grin complete the mental picture I had of her on this walk. It's parenting snapshot I want to remember forever - right down the blue piggy paint toenail polish. And then there's the flip flops 3 sizes too big that we HAD to buy last summer when she fell in love with them, and they were the only size left. And then there's the Dora bandaid she put on her right knee, "just in case I fall down". And the pink flower headband she slept in for 2 nights after our neighbor brought it back from their vacation in a pink bag, just for Emma.

Anyway, today's glee was provided by Opa. She had just come home from a Build-a-Bear and lunch date with him, and she had the! best! time! She named her bear, "Flower Daisy" and customized her from head to toe, including bows on every appendage. She was so proud, so excited, and wanted to show Miss Daisy off to the world.

We had a nice long walk that day. We stopped to look at just about everything. The sunlight was shining down over the lake like cream that afternoon, and it hit me how dark her freckles are getting, how long her ponytail is, how she still has those chubby baby cheeks and all the while, how grown up she is (and how much 3 year olds have a penchant for sticking out their tongues!)


This post has nothing to do with mushrooms, but we spotted some on our walk. Aren't they amazing? Don't you just want to crawl under one during a rain storm? I thought so.

Back to that sassy little girl, this pretty much sums her up:

end of year picnic

Oh good, you're still here! :) The last few weeks have been a flurry of activity with school activities, picnics, parties, and lots of time spent outdoors.

Emma's end of year school picnic was a hit. She wanted to be very prepared, so she dressed and packed herself for the big day:

First order of business was face paint and the playground!


Sliding with her gal pal Madison...

Then the bubble station...

Then KONA ICE!!!

Comparing notes with her homegirl Kaitlyn...

followed by some girl talk...

What a great day!