How's work

At some point this weekend Levi asks me "So...how's work?" I had to laugh. I told him I didn't go to work today. He replied "I know... I was kidding."

Missy and Ellie

Ellie is spending more time on her blanket as she learns to roll all around. She especially enjoys seeing the dogs trot by. Sunday Missy decided to lay down next to her and lick her hand. Ellie was laughing and really getting a kick out of the new experience.

"Hand"some

Matt said to Levi "You're one handsome guy..." and Levi interrupts and says "I'm not one hand, I have two hands!"

Weekend adventure

It was a long and busy weekend. Up both days at 6 am to make it to the Richland Kennel Club show for our 8 am ring time. The first day Bebe was her usual wiggly self up on the table. We were the only entrants in the Bred-By Exhibitor class so we won

Thankfully the Richland show is in a prime location for the family. In the shade on the water at Columbia Park. There is a skate park and a big playground for the kids. Levi had a great time playing around in both areas. After all a skate park is really just a bunch of slides!

Levi driving the jet boat.

We checked out Country Mercantile next. They have just about everything dipped in chocolate that you could want. I got a handful of amazing Chocolate-covered Bing cherries. Levi picked out an Oreo dipped in white chocolate covered in sprinkles. They also have all flavors of truffles sold by the pound. We found some Honey Crisp apples and also some white nectarines and corn on the cob.



Matt decided after that to stop off at the P.F. & S. Railway Supply, Inc. just up the road. They have one of the largest selections of model trains and accessories in the United States. Most of their store is housed inside a real old box car. He took Levi in with him and Ellie and I stayed out in the car. The weather was great and I was hoping for a short nap. Alas, that didn't happen. Levi was well behaved and earned himself this new set of construction-type tractors. He fell asleep admiring them on the way home.



For lunch we went over to grandma GiGi's and enjoyed the food. After that it was nap time for the kids and I had a date with Ruth to go riding. I met her out at the barn and we loaded up and trailered out to Bennington Lake. Her new horse Otto reminds me so much of a fancier, younger version of Sinwaan. We took it easy as Ruth has only had Otto for about three days and is still getting to know him, and he is still green. He really moves out though and my lazy fat horse had to trot a couple of times to catch up. It was a super day for a ride. I really enjoyed the change of scenery! Sinwaan scrambled a little in the trailer on the way back to the barn so I noticed some blood on his leg before I unloaded him. Then coming down the ramp he slipped and fell down to his knees. "That is why I don't like ramps" Ruth commented. So we had some doctoring to do when we got him back to the barn and thanks to Jen for wrapping his leg up for me!!

Levi slept awhile even after I got home. When he woke up we had soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The broccoli soup seemed to have an unreasonable amount of stalky stems and I considered writing them a letter for my other blog The Ordinary Consumer but I haven't gotten around to that yet. Not sure if I will. It's kind of a hard thing to prove without taking a photo of all the stemmy parts I set on the side of my plate.

It was a late night for Levi and Matt but I went to bed and fell asleep around 10.

* * * *

Sunday morning, another early start, this time we ran into Larry at the dog show as he was looking for potential models for a specific assignment. Bebe did much better on the table this time, mostly standing still as the judge went over her. Today we were selected for a Reserve Winners Bitch win, wahoo!! My first striped ribbon from AKC. I was proud. I hung around and watched the Frenchies show as I waited for the official photographer. Meanwhile Matt took the kids back to the skate park. Thank goodness for fun diversions!

Levi was starting to not sound very well. I think he is catching a cold.

Matt was exhausted so as soon as Ellie went down for her nap I took Levi to the Fort Walla Walla Museum for their Fall Festival. The ladies at the entry table were very kind and let me use a museum pass that had expired in 2008. Levi was under 5 so he got in for free as well. We saw a hot air balloon as we were coming in the gate so that is the first place we decided to go. A nice lady gave us a ride up the hill on the back of her golf cart. Levi was entranced by the hot air balloon. Neither of us have been that close to one. The owner was giving rides to the kids, letting 2 climb into the basket with him then up he would go, two people manning ropes on the ground to guide him and bring him back down after a couple minutes. I asked Levi about five times if he would like to ride in it. "No, I do not want to but I will watch them do it." was always his response. So after awhile watching that got old and we went to check out the buildings and exhibits on top of the hill.

First was the old fire engine and jail cell exhibit. Levi did not want to go in the jail cell, he wanted to sit on the bench. I suspect he was tired, having fought his nap all afternoon. I told him we needed to go see what else there was and off he scampered ahead of me to the next open door. He was not as impressed by the big mule team as I was, it always leaves me in awe trying to imagine what it must be like to harness up and try and control that many mules at a time.

After that we headed back down the hill and into all the little cabins. The first one we happened across had fresh baked biscuits with butter and apple butter - a real treat!! I had not had lunch. It was so good. There were two women dressed in period attire and using a period stove to cook the biscuits. Impressive! I can't imagine having to use that stove in the summer time.



We then got lucky and happened across a woman who had cooked some blueberry cobbler in her cast iron pan. It was very hot so Levi and I looked in the school house before we decided to try and eat it. It was very sweet, I would have liked it better with less sugar, but it was good and beggars can't be choosers. There were mannequins in some of the buildings and Levi would ask me "is that lady sleeping?" I think it confused him to see people that weren't real.

We wandered around and saw all the little engines running and popping and smoking and making all kinds of noise. There was also a classic car show, but not a huge turnout for that. Levi had fun running around in the big teepee.

As we walked past the blacksmith shop we heard some music. There was a group of four men entertaining anyone who would sit for a spell and listen. They were charming gentlemen and Levi sat in the closest chair and just listened to them for two songs before he got bored and was ready to wander off again.

Would you believe then he wanted to go all the way back up to the top of the hill? We didn't find a ride up this time, we hoofed it. The hot air balloon was gone. I am not sure if it took off up into the air or if they had packed it up back into the trailer that fast.

Well now we went back into the jail exhibit and Levi decided that maybe he did want to see inside the jail cell after all. He even checked out the potty bucket and tested out the mattress. Not too comfortable!

There is a new building up on the hill and we went into it and Levi got to see a mounted Cougar, Bison head, Elk head, deer head and mannequins dressed up like Lewis and Clark and their Native American friend. Lots of neat things to see in that building, including a lot of very old quilts!

Thoroughly exhausted by this point we decided to call it a day. We enjoyed our time spent together, although I think Levi will need to be a bit older to really appreciate the museum. I could have used more time there to just absorb it all and read all the signs. We headed home and I went straight to bed for a short nap.

At 6 pm we were invited out to the Fleischer's for a BBQ. They had some truly wonderful food and lively company. It was a nice ending to a very long weekend.

Unfortunately Levi's cold is getting worse, looks like we'll have to skip his swim class tomorrow night.

Siblings

Wednesday night swim class

Tonight's swim class went great. Matt wanted to take a turn getting Levi ready and off to class. So I waited at the window with Ellie. Matt handed Levi off to the pool warden (the woman who seems to be in charge of things) and she led him by the hand around to where class was held. Where was Katy? Not here tonight. This time Levi had a man for his instructor. Aiden and his dad came out in street clothes and had a word with the warden. Then they left. I found out later from Matt that Aiden did not want to put on his swimsuit, so no class for them tonight. Piper was late again but joined Levi after about 10 minutes. For awhile there it looked like Levi would be the only kid in class.

They did some other things tonight. They used the big blue mat that they normally sit on to lay on their tummies and kick all over the pool. They cruised on down to our end and waved at us in the windows. Later they turned it into an arch and the kids took turns swimming through the "tunnel" and had water dumped on them at the other side with the colander.

Levi seemed to do great from my birds-eye view. There was once I thought he got a little close to the edge and I was worried he would tumble in reaching for a rubber duck but thankfully the warden saw him and pulled him back into his safety sit.

He came out from the locker room all excited. Another night, another adventure.

Pigs

I entered one of my Bostons in the Richland Kennel Club show next weekend, so I have been trying to give BeBe a crash-course in dog show training the past month. Why do I do these things? Perhaps I had forgotten how much work is involved, given it's been about 4 years since I have been in a show ring...

We (the family) were at the supermarket and I picked out the cheapest hot-dogs to use as a dog training aid. Levi is intrigued. He grabs it and before I know what happened, has bit through the corner on the package. Yikes! I had a little conversation with him about how these hot-dogs are for the dogs only, they are made with pigs and we do not eat pigs. "But I want it" was his response at the time.

This morning Matt was teaching Levi to say "Good morning," only with a New England accent like his grandfaaather, so it is more like "Good maunin" He told Levi to go tell momma... He couldn't find me so he asked Matt if I was outside. Matt told him he should look out the window to see. He did, and he said "She's out back feeding pigs to Bebe."

One more little one-liner from the kid: While running errands on the way to swim class yesterday we stopped and parked next to a field. Levi caught sight of something and asked me "What is that out there? What is that moving?" I peered and saw a Killdeer bird walking around. I told him "That is a Killdeer bird. They are very interesting birds. When they see an enemy getting too close to their babies they will pretend to be injured, like a broken wing, and lead the enemy away." "Oh." Was the reply from the back seat. I think sometimes I give him way too much information.

Matt got back in the car and I asked Levi to tell him what he had seen. "What did I see?" Oh it was some-kinda-deer-bird-or-sumptin."

Swim class

Monday was an eventful day for us. I signed Levi up for Turtle Swim Class at the YMCA and today was the first day of lessons. We left the house a little early because we had some errands to run on the way. We got there about 20 min before swim classes started. I went in the locker room with Levi and we both changed into our swim wear. Sometimes Levi will fight the swim diaper but today for some reason he was totally cool with everything. He did awesome, stayed next to me and was helpful in getting out of his clothes/into his swim trunks. Then we went out the door and up the ramp and into the pool area. I was not sure exactly where it would be. (Matt waited outside the pool area with Ellie, and sat in a chair where he could see us through the window). A lifeguard pointed me over to the area where the classes would be. A lady came over and verified that yes, turtle classes would be there in about 10 minutes. So we walked down to the door to let Matt know where and what and how. Then Levi and I walked back over to the other end and sat on the bench and waited our turn.


At 7 pm the other little turtles came in through the door and a woman with a clipboard called out names. "Levi?" "Here," I said, raising my hand. "You're with Katy." So After they figured out which kids went with which instructor they had the kids go with the instructor to their area to talk a little bit. At this point they gave me the once-over, saw me in a suit, and said as kindly as possible "Um....this class is just for kids." Horrors!! Talk about embarrassing! I don't know why I assumed that I would be participating with Levi, although I had been looking forward to some special mommy-and-me time with the kid. I told them that he had never done anything like this before, I wasn't sure how he'd do, and could I please hang out this class? Sure, they said. Levi looked a little worried at this point also so I encouraged him to go with Katy and listen to what she said.


Katy was awesome with the kids. It was just Levi and one other little boy at the start. She talked about the "safety sit" and "walking on the silver line" - all the rules of the pool. She used some great voices to keep the kids attention and asked a lot of questions to help keep them involved.


After that the boys went over and sat on a blue mat at the pool's edge. Safety sit! This means they are sitting with their legs out straight in front of them, no part of them is in the water. Katy sat between them and they scooted up to the edge and put their legs in the water and kicked. Fast and big for "green" slow kicks for "yellow" and red of course meant stop.


Then they did their safety sits again and Katy took turns dumping water on them with a big colander. The kids loved it because it streamed out all over and she started with their legs and then encouraged them to put their hands in it and then poured it over their heads telling them to close their eyes first.


After that the kids took turns sitting close to the edge and getting splashed with water. I forget what that was all about. I know she did ask how many times he wanted to be splashed and she asked "one? two?" and he took off and counted all the way to ten.

Then time to get in the water. Katy asked them about a starfish and explained how to be a starfish in the water. First Levi floated on his back with his head on her shoulder and put out his legs and arms like a starfish. Then he did the same thing on his stomach. Then the other boy had a turn. Levi was doing great waiting patiently on his mat in his safety sit.


I think then a girl named Piper showed up. Time to learn how to use a flotation device that you hang onto. Levi did awesome, and as you can see by this photo, had a grin the whole time.

Then they all picked out a duck and took turns tossing it into the water. Katy had them float on a device and practice reaching for the duck as they swam for it (one at a time). After that they put on back floats and each were given a noodle to hang onto.


Free swim time the last 5 minutes! Piper went in first and was clear over to the boundary line before Katy even had the two boys in the water. I was really proud of Levi for being so well-behaved and trying new things even though he was a little apprehensive.

I guess next week after I drop him off I will have to sit behind the window too. :(

Updates.

The latest:

Levi can recite the entire alphabet. He doesn't sing it so much as chant it. At times he really can fly through parts.

Matt likes to hold Ellie up and ask her "Where's momma?" Lo and behold she will look around until she sees me. I don't know, I am not convinced quite yet that this isn't a coincidence.

I moved Levi's toddler bed into his room last night. I wasn't going to do that until tonight, when I got the house a little more orderly. But we were reading some books during his wind-down story time and he asked me "Can I sleep in my toddler bed tonight?" and I thought why not. So I had him help me clean up his room, moved a bookcase (while he had a movement on the potty, wow!!), brought the frame in from the garage, opened the mattress and put it all together. He was just delirious with excitement. It was a huge night for him, to say the least. I tucked him in and heard him commenting from time to time. After Matt got home he went to sleep pretty quick. I was on the computer when I heard a whimper from his room. I went back to check on him and he was on the floor. Poor kid had his head at the wrong end and fell out! So I put him back in bed, at the right end, tucked him in tightly with his blankie and hoped for an uneventful night.

This morning the alarm went off. I hear "Can I get up now maw maw?" "Yes, Levi." "ok!" and in he comes with his blankie to climb all over me and Matt until we finally decide to start the day (some snoozes later)

So, that went well. I had some concerns about moving Ellie in to the crib the same night. Levi has always climbed into the crib on his own, I was worried he would get tired of his bed and get back in the crib. Although thinking it over now, what kid would want to imprison himself when he has a choice not to?? Tonight we will raise the mattress back up and move Ellie over. Ellie has spent some time in the crib, it seems to be the best place to give her tummy time. I don't think it will be much of an event for her. I am already feeling like the nest is empty. Sigh. These kids grow up too fast.

Once I get some time and energy again I plan to make a comforter that matches the bed frame for Levi, Matt thinks it will help motivate him to make the bed. I think we'll be lucky to have him use anything other than HIS BLANKIE.

This is shaping up to be a super busy weekend. I have bread and foods to make, a Boston Terrier meet-up event, I am trying to plan a horseback ride somewhere other than the barn, I will help assemble the horse shed I took down two weekends ago, pull weeds, and entertain the kids while Matt is out filming. Hopefully I can get some more work done on organizing the messy house too. It is starting to develop it's own personality.

Sunday with the kids

Sunday was a pretty big day for Levi. Matt was out filming all day so I tried to straighten up the house...do laundry...wash dishes...you know the chores that never end, and become even worse when you have kids. I had Levi pick up his wooden train tracks that had stretched out all over the floor in three rooms of the house, and then his Duplo blocks. It took a lot of nagging to keep him on task! I am not sure if he is trying to get out of the chores or if he really does get distracted that easily. I really don't want to be the mom who nags.

I was exhausted after all that nagging so I put him in his crib with a book and some cars for 'quiet time' while I tried to catch a nap while Ellie was also napping. When I was just about asleep the phone rang. Then Levi decided it would be fun to shriek. Needless to say, I did not get much of a nap! Back to the grind...

More laundry, more dishes, hmm hunger pangs, time for lunch! Levi and I downed some sandwiches. I spent some time going through the kids' closet sorting clothing and then about 3:30 we headed out to check out the Gem & Mineral show at the Fairgrounds. 2nd cousin-in-law (once removed?) Warren proudly wore a "host" ribbon and was questioned by someone about something every time he turned around. Being outnumbered today my BIG PLAN was to put Ellie in the umbrella stroller and have Levi walk next to me. Well as soon as we unloaded he announced that he would like to ride in the stroller. So off we went, carrying Ellie on my hip and trying to push the stroller with one hand. The stroller was having all sorts of issues with the front wheels so it was stop and go there for awhile but Levi seemed to enjoy it nonetheless. I located the cousins and asked if they would like to play with Ellie for a short time while I took Levi to the "kids corner." Interestingly enough this was inhabited by Sally Reed, a UKC dog show judge that I know from a long time ago. I didn't get much time to talk to her because we had to wait in line for a box to open up. Pay .50 and your child can mine for gold to their hearts content. Well basically there are rocks hidden in sawdust and the kids put it up on a tray and then comb through it looking for gems. When Levi wasn't looking our helper scattered some pretty rocks on his tray and then helped him find them. He was pretty excited about all that. He found the "gold rock" so he got to chose a special item from the counter. He picked the ugliest rock there. Well, ugly in my opinion.

After that I went back to retrieve Ellie, who was doing fairly well considering lately she prefers to be stuck to me like a third arm. Warren commented on how heavy she has gotten. He told us to stick around for the raffle drawing at 4 pm. At 4:10 I was about ready to push on out the door when Warren came rushing by telling me that we would have the drawing now. He asked Levi to help him make the announcement and draw the tickets. Oh good, a diversion! By now Levi had given up his throne (stroller) so Ellie was now strapped in, and he was pushing her all over the place (my hands firmly gripping the handles!) Warren turned on the microphone and started talking into it. Levi was in awe. We have a mic at home that he carries around and pretends to talk into but it is never turned on. When Warren asked him his name and handed him the mic, he said "hello....hello" like an echo. It was pretty cute. He didn't want to give it up. He drew some tickets and the fourth time drew his own number and won - another rock. Oh boy, we are going home a couple pounds heavier today! After that Warren selected another kid to help draw numbers and we headed out.

After all that excitement it was nap time. I don't know what I did, I can't remember. I am pretty sure I didn't get any sleep. Matt got home about 5 pm and we started making dinner. Levi woke up and we all ate about 6 pm. I was getting worried about the time because we had arranged to pay a visit to Ginger the pony at the barn this evening and the sun was going down quickly! I asked Levi where his boots were and I held them up to the bottom of his feet. Uh oh, looks like he outgrew these a year ago. Hmm. Levi said he wanted to put them on. I told him I thought they were too small. He said "No they are not momma. Put them on, please." Well ok. I tugged and tugged and on they went. That could not have been comfortable but he never complained. He went clomp clomp clomp around the house on our hardwood floors.

We finally left the house at 7 pm - sunset. I figured he wouldn't want to ride all that long anyway. Jen had left Ginger's saddle and brushes out with a carrot so I went out and captured her from the paddock while Matt was getting the kids out of the car. She was just finishing up her dinner - not quite done. What do ponies love best? FOOD. So she didn't seem real thrilled about having me lead her away from the shake that was left on the ground. I promised I would make it up to her if she would just be a good pony. She led easily and I was surprised at how small she was up-close. I have seen her in the pasture many times but never had my hands on her. I practically had to bend over to brush her back. What a cute little thing. By now Matt was in the barn with Levi, trying to juggle Ellie in a front pack and a camera for taking photos. What a champ. He thinks he is allergic to horses so it means a lot to me that he is willing to come out to the barn to help me with the kids for some equine time. I was grooming Ginger (she was pretty darn clean) and trying to teach Levi a thing or two about horse safety. "This is the rear end and you don't want to walk up and surprise a horse, they can kick so stay up front or on the side with mommy." Eh...in one ear and out the other, I had to quickly guide him away from her rear about three times. Ginger was very well behaved.

We gave her the carrot first, which in hindsight was a mistake, because from then on she would start searching with her lips any time Levi got close. I showed him how to properly feed a horse so he wouldn't lose a finger. He was a little nervous but he did great. He helped me brush her and then went off looking for kittens while I saddled her up.

Time to lead her out to the riding arena. Levi: "I don't want to ride Ginger, I just want to watch her walk." Me: "Ok, well let's go out and walk her around, you might change your mind." Jen had suggested that I walk her around a bit before letting Levi mount up so I did that, and she did great. So I went back to Levi and said "Would you like to ride now?" Levi: "No, I would not. I want to watch her." Well, I told him I would put him up and he could just try it for a minute, and if he didn't like it he could get right off. This seemed to satisfy him so up he went. He grabbed the horn with one hand and clutched my upper arm with the other. I couldn't very well lead Ginger while back at her side so Matt got the obligatory photos and then came over and took the lead so we could make some rounds. After a circle or two Levi relaxed, let go of my arm and I dare say enjoyed himself.

Time to be done. I helped Levi off and he wanted to lead her back to the barn. So he took the end and walked ahead of us. I took off her saddle and we brushed her some more. Then I went and got her a handful of hay to make up for the few nibbles she missed out on by giving rides. Levi helped me lead her out to the pasture and turn her loose.

Thanks Jen for the use of your pony. She is sure a lot of fun. Better than I ever remember any pony being. :) haha We hope to go out again soon for another ride.

Now to shop for a helmet..... :)

Dang!

Today Ellie is 4 months old. So, I took her down to Wal-Mart. They used to have a package where the first photo you said "yes" to, you could get for about $9 and plenty of prints for all the relatives. I should have asked today about that before we had the photos taken. They no longer have that deal. They no longer offer sheets for $10 a pop. Now they are $20! Apparently they have always been half-price and now the people who run the place have to come up with creative sales, different ones every week. So basically I spent too much money getting a package but I did get 20% off. Oh well. Sigh.

I have been determined to have Ellie photographed as much as Levi was so there is none of this "how come there aren't as many pictures of me" nonsense. Well I may have gone a little overboard already. It doesn't help that she is a girl and it is just so easy to take photos of girls in all their little girly outfits. The other challenge is that we did not yet have a digital camera when Levi came along, so photos of him were rationed. Film was expensive! Now we take thousands of photos and spend hours narrowing it down so as not to bore all the loyal followers....ahem, family.

Perhaps tomorrow I can get a photo of Ellie to compare to her brother at this age.

Here's Levi at 4 months;



Shutterfly is a wonderful thing. I upload all my favorites and then create a book from them instead of making hundreds of prints and trying to organize them into photo albums. I love love love the books, can't say enough good things about them. They have sure simplified my life. I was looking through Levi's first year book the other day and noticed at 4 months he was sleeping through the night, trying to talk, blowing bubbles, doing all the stuff that Ellie's been doing. So according to my notes, they are both pretty comparable on their rate of development.

Speaking of books, I need to get busy working on them some more. I am falling behind!!

Ellie, she is a-growin'

Last night I changed out Ellie's wardrobe. She has already outgrown all her 3-6 mo clothes. So out they go - to storage. She got tired of sitting next to me in her Bumbo, so I put her in Levi's crib. She had a great time, tumbling all around. She rolled over three times that I counted. Such an active gal now!

She also is always grabbing at everything, which I have to be careful of. Often when I am eating she will sneak in and grab my plate and send it across the table to the edge super-fast!! She grabs her toes and seems to like hanging onto her feet when on her back. When I have a glass she watches me as I take a sip, then she will reach out for it and if she connects, will pull it in to her mouth. Good thing it's summer and all my drinks are cool!

Here is an outfit my mom had hung onto from my baby days, it was one of her favorites. Well Ellie never really got to wear it other than for this photo last night - it's too small now.

As I type this Ellie is in my lap, smacking at the keyword. She has added a couple spaces where I did not need them. Silly girl.

The coolest toddler bed, evah

We were given a toddler bed a couple of months ago. It was something Gail had found. The blue paint was peeling, it was a mess. I left it out back for awhile, intending on cleaning it up and trying to get the paint off at some point. Matt decided to take it to the car wash and power-spray it, thinking that would work the best. Well it got a lot of the paint off, but not all of it.

Matt talked to Levi about what he wanted his bed to look like. They decided on racing stripes. Then what color(s), and how many stripes, and how far apart, etc. We picked up some paint at Wal-Mart and Matt got to work on it. After the first couple of coats of red paint, Matt realized that he should have used a primer first. The blue was still showing through the red paint and looked like purple bruising. Not cool. So we got primer and started over. Then layer after layer of red paint went on until it met Matt's specifications. He gave it a week+ to dry before masking it and painting the stripes on this afternoon.

So now we just wait on the mattress. I forgot that I had some gift cards for Target, so we'll wait until our next trip to tri-cities to pick one up. I am already thinking about what type of bedspread to make for him so it will match. :)

More fun at the Fair (pt 2)

This evening we returned to the Fair so Levi could try some of the rides. He is typically reserved about these sorts of things, cautious, which I won't complain about! We bought some tickets and walked to the end of the kid rides section. Something caught his eye. "I want to drive the blue truck!" So we sent him in the gate and he clamored aboard and fastened his own seat belt and sat quietly, turning the steering wheel(s). Well he was the first kid in, so by the time all the other kids had loaded he was bored and ready to get out. Only he couldn't because he was buckled in. "I want out." Levi, you have to wait and do the ride. "No, I don't... (LURCH)" the ride began no sooner than the words were out of his mouth. I was worried, but once he came back around and I saw the huge grin on his face my fears melted away. He was having a good time. The ride seemed to go on forever. I think maybe the carnie gave them all some extra time since no one was waiting in line. It was a great time to be there, the weather was fabulous, cool and breezy, hardly any lines for anything, and Levi fresh up from a nap.

After that we found Jenee' and Maddaly and they were a great influence on Levi; Maddaly's excitement rubbing off on him a little. They did the spinning strawberry, then the 4x4's again "I want to drive the blue hot rod maw-ma", then after that they went down the GIANT slide. Was that enough? No, one more ride, this time in the airplane. Matt did all of them with Levi, except for the 4x4s.

Levi wanted to "milk a cow" again so we headed over that direction. Alas, it looked like the "cows" had been taken back to the barn for the night. So we headed for the pedal tractors. I asked the kid running the booth how he got roped into this. He said "Well, I am filling in for my sister on her lunch break, which was about.... (glancing at his watch) five hours ago!" Oops. He said WA-HI students that do well one year are strongly encouraged to continue working the Fair in consecutive years. He mentioned he had gotten a free bracelet for rides in exchange for his services. He seemed proud that it was worth about $25. So I pointed out to him that at the rate he was going he was 'making' about $5 an hour. His smile turned upside down. I almost felt bad.

Then we went to find some fair food. Matt saw a "giant turkey leg" advertised and couldn't resist. Levi ate some with great gusto. I guess he likes fowl. I found some lasagna so placed my order and then I waited. And waited. And waited for my food. It took so long that Ellie fell asleep, and everyone else went off to find a table. By the time I got my box of food Matt had come back to look for me. Everyone was done eating. I had also gotten some fries for the kids so Maddaly and Levi helped me with those. Then we bid farewell to the others - they were headed for the Rodeo!

As I finished up my food, we had a hearty laugh over Levi's interpretation of square dancing. He was standing on the grass bobbing and writhing about. I wish I could have gotten it on video - what a sight! He was sure enjoying himself. We felt like a real little family.

I can't visit a fair without taking home a carmel apple! So we went to Brights and picked up one of those to go. Matt also got some kettle corn and we ran into Bob Westergard and said hello to him. He is one person I always bump into at the Fair.

It was such a fun day. I can't wait for next year!

Yee Haw! Pt. 1

Well, it's Fair time and you could say I'm hooked. I have participated in the past with entries, but never spent quite so much time at the Fairgrounds as I did this year. I was there two different nights before a ticket was needed to enter, and enjoyed wandering around to see entries as they were being displayed by the hard-working Fair volunteers.

We also went two days in a row this weekend. I will split the days up into two posts since I have a lot to say.

My mom wanted to go with us, so we loaded up after lunch.
The goats were especially curious about Levi.

So were the sheep.

We found the Kid's Farm Area and once Levi saw the faux milk cows he was enamored and didn't want to stop milking that cow! He got a sticker that said "I milked a cow" On to the next booth, where we learned about bees and how important they are to farmers for pollenation. Levi threw some bean bags into a basket and earned a box of apple juice. After that he learned about chickens (wasn't really interested, got enough of that at home I suppose).


Then the wheat booth. Hey, what's this? Tractors? In a pool of wheat? "Can I get in there?" Levi asked. The gal running the booth said "Ok. But no shoes." So I took off Levi's shoes and he jumped right in. He had a grand time and once again didn't want to move on to see what was next. When we got him out of the pool he noticed some bigger kids grinding wheat into flour. He wanted to try that. So Matt helped him. This earned him another sticker "Wheat Is Neat" haha.

We toured some more animal barns and then discovered the tractor maze. "Oooohhh, can I do that!?" After waiting a short while for his turn on a tractor, Levi rode through the maze with Matt's assistance. We don't have a fantastic space for riding anything with wheels outside at our place so Levi doesn't have a lot of experience with pedaling. Plus I think he may take after me, which means his legs are a little short. Sorry, kid. Regardless, he had a great time.

My mom had planted the idea in his head that a pony ride might be fun. I shrugged it off, thinking there's no way he will get on a pony. Every time he sees a horse or pony (or even a mini) he tells me "I'm scared momma" and runs away. So I have pretty much given up on him being any sort of equestrian. I didn't push the issue. My mom had asked him a couple times "Levi, do you want to ride the pony?" And he said "No." Well about the fourth time I guess he said yes, so she lead us over there after the tractor ride. Hmmm. Will he really do it when it comes down to crunch time?? With Matt holding him he said that yes, he would ride. So, I held my breath.

He chose a spotted pony first. Then he changed his mind. "I don't want this pony dada, I want that pony (pointing)." So Matt took him off the appy and put him on the next one, a little brown beast of burden. After being aboard a minute... "No, I don't want to ride dada. I want that one (pointing)." Well, no kid, you're fine where you are. And then he started to panic. He wanted off. He didn't want to ride after all. "Let me down, dada. Let me down." Yeah, I knew it was wishful thinking to even try.

Oh wait, what's this? The ride had started. The ponies were moving. And...what's this? A smile? Is Levi smiling while he refuses to release the death grip on Matt's arm? Sure enough, he seems.... almost happy? He likes it? Oh man, it is completely ridiculous and embarrassing how emotional this made me. Such a little tiny thing, and I am crying. I must admit I shed a tear, or two, over seeing MY KID on that pony. Remarkable.

After a couple of rounds he relaxed enough to let go of Matt's arm, although he still kept a firm grip on the saddle horn. I started fantasizing about shopping for a pony saddle...hmmmm.... a couple times he even risked waving to me. Hey everyone, That's MY KID! Maybe now I can buy him a helmet! (I've been putting it off since he hasn't shown an interest and those things aren't cheap)

And where is Ellie during all of this? Well she got bored and decided a nap would be a better use of her time. I won't be able to do this much longer, so I am enjoying it while it lasts!

After the pony ride, we wandered over to say hello to our friendly local fire department. We tried to get a photo of Levi's head in the prop but he was more interested in the hose and how it was all attached. One of the fireman came over and said "Here, we'll get you a better photo" and opened up the door to the fire engine. "Hey little guy, do you want to drive the firetruck?" Levi : "No." WHAT? C'mon kid, you do want to do this, you are going to do it and you are going to LIKE it. (Memories of my childhood are coming back) So Matt climbed up with him in the driver's seat and Levi thought it was ok, he posed for the fireman's camera and that was enough for him. They gave him a balloon and he liked that even better. They asked him if he wanted to wear a fireman's hat (a red plastic child's version) and he said "no, I want to wear that one (pointing at a real fireman's helmet). Hehe smart kid. Another fireman told us to hang tight and he would have our photo for us right away. At first we were suspicious, we didn't really feel the need to pay for a photo. But it didn't cost anything, so we put a donation in their box. Boy are we suckers.

Just up the curb from the fire fighters booth were the Birds of Prey. They were a sight to behold. So majestic, even in their current domestic state. There was a great horned owl, a barn owl, a golden eagle and a couple of other smaller birds. This little guy was pretty darn cute, he would cock his head when he heard the focus on my camera chirp.

After the outdoor sights we went into the pavilion to check out all the entries from the local people. Matt got Levi some popcorn and lemonade. My mom and I settled for water. We saw the tallest sunflower, towering some 14' above our heads, giant pumpkins and a variety of vegetables. I chuckled as I saw their rendition of my name. We are somehow always getting confused with the Babbitts. My cucumbers scored a 2nd place. They were so big that I almost expected a 3rd.

We decided to take the elevator up to the second floor since we had the stroller. Levi, by now, had been strapped back into it after collapsing in a fit upon the floor. Hmmm someone missed nap time. Better not tarry. I walked over to push the button for the elevator and was quite surprised to feel a swift slap to my arm. "That is not your job! That is my job!" I looked over and saw a senior woman beat me to the button. Hrumph! Then, almost as if she felt guilty for the abuse, said quietly "They are very picky about this" Well, I don't know who they are, but I am skeptical. There is no one on the second or third levels to push the button for you!

Matt had entered two photographs of our chickens that he had taken when they were still cute little chicks. Both of his photos got a 1st place ribbon.

Baked goods: my double chocolate peanut butter thumbprint cookies got 2nd place. I am still sore about that. Matt noticed that many of the other dark cookies also had 2nd placements. Maybe the judges just didn't like rich cookies. And having to judge in the heat, I can't say I blame them. My rye swirl bread got a 1st place ribbon. It was displayed on the top shelf with two other breads and two giant ribbons. I am not sure if I won a special award or not! All, told, we didn't fare too badly this year with our entries!

Kids were hungry and tired and getting cranky, so we headed on home. Levi was talking non-stop about everything. I think he had a good time, even on less sleep than usual.

Ellie was her usual happy self, entertaining me with her new skill of blowing bubbles.