Fair 2009

Eli looks forward to the Independence Co. Fair every year. He talks about it quite a bit, for something we go to one time a year - so make that 3 times in his entire life! When we were telling him about Disney World this spring, he asked, "Is Disney World as big as the fair?" So, it's safe to say that the fair may make his year!

Claire was tiny last year and spent most of the time asleep in her stroller. This year, I pushed around an empty stroller with all our junk in it.

She wouldn't sit in the seat.

She was very proud of this balloon but we had to get creative with where to tie it on to her. I knew she would hate it, but I couldn't stand the idea of her letting go and having to watch it float away. She was upset enough when she saw one that another child lost. I tied it to her shoe, to the back of her shirt on the snap, to the stroller, to the backpack. It did make it through the entire fair - until the ride home. She was holding onto it for dear life in the truck and POP!!!! She didn't quite understand what had happened and kept asking Papaw to get her balloon. It was a little sad. But, she got to help Nonna eat her candy apple when we got home (and 10:30PM!) so all was forgotten.


I love this picture. It totally looks like Eli is imparting some big brother wisdom while cruising town in his bug! Cute!

Maybe we should've put her in the pageant!

Eli had to immediately get back on the train b/c he didn't get to sit in the front and ring the bell the first time!

OK. So these 2 pictures are out of order. It took her forever to chose a frog, but the prize was a no-brainer. And the ball even has a bell in it! Score 1 for Claire! Surprisingly, Eli chose a ball too. And the other choice was an inflatable sword. What's that all about?

Super excited to be on a jet-ski! But, another one that needed a do-over. The bell was broken on this one. He waited in line one go-round and picked out the exact one that had the best buzzer.

I wasn't so keen on the idea of her riding this one at all, but then she had to ride with these bigger girls. I just knew it would turn out bad. I was wrong. She kept doing this weird thing with her head - kind of spinning it around as she went around. We knew she was going to throw up. We were wrong. She did have to look at the older girls laughing and squealing to remind herself that she was having fun - but then she would crack up. Too cute!

She was dying to get on the tilt-a-whirl! She played with her ball instead.

I quit taking pictures b/c she was riding everything. We almost left her at home with Nonna b/c I knew she'd be upset to see Eli get on the rides, but she would scream the first time one moved and that would be that. The other day, she was sitting in the Bob the Builder truck at Walmart, so I stuck a quarter in. Bad idea. But, the fair, she loved!!! It was so much fun. The fair is not really my thing, but definitely worth it for my kids. Just fun to watch them! Counting the days until next year!

Randomness

Sharing a banana split with Eli and Papaw.

Claire sporting her very first pony tail EVER! And, it stayed for almost 20 minutes! Oh so cute!

Eli came home from Memaw and Papaw's house Saturday with a new friend. He was so excited to show me. He also warned me that the frog was pretty smelly and I shouldn't stick my nose too close to the holes on the jar top.

There's a frog in here - Froggy. Very creative!

His new friend. He did a good job letting him go later that day. He was sad, but he did it anyway. Right before bed he told us that he really missed his friend, Froggy. We let Froggy go in the ditch beside our house, hoping he'd jump to the creek out back.

When left alone to her own devices, this is how Claire would leave the house. She heard someone mention the word "go". She thought she was ready.

She insisted on putting all this on and, of course, Nonna obliged. Have they ever met me? There's no bow! LOL

Daddy Time!

Last week, I had a 2 day conference in Little Rock to go to. So, we all went! I had a nice suite at the Embassy and we drove over there on Tuesday afternoon. We ate dinner at Roadhouse Grill - which Claire loved! Hot dogs have become her favorite thing and I saw on tv where they're trying to get them outlawed or something b/c some anti-meat group says they cause cancer. Well, they're still her favorite (for now) and nothing has been proven, so that's what she ate. No bun. "Dog - more dog" she says! She especially loved that there were 3 people who were sung to for their birthdays, b/c at the end of their bday song - you get to shout "yee haw!" Another one of her favorite things to say. They also line dance - and she so wanted to participate in that, too! After dinner, we headed to Babies R Us, Target and of course, Krispy Kreme. YUM!

Wednesday, I went to my conference and Keith and the kids ate breakfast at the hotel. He said he got lots of sympathetic looks from a group of ladies for wrangling 2 kids at a breakfast buffet line! Too funny! Then, they went swimming, but really spent most of the time in the hot tub. Eli has become a hot tub fan this summer. They picked me up for lunch - Mexico Chiquito (I love their salsa) and then headed back to the room for a nap.

That night, we met Keith's parents at Olive Garden for dinner. Keith's mom had flown in from Chicago to Little Rock and the kids hadn't seen her in over a week. They were very excited to see Memaw and Papaw and eat plain spaghetti from the Olive Garden! (but, at least they ate!) They ended up taking Claire home with them, which was fine b/c we all slept a little better. She sleeps like a log at home, but not when we're away. She was still trying to settle down at 12:30 Tuesday night! :O Yeah, fun! Eli chose to stay with us b/c he wanted to swim some more. So, on Thursday, Eli and Daddy got to have time together. They went swimming, to Chuck E Cheese - just to play and didn't even have to stop to eat, picked me up for lunch and then spent the afternoon at the Army Surplus store. Eli was so excited that there were boat motors there, among other things. I'm glad they got to hang out together and especially b/c we got to see that he really hadn't forgotten how to be sweet. Apparently, his sister is the cause of all his issues!!! J/k - but he wasn't as argumentative or sassy when he wasn't competing for attention. Note to self to remember that more often!

Even though I had to go to class for 2 days solid, we had a nice time just getting out for a bit.

Friday, I got to get into my room at my new school. Didn't get tons of work done, but it was nice just to see what I was up against! Lots of cleaning and organizing, as they moved the speech room across the hall. Let the work begin!! School's coming fast. :(

PICTURES!!!!! from the St. Louis Zoo

So, we decided Monday night that we would go to St. Louis on Wednesday. Nothing like a little planning! :P I was checking the weather and noticed that, for July, it was going to be so nice in St. Louis towards the end of the week. It had been SO hot and I knew that heat, our kids, and the zoo probably wouldn't mix. So, we decided to go NOW! And I'm so glad we did. It was perfect. You could not ask for better summer weather.

We drove to St. Louis on Wednesday. I was very proud of ourselves b/c we left much earlier than I ever dreamed we would. We can all be ready to go somewhere and it still takes over an hour - just to get out of the house.

We stopped several times along the way to use the restroom and just to get out of the car. There's a very nice visitor center/rest stop just outside of Corning. The nice lady who worked there gave Eli and Claire their very own books about Arkansas. Claire was so excited to have her own book. We had a snack and juice boxes. Since vacation, Claire only wants to drink a juice box. She loved them!

Here's Eli and Claire right before we got in the car. All smiles! How long will that last, I wonder?

We stayed at a Drury Inn about 3 minutes from the zoo. It was new and really nice. We ate at a Cracker Barrell a ways before St. Louis b/c biscuits sounded good! We all went swimming on Wednesday night and then, where else? To Target! The GPS wasn't working right, but we found it (sort of) and the mall that was right down the road. Of course, there was going to be a plan to head back there!

Eli and Claire when we first got to the zoo. I can't ever get Claire to look at the camera, but Eli always obliges with a big smile!

Sharing this little bitty spot was Daddy's idea. Can you tell Eli's pouting? He was not happy having to share his seat!

Eli in front of the snakes. I've lost my other pictures (accidentally deleted them :( ) but there was this HUGE python. Shudder. It was awful. Claire just kept pointing at it saying "wow" "wow"! Yuck!!

I don't think I've ever seen a real camel. They're so strange looking.

Little baby camel. Eli was sad b/c it only seemed to have one hump. But, when he turned, there were 2 - one was just really little.

The Penguins. It is SO cold in the penguin house. We couldn't get through it fast enough. Maybe if it had been 100 degress outside, but you didn't really need a cold break from the 80s!

My sweeties! Aren't they cute?

Spider Monkey! I wonder if it's the same one from high school?

She was exhausted b/c she NEVER sleeps in her stroller. This lasted for quite a while! I'm not sure how many people told me that we were missing a shoe. It was in the basket. Putting on a shoe is NOT worth waking a sleeping toddler.

Awwwww!!!! This is rare right now.

Taking a break. She had to sit on every bench/chair we passed. She loves to sit!

Looking for the monkeys.

Here we are riding the train.

Cuties!!!!

Eli's counting all the fish he and papaw could catch.

Hippos!! I think this is my very favorite part of this zoo! So cool!!

Somehow, I thought I had saved the pictures on the computer, but then I realized that I hadn't. After I had erased them. So sad. I could just kick myself. There were tons more, but I'm glad I at least have the ones I have.

After the zoo, we found a Macaroni Grill, where the waitress immediately asked us where we lived, just b/c I ordered sweet tea. Crazy people, ordering sweet tea! The kids weren't all that excited to walk around the mall after dinner, but it was nice to goof off. I even found OPI nailpolish at Target! Yay! Keith took Eli swimming when we left the mall, while I got Claire a bath.

Grant's Farm and the Magic House - St. Louis

The Friday that we were in St. Louis, we went to Grant's Farm and the Magic House. It was a little warmer and we forgot that it was basically a holiday, since it was Friday before July 4. Lots of people, but we still had a great time. There were some long lines and waiting, but the kids did great.

Once we got into the parking lot, we went to see the Clydesdales. I was so surprised at how huge they are. So pretty and so big. We passed on the up-close photo you could take with one, but maybe we'll do that the next time we visit.

We did walk throught the stables and out to the pasture, where some were hanging out.

This baby Clydesdale REALLY wanted a pair of pink Crocs! The little girl freaked out, but the mom was much calmer than I would have been about a horse trying to eat her daughter's shoe. It was pretty funny, though.

After we visited the horses, this was what we were greeted with. We stood in the heat and sun for at least 45 min to get into the farm.

Here's the kids on the way to Grant's Farm - I guess these pictures should have been first - Ready for a day full of FUN!!

She will NOT leave her shoes on. She takes them off at church, at Walmart, at Wendy's - it doesn't matter. When we're at home, all she does it wander around, wanting to put shoes on. Then, as soon as we go anywhere, she wants them off. I miss Robeez!

Eli and Claire feeding the goats. They could be quite the agressive little things.... You were ok as long as you had a bottle in your hands. But, if you didn't, they'd eat your shorts, or your shirt, or your shoes!

The next picture should be after the one under it. Claire was fine feeding the goats until they attacked the bottle. She freaked....just a little. Then, she was done.

This is Claire done. "Done daddy. Done" she said over and over and over. And then realized she had dirt in her shoe. Oh boy!

This is Claire before she was done.


"What am I supposed to do with this bottle?"

The Carousel at Grant's Farm

This is Claire AFTER she calmed down a little. Her first carousel ride.

Our last stop before heading home, was The Magic House. It's a huge white house full of kid's activities. It was awesome and Eli did NOT want to leave. There was so much to do and we didn't have a chance to do it all.

Eli could have nailed at these shoes for the longest time.

She's a natural, right?

I had tons more pictures of Eli's favorite exhibits - the fishing and the water table and the race car - but I accidentally erased them from the camera and computer. I am just sick about it. I had saved a few on the computer but not near all I took. I feel so bad. Oh well, we'll just have to go back!

We left the Magic House at around 7ish and decided to drive all the way home. The kids were great in the car and slept the last few hours. They barely woke up when we got home. We all had a great time - just wish it could have been longer!