state fair.

Ready to rock.

PERFECT day.

The sea of people.

Favorite booth! I am a bit biased. 

yeah baby!

Ethnie's favorite part. She would have stayed in here all day.

"This is the best day ever!"

The best thing I ate this year! So good!

JUST in case.

Take 5.

horse barn

skyride

Mr. Bubble's 50th birthday bubble foam pit. 

Ethnie HATED this.

wiped. out.

Matt made me go on this ride. I was mad at him because it was so scary.

Deep fried candy bar (three musketeers, here). I can handle sugar, but after two bites of this I was done. 

Italian gelato

flowers in the Horticulture building

lots of honey bears

Midway view from the skyride.

Until next year!

new couture.

Here is dolly's new wardrobe addition from grandma Meg! A pink fancy dress. Ethnie was so excited when she brought it over. She does great work! 

14 months.

SO close to walking! I'll keep you all posted!

a new pet? a pest? both??

For the past week or so we've had signs of a mouse roaming around at night. Eeek, I know. We've had traps set up for a while, but this little guy seems smart and won't fall for them. Well, tonight we finally heard him munching on something in the corner of the dining room. I quietly got a flashlight and tried to catch him in the act, but I could only hear him. Then Matt took the flashlight from me and pointed it into the radiator. There he was, perched inside and terrified. He is really small and light brown with tiny black eyes. He's cute! Now that we've seen him, we want to try and catch him without killing him. I guess I am a softie when it comes to animals. Anyone have any ideas or methods they've had success with in the past ???

This picture was really hard to take. The mouse is out of focus but he's in there! 

friday with finn.

Our good friends, the Thatchers, came over for dinner with their kids tonight. They have a son one year younger than Ethnie, and Finn, who just turned one year old. He and Emmett are buddies. While we were grilling, we sat them both down on the steps to play. They were so cute touching each other and babbling together! I just HAD to grab the camera!

besties.

dining and dodge ball with dad.

The other night, we grilled and ate outside. It was a perfect evening. Afterward while I took the food inside, Matt and the kids played ball in the yard. He and Ethnie were playing some kind of dodge ball-type game. I snapped a few:

Emmett playing with his own ball.

the new ride.

I said I wouldn't do this. I didn't want to do this. But - I broke down and bought a double stroller. Sigh. I guess you could say I'm more of a 'minimal' mom when it comes to baby gear. I hate anything that takes up lots of space or looks like an eye sore. My diaper bag is the size of a clutch purse compared to most moms. Anyway, I got a great deal on it and the kids love it. It feels really big right now, but I'll get used to pushing it around. It gives me more freedom because I can walk everywhere and Ethnie doesn't complain about being tired. :) My favorite feature of this stroller is that the seats can snap in three different ways - both front facing, both rear facing, or facing each other. So, if the kids are having a rough day together, they don't have to look at each other. ;)
Yes, I am now pushing around a double stroller. BUT - you will never see me driving a mini van! Mark my word!