county fair

favorites from the fair:
face painting, animal barn,
rides, more rides,
lots of laughs,
a few cries,

jumping off concrete blocks and running around (probably the most enjoyed!!),
corn dogs, french fries,
and fried oreo cookies!!

now gotta run--
off my fair food that is!!

staying busy

not crazy busy,
but a good busy,
with things like a hammock play date,
a MUCH needed hair cut,
photography class,
dentist visit (with a side trip to jo-ann's),
crafting at kari's,
a date night,
and other household duties.

i only got pictures from the hammock.
the boys played,
chased the girls,
yelled,

ate tangerines,

and played ball.

and sweet molly jane took it all in.

we even went on the cat walk to see if we could find any critters,

but none stuck around for us.

(my camera was dead at this point!)

it was a great play date!!

next week i hope to share our crafting,

(when we get it done),

and some other projects i am working on.

(now that i put it out there, i have to finish them, right?!?!)

touch a truck

tractors, buggies,

police cars,

ambulances,

fire trucks,

and many others were on display and ready to be explored.

august loved it!

shelby enjoyed riding in her "truck".

of course, bailee was there too.

she took care of auggie.

and was sure to show him the fire truck.

future fireman?

don't know what got both of their attentions,
but it sure wasn't ever me.
(at least not at the same time!)

the kids weren't real sure about the fire hydrant.
it moved all round,
talked,
and blinked its eyes.

bailee finally agreed to pose with daddy.

steeling some sugar.

august never got o.k. with it.

so many cool things to take in.

hope to make it to another touch the truck someday.

priceless art work

today at mops, august filled noah's arc with animals.
and then some other 2-year-old thought,
"noah's animals look really tasty,
maybe i'll try one or two.
no, three would be good."

and there you have it,
priceless art work.

baby it's cold outside

so we bundled up and headed to the woods.this cheezer was as happy as could be.

he hunted, ran,

chased and was chased by the dogs,

went jeep riding,

and helped keep the fire going.

what more could a boy ask for?

the sun setting on our wonderful, cold, and relaxing day.

a cold new years weekend

we traveled down to the woods to ring in the new year.
with sparkling wine and sparklers we were all set. august had his first real experience using sparklers.
he was having a blast.
and his face says it all.

"again, again," he kept saying.

we didn't make it until midnight,

but toasted our korbel around the campfire,

and turned in early.

on new years day,

we ate our traditional greens (for wealth),

black eyed peas (for luck),

with some fried venison on the side.

we huddled up under the tent to watch the noles play ball,

and keep dry from the rain.

it got muddy here and there.

but the kids at a blast,

stomping through the mud.

after the rain passed through,

the cold air followed in.

we sat around this for much of the weekend.

and did our best to keep warm.

even if that means socks for mittens.

august was lucky to have another hunting buddy, lily.

boy did they ever have fun.
and isn't this weather great?

taking down christmas

august decided to help take down christmas,
while he was supposed to be napping. (tree at the end of his crib)

and the decorating didn't stop there.
he wanted to try out a new arrangment of the picture frames.

chili dinner

when my cousin ashleigh and her husband david come to town,
we always try to get together.
mom and dad had everyone at their house for a chili dinner.
and we got to see miss riley.
boy has she grown.
august found the airplane ornament.
he has a thing for planes.

riley helped open a gift for august.

tearing in with your gums isn't such a bad idea.

this is where i said "please share,

or you're going to time out."

surprisingly, i'm still alive.

but, isn't he cute in a hat?

and i could have eaten this one alive with all her cuteness.

so glad we got to visit,
and can't wait to do it again.

mom's first deer

a week ago mom got her first deer.

it was nice and cool when the hunters came into camp.
dad shot one too.
but, i must say that mom's was bigger.

august was still on the hunt for his first.

first deer photos

brooker was ready to pose,

but august, not so much.

brooker said, "gran, you're a great hunter!"

august wasn't really sure about all this.

he wanted to shoot his own deer.

and make his funny shooting face.

travis did the honors of bloodying up mom's face,

a hunting tradition.

mom and dad's dog, gin, did a great job in trailing the deer.

weighing in at 110 pounds.

congratulations mom!