The County Fair

We have the most unusual County Fair anywhere. In a place that's much more urban than rural, it doesn't look much like what one would expect. But there are still some sights that would be familiar to anyone going to a fair. Of course the firetrucks come out on display and the kids are allowed to climb over them. Nate and Sean enjoyed getting up on the front grill as well as trying out all the different doors and passageways.


Pigs aren't generally welcome in this county unless they're served on a plate as BBQ. Once a year the live pigs do come to town though, for the piglet races. Dad sat in the hot sun for a half hour to make sure Nate and Sean got seats on the front row. They slurped their slushies and waved their checkered flags as the porkers made their way around the track.



There are also the usual carnival rides. Mom won't let them get on anything bigger than the kiddie rides because she doesn't trust that they've been properly maintained. Mom is probably right. Dad wonders what happens in a couple years when Nate begins to think these rides are for babies. Mom says Nate will just have to learn to live with it.

Visit with Grandpa

We met grandpa for lunch last weekend. Later we all went to a local park on the outskirts of town to get rid of some kicks and wiggles. Nate and Sean sure enjoyed visiting with their grandpa, and of course, grandpa was just as glad to see the kids too.


Nate is getting a lot more adventurous as he gets bigger and increasingly athletic. He used to just enjoy running around. Now he's climbing over everything, even with it makes mom and dad a little nervous, or maybe especially when it makes them nervous. He has no problem showing off in front of a crowd.


Sean is following in his brother's footsteps but at a much earlier age. It's downright tough getting a decent photo of Sean because he won't pose for the camera. We take picture after picture, and have to delete most of them because they show nothing but a blur. Every once in awhile by sheer chance we snap one while he actually happens to look in the right direction.

Afternoon at the Park

Nate and Sean went with mom and dad to a local park yesterday afternoon to visit with some friends and to have a little cookout by the lake. It was the same park dad used to go to when he was a little boy, and it was still pretty much the same all these decades later! It has a small train that meanders along the lakeside and through the woods. Nate didn't like the tunnel very much but he thought the steam whistle was pretty cool.


Next they went on the carousel. Mom got to ride along while Nate and Sean went up-and-down on their horses. Mom thinks that maybe next year Sean will be big enough to not require parental supervision so maybe this is her last ride! She seemed OK with that.


After all that fun it was time for ice cream. Sean mastered the "no drip" technique but he still has a way to go on the whole clean face concept.

Bubbles, Bubbles, Try to Make them Pop

Sean loves bubbles. He also loves to pop them. Sometimes he tries to catch them on the blowing wand before they pop, then pop them himself with a well-placed finger. He's pretty good at being able to run across the entire yard before the bubbles hit the ground.

Here is Sean's patented backhand move. He can wave that wand back-and-forth until a wall of bubbles blows across the yard. Mom got him an industrial size bottle of bubble solution to keep him busy for hours. Still, he goes through the stuff in record time.



Now Sean is reaching for one of those elusive bubbles so he can to capture it on his wand. Before he puts it out of its misery he likes to walk it around the yard and show it off to anyone who may be nearby, whether mom, dad, Nate or even a neighbor who happens to be strolling by randomly at the appropriate time. He's very proud of his well-practiced technique.

That plastic box hanging from his neck is a bug cage. Sean thinks the worms and rollie pollies he's caught throughout the day should be able to enjoy the fun, too!

Nate Can Skate

Nate went to ice skating camp last week. Mom and dad were a little worried that he might not like it because he's happiest when things go perfectly and predictably, and of course nobody can learn to skate without falling down a few times. It was nice that he had enough of his friends in the class to offer encouragement (and fall down along with him) to show that it was OK. By Wednesday the instructors were teaching him to skate backwards! Friday afternoon ended with a performance with a Star Wars theme. Here's Nate backstage with his light saber ready for the big show -- no stage fright or pre-performance jitters for him!


All the kids from his class went onto the ice to show off their new skills. Dad was happy to see the performance because he'd been stuck in rush hour traffic for almost two hours. Silly daddy thought two hours would be plenty of time to get fifteen miles, but he arrived barely in time to see Nate go onto the ice. Nate was very relieved when dad arrive.


Nate must not have gotten a big enough of a snack before the show because he thought eating his mitten was a good idea. He must have been pretty comfortable on the ice though, because apparently he didn't need that arm for extra balance. By the end of the week he was fairly competent on the ice for a brand-new beginner and he'll probably go back for more classes. Fortunately the rink is less than a mile from the house. It's used as a practice facility by an NHL hockey team so it's in great shape, and it's open to the public when the team isn't using it.