We enjoyed a slower, much quieter week last week. We started it off with a lovely little concert given by the kids on Sunday afternoon.
The kids had some fun with the portable dog crate we had been using for Sadie while her head healed. Elam first discovered how much fun it was to crawl inside...
And from there, the fun really took off when the sisters saw what was happening!
There were forts and houses and games galore that took place, and the living room was a peaceful, happy place for quite a while.
We got to see another of our captured caterpillars hatch. The Armyworm we had caught a couple of weeks back went into it's pupa quite soon after we caught it. This past week, it emerged a moth!
The girls discovered and caught several butterflies and moths outside with their butterfly net as well.
Mr. Baby has been putting up a fight with sleep lately, well all of the kids have in reality. It seems a sleepless bug has bitten them. Naptime has been short and sleep has been late in coming and restless for most of the kids in the past week. It seems it is time for some serious crack down at bedtime around here! But thank goodness for big sisters who love to snuggle with their baby brother when he is fussy and Mommy has to attend to other things for the moment.
As our week ended, we spent a lovely Saturday at home getting things done, visited with Grandpa and Grandma for dinner and spent a quiet Sunday at home playing and enjoying the outdoors. The girls put together a map to see where Jay & Becci went on a trip and then talked about places they might like to visit too.
There is probably no need to mention this week was a busy one, or that this will be a long post!
We began our Fair extravaganza on Sunday, after church, for Car Load Day. Of course, our first stop once in the fairgrounds was to see Barb, who seemed happy enough given his small metal cage. At least he had an endless supply of pellets while on vacation.
The girls were excited to find their names on his cage!
After seeing Barb, we walked around to see the sights and get a few tastes as well. This year, there was a traveling zoo at the fair, so the kids enjoyed seeing some monkeys, a camel, and a pen full of calves, goats, sheep and a donkey. Elam wanted to pet them so bad!
Then we stopped by the exhibit barn to see the girls' work on display.
After that, it was off to be Farmer For A Day, where the kids had a lot of fun gathering eggs (especially Elam!), digging potatoes, picking apples and milking a cow.
The play barn was a fun spot too, and Elam sure loved the little wheelbarrow.
We saw all sorts of people, animals, rides and exhibits that afternoon. We ended our day by the tractors, where the big tractor tire was the hot spot for all of my kids.
After saying farewell to Barb, we headed back home to prepare for our week. Monday morning, Grandpa came over to help level out the sand that had been dumped into the barn. The kids enjoyed watching him, whenever they had a chance to sneak away from school.
In the afternoon, we were off for the fair again. It was the day of the Rabbit Show! The girls brushed and practiced with Barb for a while before the show, chatting with their friends as they worked.
We also snuck in a quick birthday gift exchange for Travis.
Then it was time to get ready for the show!
The girls talked and agreed Alora should the the first of them to show, so when the time came for the first group to go to the judge at the table, Alora jumped right up.
She did a great job for her first show, and Barb was a champ throughout the whole thing.
Even when Alora had to stand with Barb and wait for the other 4 kids at the table to show, though she was clearly bored, she kept it together and held Barb nicely throughout.
Ezri was the last child to show, and she also did a fantastic job. Again Barb was a trooper through all of the handling and cooperated very well.
The girls had a wonderful judge who took time with each child to walk them through the steps, ask them questions, explain things and helped them when needed. Afterward, she talked to the group and told them all how well they had done.
Then it was time to hand out ribbons.
Once the girls and Barb were done, their friends Travis & Emmett were excited to give them flowers!
We tucked Barb back in to rest, another year of Rabbit show (this was his third) under his belt.
Then we had some dinner. This year, I had to ride in the parade again for the Young Homemaker float. The other two entrants were not able to ride, so the coordinators offered for my family to ride with me, which the girls were very excited to do. So, we had a friend drop us off downtown and then got to ride in the parade, Daddy and I in chairs, the kids on a blanket, tossing candy and enjoying the ride. Once we got done, we ran back to join our friends to watch the rest of the parade.
Tuesday, we took a breath and caught up on some school before we were back at it again on Wednesday for Ladies' Day and the Young Homemaker Contest.
First pictures...
I was blessed to have my whole family there,
my mom, grandmother and two of her friends whom I adopted as grandmas for the day,
and my dearest friends too!
This year, I again was runner up and earned a second place ribbon in the contest.
Not what I had hoped for, but my family and friends sure made a point of helping me see that they didn't care if I had a crown or not!
Thankfully, the contest winner was announced at the beginning of the morning, so for the rest of the morning's events, I was able to sit back and enjoy the speaker, help hand out door prizes and relax.
Afterward, we had a little fun while we waited for lunch to be set up.
I enjoyed a lunch with my guests, put on by the past year's Homemaker, then we hopped on the tram to ride down to the fair to see Barb and walk around a little.
The girls had a great time playing on the merry-go-round in the village for a while too.
Wednesday night, we played more catch up and prepared for another day. Thursday greeted us with the builders returning to finish putting up the remaining siding and trim pieces. Finally, the shell is complete, with the exception of the overhead garage doors that will be installed after cement is poured.
Thursday afternoon, we met up with our friends and put the kids on rides for the evening, and they had a blast! This year we went the arm band route instead of buying tickets and it was worth it.
Elam wanted to do all the things the big kids did, but he was limited to a few he could do. The carousel was one we thought he might enjoy with Mommy, but not so. The moment it started to move, he nearly jumped off the horses back and into my arms where he remained until the ride stopped.
But he did get to do a few on his own as well as with his siblings, so he was ok with that!
We paused for a bit for dinner and to check out the tractors,
Then we checked out some other rides we had not yet. The Cliff Hanger quickly became the favorite for the older 4 kids. Tierney and Elam were not big enough to ride, unfortunately.
The elephant ride was fun for Tierney, once Daddy got a ticket so he could ride and take her on it.
Elam had to sit that one out too, but he found ways to entertain himself.
Then we appeased his antsy pants with a ride he could do!
The kids each had a favorite ride.
Ezri & Alora loved the Cliff Hanger...
Tierney loved the semi trucks...
Elam loved to drive the little car...
As night fell, we allowed the kids a few more rides with the lights lit up before we had to head for home, about 9pm
One last stop to see Barb and help Uncle Don gather eggs before we left, though.
We took a break from the fair on Friday, but were back again Saturday afternoon for the Demolition Derby. First, more fun on the merry-go-round...
Then we settled into our seats to watch some Off Road Derby and Demolition Derby action for a couple of hours. We got to catch my cousin Tara make an attempt at the Off Road Derby again this year, but sadly she wasn't able to finish.
Elam liked watching the cars and did well with wearing his ear protection until about half way through when he began getting tired. He ended the night crashed in Mommy's arms.
After the derby, we wandered around the fair a bit more, picked up the girls' exhibits and went to collect Barb to bring him home finally! It was after 11pm before we got kids into bed, a bit disappointed the fair was ending, but thrilled to have Barb back where he belonged.
