Birthday Girl

It's hard to believe that our little Ellie is a FOUR year old! I keep telling my kids to stop growing up but, as usual, they never listen!

We spent the majority of her birthday driving back from Idaho, but decided to celebrate in style as soon as we got home. There were balloons, presents, and a fabulous birthday meal courtesy of Rubio's...Ellie just LOVES those quesadillas.

Happy birthday to our little princess. We love you!

Grandpa and Grandma's

Our Idaho vacation was spent at Grandpa and Grandma's house this year. The kids had so much fun! I'm afraid our house is relatively boring. I haven't seen these smiles since we left.

They were even allowed to crawl around in the dirt. Curtis was completely enthralled. Apparently he doesn't get enough dirt time around here.

And the best part...the tree swing. I think Lindy would have slept out there, given the chance.

Grandma also planned a fun birthday celebration for our little soon-to-be 4 year old. Ellie had a beautiful girly cake and was surrounded by cousins. What a treat!

A big thank you to Grandma and Grandpa Jones for the wonderful vacation. We miss you already and can't wait to see you again.

Parades, Fairs, and Rides, Oh My!

We have roots in Idaho. His and hers. It seems logical, then, that we attempt a yearly trek back to those roots in order to participate in something that true Idahoans seem to feel a rather deep kinship with. I'm speaking of the Eastern Idaho State Fair. It's a spectacle of life that I don't exactly understand...resplendent with tractors, farm animals, cowboys, and carnies. And we thoroughly enjoy ourselves every time we go.

This year was no exception. It started with a parade. And who enjoys a parade more than kids? Mine were in absolute heaven. What could be better than a stream of horses, clowns, cheerleaders, and people throwing CANDY? Nothing, I tell you.

The next highlight was a trip to the petting zoo. 50 cents buys you a little cup of "animal food" and happiness for two little girls.

Curtis ran around from one animal to the next practically squealing with excitement. At one point he even tried to climb on top of a goat.

Lindy begged us to let her go on a ride, an aspect of the fair we have ignored up to this point. We let her choose one ride. She chose the Ferris wheel...and regretted her decision as soon as we started moving. She white-knuckled her way through the entire ride. I asked her to smile and this is as good as it got.

So here's to the Fair. We're glad we went but we're glad it's only once a year. It was exhausting.

What Do You Do?

What do you do when it's 90+ degrees outside and your air conditioning breaks?

Well, at our place we spend a lot of time in the shade enjoying a slight breeze and playing with chalk. Oh...and we spend a little time wondering when the repairman will grace our over-heated home.

Coming Clean

While we're on the subject of denial I should mention that it doesn't always end well. You see, my nasty habit of avoidance often (and I mean very often) comes around to sink it's sharp teeth in my derriere. So, I'm fessin' up:

I know that I promised to do a giveaway every month. You might think that I just plum forgot about August. I didn't. I simply couldn't get my brain to cooperate with me and, after drawing a blank day after day after day, my good friend Denial took over and allowed me to get on with my life (such that it was/is) for at least a few more days.

But here we are...September 1st. No way to cover my tracks now. So I'll simply have to look forward and try to make up for my shortcomings in this month...it is only the 1st, after all. This month is still abounding in promise!

In the meantime, I hope you'll all understand my temporary insanity (yes, "temporary" might be a bit of a stretch) and not consider me an outright liar.

Sigh.