Life Lately

Happy day, it's Friday!  This week has been much more relaxing and I'm still exhausted - maybe that whole ice chawing thing really is because I'm low on iron and it's making me tired.  Yawn. Oh, and it's the last day of July, hurray!  I love summer but I have been seeing pictures of Fall here and there and let me tell you, I'm so ready for pumpkins and oranges, browns and yellows!  Bring on the boots and flannels!

Since the fair, like I said, Life Lately has been much more laid back.  Our summer friends are here so the boys have been having fun stalking them until they can come over to play.  Seriously, they ride their bikes down to their end of the street reallllyyy slooowwww, then turn around and come back.  Over and over again.  It's really kind of funny and cute (and maybe a tad creepy??).  :)

Their first day together they all found a cute little toad in the grass.  Of course they wanted to keep him so came in for a container.  After the friends left to go home the boys brought that darn container of toad in the house, fully expecting they were going to keep him in their room! Ha, fat chance!  :)  I explained to them that he won't survive out of his natural habitat and convinced them to take it back outside and release it in the garden, which they did.

It's been so stinking hot and humid lately that we've been going outside in the mornings to play before the heat really kicks in.  Tate has found that he enjoys coloring with sidewalk chalk.  He also likes stuffing it in the back of his little tricycle. :)

Brennan gave Tate a ride on the go-cart the other morning, nice and slow!  Look how far Tate slumped down during the ride, ha ha!  Every time they'd go by Tate's chubby little arm would stick up and wave back and forth at me! I melted!

This is what the boys do all.the.time.  They are always throwing a ball back and forth, whether it be a baseball, football, bouncey ball in the house (hate that!) or whatever.  These boys love playing sports!

About a month ago a gal contacted me about doing a Mary Kay makeover.  She said she needed to get 100 makeovers done and someone I knew had given her my name.  I agreed, since it was completely free with no obligation to buy anything. I roped my sister in to it thinking it'd be more fun with a friend/sister here.  So this week she came.  Because she told me she needed to do 100 makeovers I thought she was just starting out.  Oh no, she was a professional.  We're talking she's earned a free Pink Cadillac before.  Before I knew it I was giving her the names and numbers of 15 friends, who I realized later she was going to be contacting for the same thing.  I feel horrible about it. And then she roped me into setting up a second makeover, because this first one was just skin care based. The next one will be all about the actual makeup, plus I'm to invite and have attend a minimum of 5 friends!  I am planning on cancelling that one because I don't want anyone feeling obligated to buy anything they don't really want or need just because I'm having a 'party'.  Ugh, talk about feeling like a dope for getting duped.  Nice nice gal, don't get me wrong, but a little pushy and I can't say no to someone's face.  Erg.  And I missed a really cool storm going through to boot!  That burns me more than the rest of it, ha ha! :)  So I took a before picture thinking there'd be an 'after' but since there wasn't I have no pictures of this incident for you, because no way am I showing you just the 'before'.  :)  Love you, mean it!

Last, baby girl's pink butterfly mobile came!  I am so dang excited, it's amazing!  So perfect for her shabby chic room!  One piece down, many to go!  I should probably start focusing on getting the boy's room decorations first but hello, GIRL! :)

And that's Life Lately!  See you back here Monday for the Weekend Rewind link up!

County Fair 2015 Recap - Part 2

Wednesday at the fair was another busy day for us.

We arrived at the fairgrounds at 3:26 - 4 minutes for Andy and the boys to rush over to where they were hosting the pedal tractor pull so they could sign up and 4 minutes for me and Tate to rush over to the show ring to watch my cousin's son show his bucket bottle calf.  When I arrived at the show ring I was told Garrett wouldn't show for a little bit yet so I left Tate with  my mom and rushed over to the pedal pull area to watch the boys.  There were a TON of kids signing up, which I then realized meant Aiden was going to be late for his rabbit mentoring at 4:00.  I ran back to see if Garrett was up yet, which he wasn't, then rushed back to the rabbit barn to find Aiden's mentor and let her know that he'd be late but still coming.  Then over to the pedal pull, where I watched Aiden pedal with all of his might at 4:23.  He hopped off, grabbed his participation ribbon and we ran over to the rabbit barn for him to work with the rabbit for 5 minutes before the Clover Kids Rabbit show began at 4:30.  Phew, I was exhausted!!!  And the night was just beginning!!!

After the rabbit show we ran back over to the show ring to watch Garrett.  This was his first year and he did so great!  I told him to make sure to smile, that the judges love it when the kids are having fun! Check this picture out!

I love that smile!

And this THIS happened -- he won overall Grand Champion Bucket Bottle Calf!!!  Holy smokes, our whole family was ecstatic!  Talk about big smiles and beaming faces!  We were all so dang proud of that kid!  Oh wow, that was a feeling I won't ever forget, and he's not even my kid! :)

Here he is being interviewed by the paper - how cute is that?!?

The champions!

So happy we were a part of this!

After all of that excitement we took a walk through the animal barns to calm down before we grabbed something to eat for supper (ahem, sloppy joe dinner!).  Finally it was time for Aiden to say goodbye to Clover Kids and hello to 4-H!

All of the Clover Kids who are moving on get together for a Clover Kids graduation ceremony. They each get introduced then get to tell what their favorite part of CK was.  Aiden's answer was showing animals at the fair.

A shot of my new 4-H'er, complete with his Clover Kids diploma in hand!

The evening entertainment Wednesday night was the talent show and a Christian Rock concert by Josh Wilson.  We didn't sit and watch either of those, instead walked through the 4-H building with all of the projects.  We have some talented kids in our area!

Thursday and Friday were much more relaxing for us - no shows or contests for us to do.  Thursday night we went for supper and to see the animals, again. Tate and his mooing at the cows, hilarious! We sat in the stands and watched the motocross event Thursday night, had fun cheering on one of Aiden's classmates.  After awhile Tate got antsy so we went to the corn pit to play.  He saw Garrett laying down in the corn (he was trying to get buried) so Tate started laying in the corn, too.  Looks comfy to me!

 And Friday we went just for the demo derby, which I mentioned Monday.

It was such a great fair, again, this year!  Our fair board and volunteers really know how to put on a good time for everyone!  Next year will be a tad crazier since Aiden will be more involved, and we'll have a 8 month old baby girl to contend with. :)

Up next, the Iowa State Fair!

To read Part 1 go HERE.

Baby Girl - Week 23

Another week down.  17 weeks till we meet our baby girl!

How far along: 23w4d

Maternity clothes: I'm quickly becoming bored with what I have.  It's too hot to wear something more than a tank top, and I only have about 5 of those, 3 of which are the exact same thing in different colors (black, gray and black/white striped).  Boring.  I'm ready for fall so I can get back into some cute things!

Sleep: Hasn't been too bad this past week, I'm hoping that continues for the next, oh, 17 weeks! Ha!

Worst moment of this week: Realizing I'm already HUGE, and feeling like a cow already.  I am definitely carrying Little Miss differently than I did the boys. They were more out front, she is more across my mid section, which makes me look very wide and huge.  Luckily I only notice it when I catch my reflection in a window or the mirror.  When I look down at her she's just a bump out front, and I can't help but give her a rub and a pat. :)

Movement: When she does move, she's active!  Andy says she kicks like a kangaroo.

Food cravings: Still those chocolate donuts.  I wish I craved something healthy.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week.

Gender: GIRL!!!

Labor signs: None

Wedding rings on or off: Off

Happy or moody most of the time: Moody. I was over tired from the fair, so that didn't help.  

Looking forward to: Getting the boy's rooms done so I can start decorating the Princess's room.  I ordered her butterfly mobile this past weekend because Pottery Barn Kids was having a 1 day sale, so I'm pretty darn excited for that beauty to arrive!

Symptoms/Side Effects: The heat really gets to me quicker than usual being 23 weeks pregnant.  I feel pretty useless outside these days.  Would love for some milder temps so I can get in my flower beds and garden, and to go for walks in the evening with Andy.

Something I have done in every pregnancy is eat ice.  It's rare for me to leave ice in the bottom of my cup at a restaurant.  I can't help but chew it!  At supper Saturday night I noticed I was chewing on the ice in my cup. Isn't that funny that I've done it for every pregnancy?

County Fair 2015 Recap - Part 1

There was so much fun to be had, I'll breaking the recap into 2 posts.

The county fair, such a fun week for all of us!  I have loved the county fair since I was a kid.  And now my kids love it, too! I'm so excited to know that next year we will be even more involved in the fair since Aiden will be in 4-H and hopefully showing some animals - even if it's only a rabbit, that's something! :)

It all started with Saturday, the day of non-livestock judging.  Each of the boys took 2 projects they've made over the past year.  Aiden took a ceramic mug he painted and that was then fired in a kiln, and he took a bird feeder.  It was a kit that my parents gave him for Christmas.  He built it all by himself (with a little elbow grease from his dad when a screw was too tight to turn) and then painted it.

Brennan took a canvas painting he did at one of his Clover Kids meetings, and a little wooden dump truck that was also in a kit he received from my parents for Christmas.  He built that with Andy, then painted it himself.

Jump ahead to Monday.  Andy and Brennan competed in a Lego build off competition.  They were given 15 minutes and a pile of Legos to build whatever they wanted to.  They came up with building a tow truck.  It looked awesome!  They did a great job and worked together really well!

After that we walked over to the round barn where they were hosting the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit.  You go in and 'harvest' corn, 'shear' a sheep, 'milk' a cow, etc.  They also had a sheep, goat and rabbit in there for petting.  Right outside was this fun peek through sign.

The fair food I crave from our county fair all year long is the Sloppy Joe Dinner.  It's a delicious sloppy joe sandwich, baked beans, potato chips and a pop.  Yum!  I had one every day of the fair, had to get my fill til next summer!

The entertainment Monday night was my favorite night of the fair - the tractor pull!  I don't know why I love it so much, how exciting can it be to watch a tractor pull a weighted sled down the track? But it is!  They slowly rev up their engines until a big puff of black smoke starts billowing out the stack on top, then let 'er rip!  Off they go down the track!  They make a really neat sound, too!

That sound can get kind of loud, forgot Tate's hearing protection so my mom used her hands!  Here he is wearing my dad's hat, holding on to my mom for dear life!

There was some rain in the area which gave us a pretty spectacular sky that night!

Tuesday was the sheep show! This was a long day for me.  Bren and I arrived at 8:00 that morning to watch my nephew, Charley, show his sheep.  At first it seemed like they were cooking right through the classes and that Aiden was going to be late for showing his mentor's sheep for the Clover Kid's show, but luckily he got there after his golf camp with plenty of time to goof off still.

My nephew showed 3 sheep.  He did really great his first year!  I was so proud to watch him out there leading his sheep around!  The best part, he had fun!  And we had fun watching him (even if we were biting our nails the whole time!)!  I think I ended up taking 89 pictures of him, ha ha!  I sounded like the paparazzi, snap snap snapping my camera shutter!  I won't show you all 89, promise!

After the main sheep show was the Clover Kids sheep show.  Aiden had so much fun working with his mentor, Raigan, she taught him a ton about sheep and showing them.  They met 3 times before the fair, she was so great!  And he had a ton of fun in the show ring, he's so ready for next year!

Waiting to go in the show ring.

Walking Peter the sheep in.

Holding Peter in the right position.

Raigan tucking Aiden's ribbon in his back pocket like 'the cool kids' do!

A group shot after the show!

Way to go, Aiden!  You did great!

After the sheep show I grabbed Aiden, nephew Charley and my cousin's son, Garrett, for a quick picture of the 3 Marie cousins who are all showing and participating in the county fair this year.  Love these boys! And I love that they are such great buddies, too!

Because we'd had such a long day at the sheep show we ended up leaving when it was all over (about 3:00) and heading home.  Unfortunately we missed this year's rodeo, but relaxing on the couch that night felt so much better than sitting in the heat in the grandstand!

The first few days of the fair were so much fun, and they were just the beginning!

Weekend Rewind

Weekend? What weekend?!?  We have been so busy lately and packing our weekends full that it doesn't even feel like we have weekends anymore.  I'm exhausted, can't wait for a weekend that we have nothing to do but lay around watching football and snoozing.

*Speaking of football, the NFL Hall of Fame game is in less than 2 weeks! Woot woot, football!!!*

So like I said, busy busy around here.

Friday night was the last night at the county fair (which I will be recapping this week).  We left Tate and Brennan with my mother in law and headed to the fairgrounds to watch the Demo Derby.  Ever been to one?  It's totally redneck entertainment, love it!  People fix up old beater cars then take them to the derby to get put into a 'pen' with the other cars, then they just beat up on each other till the last car is standing.  FUN!!!

Saturday we all slept in past 7:00, it was heavenly!  No, that's not very late but it's better than 6:00, so I'll take it!  We buzzed around here all morning doing odds and ends,  like finishing filling the window wells with rock.  It was so stinking hot and humid that morning, I did more sitting and watching Andy load and haul the rock then actually helping. Sorry, Bud! :)  Then we all got showered up, I packed Tate's overnight bag and off we went to drop him at my folk's house so Andy, the big boys and I could head to the big big city for some fun.

First up, Target for back to school shopping!  I love love LOVED back to school shopping as a kid so always get excited to do it with the boys.  It's a little (a lot) more condensed with the boys - we just get school supplies.  I handle buying clothes for them myself.  It's different with boys, am I right?  So we got the boys all loaded up with supplies and new backpacks and headed off for supper.

We went to one of our favorite pizza joints from when we lived up there and it didn't disappoint.  They have 3 different types of crust and the one we get is the Detroit.  There isn't a 'crust' per say, so the cheese goes all the way to edge. When it bakes it carmelizes and holy smokes is it good!  We get the Mombo Combo, which is pepperoni, sausage, mushroom, green pepper, onion and black olive (hold the onion and black olive).  Soooo good!

Doesn't that look amazing? Because it was, ha ha!

We stuffed ourselves silly then headed over to the ballpark to watch the Kernels play.  Andy's brother got us 4 tickets for free from his company, which was so nice.  We had a lot of fun sitting basically right on the field, just off to the left side of home plate.  The Kernels won 3-0 against the Beloit Snappers.

Family selfie!

The view from our seats.

A couple innings in Bren and I went up to the concourse to grab some drinks and popcorn. I love that Andy and the guy behind him in blue are the only ones in the picture that look good, ha ha!

One more picture with the lights on before we left.

We left the game during the 7th inning stretch - we were all wiped out from our busy week at the fair and were ready for bed.  An hour drive home then we all crashed.

Sunday morning, since Tate wasn't here, I was able to lay in bed until 8 O'CLOCK!!!  Awww, felt so good.  I didn't sleep that late but still, not having to hurry up and get out of bed to get Tate was a nice change.  I baked some cinnamon rolls for breakfast then we all cleaned up the house until my parent's arrived with Tate.  He was so happy to see all of us! I got a huge hug, and then he got down and started chasing after the big boys.  He sure does love his big brothers! :)

We loaded up the crew and headed in to town for a WalMart run, then grabbed some KFC to eat in the park before coming back home.  Once home, Andy FINALLY finished the drywall! He had it all hung Thursday and Sunday he worked on getting the corner bead hung. All done!!!  Now to wait for the pro's to come do the taping and mudding.  Can't wait to get that done, then we'll paint!  We're on the downhill slide now!

While Andy worked on that the boys and I went outside and filled up Tate's baby pool.  They all had so much fun in that tiny little pool!

Then Tate got out of the pool and started chasing an ant around the driveway! Bah ha ha!  Silly boy!

Finally Tate was ready for a nap.  That gave me a chance to come inside to fold 3 loads of laundry and make a batch of The Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Sheet Cake for a family get together that night. We all got showered up, woke up the Tater at 5:00 and headed over to Andy's aunt's house for supper.  We had a nice time chatting and catching up with his family, then home we came.  I had a few things to get done before calling it a night so didn't get to bed early like I was hoping for.  Maybe tonight? :)

I hope you all had a great, fun weekend!

*BIG NEWS*

Starting next week I am joining two other bloggers to start a weekly link up for all of our weekend rewind posts.  I hope you'll join us in linking up!  We're all blogging about our weekends anyway, why not link them up so we can find some new blogs to start following?  So, that's starting NEXT MONDAY.  See you there!

Baby Girl - Week 22

Yesterday I had my regular baby check up.  Everything went great, the baby's heartbeat was in the 140's - a little slower than it has been, we've always been in the 150's every time she's been checked, but still nice and strong. She wiggled away from the Doppler wand once but otherwise was a good little girl for her check up.  I am measuring right where I should be, just above my belly button. I discussed with the doctor that my heartburn was out of control and that I was ready for some Zantac so he wrote me a prescription for that.  Sweet sweet relief!  That stuff was fast acting - I took one as soon as I got home and didn't have a lick of heartburn the rest of the day.  Over the past week it has continually gotten worse.  Saturday night we had friends over and out of nowhere it hit me hard - I thought I was going to be sick.  I went right to bed and laid there worrying that something was wrong with me.  Andy came back to check on me, got me some Tums and water and less than 2 minutes later I was feeling relief.  Tums would always take care of it for me but it'd be back in a hurry most times, so Zantac it is for the next 17 weeks.  To be someone who never has heartburn it's quite a change during pregnancy. But think of all the pretty hair she'll have when she's born!

Just before my appointment I ran over to the lab to grab the dreaded glucose drink.  I had Andy with me so I forgot to snap a pic of it just before I drank it.  They gave me an option this time: Orange or Lemon Lime.  You all know how I like Mt Dew, right? I asked them if it tasted like that - I was pretty excited thinking I'd be drinking a Mt Dew flavored drink, ha ha!   But no, they said more like 7-Up. Still doable, right?  So I opted for that.  Then I started panicking about how bad it would taste, how awful it'd make me feel.  And the gagging started.  Andy couldn't help but laugh at me!  I debated whether to drink it straight from the bottle or pour it in the cup they provided. Andy told me it would be more like drinking a pop if I took it from the bottle so that's what I did.  First sip down, and it tasted exactly like the orange stuff!  No lie guys!  You aren't tasting the orange flavor as much as you are tasting the glucose in there.  Ugh, ick!  And that stuff coats your mouth and throat so when it's on your tongue you don't taste it as much as after you've swallowed it.  Typing this out is making me want to gag all over again!  We walked down to the gift shop to oogle over the girly stuff and help take my mind off drinking the drink.  I got all 10 oz. of it down in about 2 minutes - I just kept taking big gulps of it.  I also made Andy take a sip of it so he could sympathize -- he had the nerve to tell me it wasn't that bad.  He's right, 1/4 oz of it isn't that bad! It's when you have to drink ALL 10 oz. that it gets hard! Ha ha!!

Right after my appointment we went back to the lab to have my blood drawn.  I got a call about 4 hours later with my results - so far I'm ok, no Gestational Diabetes, but my number was at 137 and I'm supposed to be below 140, so I just eeked by.  I do another 1 hr test at 28 weeks.  Meanwhile I'm to watch my carb and sugar intake to help keep things in check.

Back to the Zantac -- so I took my first of 2 pills for the day at 1:00 when we got home.  Last night when we got back from the fair I went to take my 2nd pill and then realized I hadn't felt The Princess move all afternoon and evening.  I panicked, thought maybe I was given the wrong medicine and that it had hurt her.  I drank a bunch of cold water and laid on my left side trying to get her to move. Nothing.  I poked and prodded her - got a weak response.  Andy kept telling me to calm down, relax, she was fine just worn out from the fair.  I wasn't convinced.  I woke up three times last night and each time my first thought was "move Baby Girl, move!"  Nothing.  This morning she wiggled around a little bit but nothing like normal.  I finally texted my primary OB and told her my concerns. She reassured me that everything was fine, I had the right meds and at this stage movements are still inconsistent and doing those things to make her move and be more active don't necessarily produce results yet.  She's pretty awesome, totally helped me feel better, and this afternoon she is back to her dancing little self.  Every little thing that goes 'wrong' or is 'off' has me in a panic that I'm about to lose my little girl.  It's crazy how much I love her already.  I just want a happy, healthy little gal to hold in my arms at Thanksgiving.

No picture this week, too busy at the fair to snap one.  Here's the weekly update:

How far along: 22 weeks 6 days. Baby is the size of a Papaya - roughly 11" long and weighing in around 12-20 oz.  And knowing my babies this little gal is probably closer to the 20 oz. range, ha ha!

Total weight gain: 10 lbs.  

Maternity clothes:  This week I looked pretty awesome wearing non-maternity comfy shorts and a non-maternity, semi-fitted tshirt while doing chores around the house.  Ha ha, yikes!  BUT! My belly was completely covered, so there's that! :)

Sleep: Not too bad this week since I was so tuckered out from the fair.

Best moment of this week: Getting so many congratulatory hugs from people I saw at the fair!  It was so fun to have that excitement for us continue!

Miss anything: Nothing comes to mind this week.

Movement: Yes, lots! She's an active, busy little gal!

Food cravings: I can't seem to get enough chocolate covered donuts.  I prefer Hostess but will settle for Little Debbie in a pinch. Ha ha!
Anything making you queasy or sick: That darn glucose drink! Gag!

Have you started to show yet: Oh yes.  And this week she's really pushed out!  I think the old wives tale is true - I think I have more of a watermelon this time around where with the boys I had a basketball out front.  Which makes me look wider now, boo. :)

Gender: GIRL!  Every week I'm going to yell 'GIRL', so get used to it!

Labor signs: I think on Wednesday this week I had my first Braxton Hicks contraction.  My belly got super tight all of a sudden, for about 5 seconds, then went back to normal.  That's exciting, I love those little hugs from the baby!

Belly button in or out: In but stretched.

Happy or moody most of the time: I was a good mix of both this week - it was so fun at the fair, which made me happy, but tiredness and stress also made me moody at times.

Symptoms/Side Effects: Stretching!  So much stretching this week.  I noticed it most Tuesday and Wednesday.  Just that heavy feeling out front, makes you really notice you are pregnant.  I haven't felt pregnant most of this pregnancy but those days I really did.  Add to that walking around the fairgrounds in the afternoon sun and heat, I was moving pretty slow.
Names picked out: None.  We have no ideas.  You'd think we'd have a ton of ideas since we don't have any girls but all of the ones we liked when we were pregnant with the boys don't seem right this time around.  The only one that does still suit me we can't use.  It is Katherine.  It has my name in it, which I think it pretty great.  Plus it's a traditional name but still stylish. We would have shortened it to Kate (never Katie).  But we have a Tate.  So how do you have a Tate and a Kate?  Hello confusion! So Katherine/Kate is out.  I'm so sad.  I really want an older, traditional name but they all fall flat for me.  There is one name that Andy is all over -- I did give him the idea, so it's my fault -- but I just can't get ok with it.  We are 100% settled on her middle name so at least that parts figured out.  I will take any and all suggestions so lay them on me!

Starting next week I'll be posting these updates on Wednesday's.

Have a great weekend!

Weekend Rewind

Hey hey hey!  Welcome to one of the greatest weeks of the whole year -- FAIR WEEK!!!  We LOVE the county fair at our house and it has officially started for 2015.  Going to be a busy week for us, lots of fair time, so don't worry if you don't hear from me a day or two this week. Now for the weekend rewind!

It all started with Friday, and Friday was HOT.  Luckily there was pool time in our plans!  The boys had their last swim lesson for the summer that morning. Andy came to watch, like he does for all of their 'last' lessons, then we went to lunch quick so we could rush back home to go to our local pool for the afternoon.  The boys are loving going to the local pool - they have their friends there to play with all afternoon and I think in the two times we've gone it's helped with their confidence in their swimming - awesome!  They have to keep up with their friends so they are pushing themselves just a tad more, love it!  Darn, why didn't we do this last summer?!?  And the word on the street is this small local pool won't be open again next summer - it just costs too much and they are already running in the red every summer.  What a bummer!!!  I hope this isn't true.

Friday night Aiden went to his 4-H mentor's to work with her sheep to get ready for this week's Clover Kids Sheep Mentoring program.  He's worked with Raigan 3 times now and they are ready for the show!  Friday night they washed Raigan's sheep and her dad sheared them.  While he was with the sheep we went to my aunt and uncle's place to pick sweet corn. It was so blazing hot still, and there was no breeze but we managed to pick three laundry baskets full to freeze.  To reward ourselves for our hard work we went to the local ice cream joint.  I got their new Peanut Butter Campfire Crunch.  Holy moly, girls, YUM!  It was the perfect amount of peanut butter flavor, plus had chocolate chunks and graham cracker crunchies in it - delicious!

We snacked on our treats on the way back home, picked up Aiden then set up around the wheelbarrow and shucked corn.  It took us about an hour, not too bad.

Saturday morning bright and early we were up and at 'em again.  We had a quick breakfast then Andy went out to set up the turkey fryer for boiling the corn.  That worked so slick!  We could blanch the corn 3 times faster with the fryer than in the big black canner I normally use.

Once I was able to cool the corn off I started cutting it off the cob.  That is my favorite part!  Well, after snacking on that delicious yellow gold while cutting it off, that is the BEST part!  And Tate would agree - I can't get him to eat corn, ever, but once he took his first bite I couldn't keep him out of my bowl!  I totally understand, Tater!

Once we had that mess cleaned up it was time to get ready for the fair!  Saturday was the day for judging non-livestock projects, and that includes Clover Kids projects!  The boys and I headed to the fairgrounds while Andy stayed home with Tate.  We got there a tad early but it was a good thing, they were starting the judging early!  The boys were numbers 10 and 11. Brennan was so darn nervous, poor thing.  I remember that feeling.  But when it was all done he said he had fun!  This is Aiden's last fair as a Clover Kid, in the Fall he'll be a full blown 4-H'er!

Look at these two handsome boys!

Happy 4-H'ers!

After we finished up at the fairgrounds we rushed back home to get ready for some friends coming over for the evening.  What was supposed to be a big party with a bunch of friends turned into a semi-quiet evening with 5 adults and 5 kids.  I made a ton of food but luckily because we nibbled and munched all night we didn't have too many leftovers.  There were jalapeno poppers, restaurant style salsa, bacon wrapped chicken bites, Chicken Lips dip, deer meat and chocolate sheet cake.  My friends brought puppy chow (heaven!), taco dip and sliced up apples.  A huge spread and none of us left with empty stomachs!

It was another hot day and night so the kids had some fun with water balloons, the sprinkler and slip n slide.  Our friends brought this super cool water balloon filler -- it fills the balloons, seals them and they are 100% biodegradable so you aren't finding little pieces of balloon in the yard for the next 2 weeks.  It worked so great!  I can't remember the name of it but they found it in a package with 3 sets of balloons at CVS Pharmacy for about $10.

I couldn't believe how slick that thing worked!  Definitely going to be keeping my eye out for these from now on!

Tate had a ton of fun with the sprinkler again - that boy loves getting sprayed!

The slip-n-slide is always a huge hit!

We had so much fun just hanging out with our friends - we don't see them often enough!

Sunday was yet another workday in the basement.  We made a run to Menards in the morning - on the list: doors (!!!), knobs, drywall mud/tape/etc, and misc.  We ended up grabbing some Arby's roast beef sandwiches to eat on the ride home - haven't had those for a long time!  They were pretty darn good!  Andy hung drywall all afternoon, I took a nap, the boys played, then we headed to my aunt and uncle's to pick some more corn - this time just stuff for eating.  We made a quick delivery to my in-laws with some of that, then came home to shuck it and cook some up for supper.  Something about having just corn on the cob for supper!  Yes, I got hungry about 2 hours later (ha ha!) but it is still fun to just munch on that delicious corn for the meal.  After supper, Andy headed back to the basement while I cleaned up the kitchen. The boys helped dry and put away the dishes I washed, Tate got into EVERYTHING, and then we sat on the couch to relax for the evening after showers.  It was a full day and a busy weekend, but those are the most fun, right?

Like I said, this week will be busy with the county fair.  Brennan and Andy are competing in the Lego competition, Aiden is showing a rabbit and sheep through the mentoring program, then add in to that the evening entertainment, which means late nights - we are going to be exhausted!  And I thought, why not add to the chaos and sign Aiden up for a golf camp in the mornings? So there's that, too!  Wish me luck!

Have a great week!