Indiana State Fair

We've lived in Indiana for three years now and, while we've been to the county fair numerous times, we had never made it to the State Fair.


With school starting at the beginning of August, that limited the days that we could actually go.


Finally, this year we were able to head up on a Sunday afternoon.


The kids were really excited to check out the animals in the cattle barn.


Especially Bella.


There was a Boy Scout area. The kids got to shoot BB guns.










They learned how to start fires with flint and steel. Bella got it pretty easily. Curtis eventually did too. Graydon was able to start it with some help, but he really wanted to be able to do it on his own. Unfortunately, he just wasn't able to, which led to some frustration and disappointment.


Thankfully, we had all of the materials we needed at home. A few days later, Graydon started several good fires on his own.

There were a lot of hands-on elements for the kids to enjoy.


















This petting zoo was pretty neat.




Feeding the camel was definitely a highlight!




We ended the evening with Bella and I catching part of a livestock show and the boys going on a ride. Curtis took a fall and had a hard time walking, so he rode on Andy's back a lot toward the end. Good work-out for Andy that night!

August Randoms. . .

We are still squeezing in as much summer as we can - even though school has already started.




Curtis still likes getting photos of his creations - after all of the hard work he poured in to putting it together.


Bella spent a whole Saturday morning baking cookies for her youth group fundraiser.


Yum!


We are starting to let Bella babysit the boys. We've left her in charge for ten minutes here and there. We bumped up to an hour (when we were just next door at church). But this particular evening, we went to a wedding reception and were gone for about three hours. I texted her about every 30 minutes and these are a few of the photos she texted back from their time. She had them do some crafting.


And they played games.


More crafting.


More games.


She did such a great job - and this will open the door of possibilities for me and Andy.

More time at the pool. Bella likes to practice her gymnastics off of the diving board.




My first two blog books arrived! Now I've got a tangible document of this blog. I still have several more to order, but they are kind of expensive; so it will just be a few at a time.


More creations that he wanted to remember.


The boys are both playing soccer. We got some rain on opening night. The players (and parents) were drenched!


By the time it was Curtis's turn to play, the rain had passed. (I sat for another hour in my wet jeans. Not comfortable!)


I heard some snoring. . .


Salty finds himself in some unusual places. I have another photo of him on our roof!


Blowing bubbles.


Picking some corn for dinner from the Dodds' farm.


The boys, especially, love their corn!


Andy built a fire pit in our backyard. We have one in the valley between our house and the church, but this is more convenient.


Our happy girl.


One perk of my job is being at the school when my kids need me. Curtis had some pain in his ear. He came to my room and I was able to take him to the doctor. He had an ear infection.


Graydon has this bad habit of coming home, taking off his socks, and leaving them on various tables. At least these are balled up - that is not usually the case. We've started charging him 25 cents every time we find his socks on a table. Time to break this habit!

We had our traditional Back-to-School dinner two nights before school started. It is usually on the night before, but with Open House at the school and Bella's gymnastics class, I knew that that evening would feel too rushed. And it was!

Our menu that evening included spaghetti, pepperoni bread, bruschetta, and caesar salad.

It had been a while since I made pepperoni bread. I think that more cheese ended up on the pan than in the bread, but it was still a nice treat - one that Bella had been requesting for quite some time.

Wednesday morning rolled around. None of us really felt ready. It was August 2nd! Our minds and bodies were still in full summer mode. It wasn't until about a week later that I started to feel a little more with it.

Bella's first day of SIXTH grade! It's her last first day of elementary school.

Graydon's first day of THIRD grade!

Curtis's first day of SECOND grade!

Three kids ready (or not!) for school!

Andy's parents were in town, so they were able to get our family photo.

We didn't get to talk about this much on our back-to-school dinner night, so this little print-out is something that we discussed during one of our evening meals that week. When school assignments or activities or expectations start to feel overwhelming and difficult, I want them to remember this. . .

It doesn't have to be perfect, but we need to give it our best.

I always like to interview the kids at the end of their first day of school. My voice is pretty loud in these videos compared to their voices. Plus there is some road noise at times. I hope it's not too distracting! Next year I'll remember to do the videos inside. And, the videos are kind of long. But there's a lot of detail about their first days as well as some general information about each of them during this phase of life. :)

Bella:


Graydon:


Curtis:


We've completed nine school days so far. Curtis still protests when bedtime rolls around. It's tough trying to fall asleep when it's still very much light outside!