Another Summer Day at Storybookland

Panic.... the summer is almost over!  We've been so busy, but there have still been a number of things we haven't done yet!

Since we hadn't been to Storybookland yet this year, Sunday was the day.  It had stopped raining (Lord knows we needed the rain desperately!) and the temp was going to be around 70.  What a truly perfectly day to go.   There was one downfall, however; Connor had to WORK, so he couldn't go with us for the afternoon outing.  Grr.

There's always so much to see there and it's not possible to see everything if you actually want to stop and enjoy some of the play areas, rides, and exhibits.

We visited the castle first, climbing the stairs all the way to the top, looking out for "bad guys" that we could attack with our bows and arrows!

Down below, in the castle, was the stage (no plays today!) and Ramsey was enamored with the background.  "Look at all those colors!", he'd say.

Captain Hook's pirate ship was just outside (with a fancy slide too, so Ramsey was extra excited).

With so much to look at and see, it seems like Ramsey's favorite phrase that day was "Hey, I want to go THERE!".

Every other place we went had a slide.  Momma did a lot of sliding that day with Doodlebug (only the "big slides").

Daddy attempted to do this one, but the height of this was a little too much!  :-)  

 We were both quite hesitant for Ramsey to even go on this slide, but he's stubborn and there was no telling him "No!".      This may have been his favorite big slide of the day; we went up and down it about 8 times before I'd had enough!!  (I guess I'm getting wimpy and queasy in my old age.)

Luckily, Old McDonald's barns were close (as to offer a distraction!), so we were off to see the critters.   There were baby calves (a beef calf and a buffalo), chickens, miniature ponies, pigs, and goats.  The goats usually seem to be the place we spend the most time!

Eric gave Ramsey some corn and helped him feed them.

They were such friendly little guys, so Ramsey got to pet them too.

And of course, he had to ride the little horse!

Next big stop: the carousel!

 The Wizard's Balloon Ride was not too far from this and, once Ramsey spotted it, he was bound and determined that he was going on it.   Eric and I were perplexed and a bit confounded.  This thing goes up in the air 40' and the balloon cars spin.   We thought it might be a recipe for disaster.

 Reluctantly, I entered the ride with him, strapped us both in, and up up UP we went!  In my head, I was contemplating an uh... "escape" plan in case he freaked out.

That wasn't necessary though; Ramsey LOVED...IT!   We were shocked.  He wanted to go again, but Momma's stomach was getting queasy (again, the "age thing" - bleh) and that was enough spinning for a day.

Now, if only the roller coaster would have been going that day...!

To burn off what Ramsey had left for energy (Eric and I had depleted supplies by this time), we went to one of the playgrounds for littler kids.   

Ramsey did a lot of swinging,

digging,

and more slides.  This ice cream cone slide was his favorite "little slide", no doubt because it was A) ice cream and B) had an Oreo on the side.

Then, in the middle of his running through the sand from one thing to another, he spotted a little boy who was about his age.  His was hiding underneath the elephant slide.  So, he decided to join him.

 And, just like that, they became instant buddies!  His name was Corbin.  They played hide & seek, chase, went down the slides together, rode the dinosaur, etc.  While they were running wildly, we heard Ramsey exclaim, "We are boys!!!".     Later, when they had calmed down a bit, I heard Corbin ask Ramsey, "so, what do you want to do when you grow up?"    Such diverse conversations and notations with these little ones!

 Corbin had a little baby brother named Ashton.   Ramsey helped himself to the shared swing here with Corbin and little bro.  He's definitely not shy!  :-)

 The boys had to say goodbye and parted ways.   On our way back to the truck, we stopped and took a few more pictures, then called it a day.

Connor was just getting off of work, so we'd all be getting home at about the same time.  Ramsey was all ramped up to go "firecamping" again.

Tennis "Ace"

Connor's spring and summer game is definitely tennis!  In addition to the spring season at school, he also took a two month summer session.

On Wednesday, he had a tournament at the college courts.

Eric and I were both there to cheer him on at the 10:00 match.

He had some really great vollies, but this day, his serves were his downfall.  He lost his first match, but played another (against one of his best friends) in the afternoon.

National Night Out 2017

Last night was our local National Night Out, a fun family and community ritual this town has been celebrating yearly since 2005.  National Night out is held nationwide in August (or October for hotter climate states) to help raise awareness for community policing.

Eric was "on duty" and Nana Karen, Connor, Ramsey, and I ventured out for the fun festivities.  Upon arrival, we found the MRAP (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected) armored vehicle.  Eric has been wanting to show the boys this since they got it.  It was granted to the police department by the US Military for use in serious situations.

Ramsey made the local newspaper's online photo gallery of the event when he was seen by the paper's photographer, next to the MRAP.  His tiny little body was dwarfed by the enormous tires!

Among the myriad first responder and community service booths (with tons of fun and interactive activities for the kids), was the police department, the fire department, 

the county sheriff's department,

the Army Reserves, Animal Control, the local hospitals, women's shelter, electrical co-cop, the police chaplains, Game Fish & Parks, and more.

A number of awards were given out during the presentation ceremony.  Eric gave an award to a local citizen who helped the police department catch an armed robber.

Other awards were presented for Officer of the Year, two Life-Saving Awards, and even a Medal of Honor (to a brave officer who had been injured in the line of duty).

Both of the "drug dogs" were present.   Ramsey loved the dogs!

Neko sat patiently while Dez gave a demonstration on how they utilize him as a service dog to find drugs.

We found Eric after the awards ceremony and welcoming presentation, then went to grab a free supper.  Then, we headed off to the bouncy huts (aka "the Cauldrons of Mayhem" - didn't stay there too long! lol), then off to the park swings, slides, "easing" our way to the jeep (Ramsey did not want to leave all of the excitement!).

There were so many booths that we didn't visit this year.  It was estimated that 3,500 citizens attended National Night Out.  If you would have asked me my opinion, it seemed like three times that many!

A big shout-out to the police department, fire department, and all of the first responders who  make our community safe and help citizens in their times of need.  Bravo!

Monster Truck Nationals 2017

Ah yes, time again for the Monster Truck Nationals at the local speedway.   Admittedly, I got my "redneck on" again this year and enjoyed it, just as the boys did!

Unfortunately, Connor wasn't able to go with us as originally planned, due to some medical issues on the other side of his family, so Eric, Ramsey, and I trekked out ourselves on the warm sunny afternoon.

To preface this: I had a TON more pictures of Ramsey with all of the monster trucks, their drivers, the motorcycle guys, getting autographs, etc.  BUT, my memory was running out on my phone, so, thinking the pictures were saved to the cloud, I deleted them and thought I'd start over.   WRONG! They hadn't saved to the cloud, so once I hit delete, they were GONE.   We'll leave it at that; no need for the grumbling (for a nice word) that came thereafter.

We started out in the pits, meeting all of the drivers of the trucks, getting their autographs, and taking pictures with them and their trucks.   Luckily, Daddy got this pic with Vinny Venom, the driver of Snakebite.

Last year, Ramsey wouldn't go near Vinny (the mask was too scary, we assume), but this year, every time Snakebite would be on the track, Ramsey would point, clap, and say, "There's my guy!".

 As the show commenced, they started with a teaser by the motorcycle trick riders that came from Canada; the "Freestyle Insanity Motorcycle Stunt Team".  They were amazing, riding their ramps up to 75 feet in the air, as they performed acrobatics, flipped upside-down, etc.   Ramsey LOVED them!  They entertained us later into the show also, after intermission.  Again, they did not disappoint!

Once the monster truck show got going, Ramsey put on his ear protection and we watched the big show.   There were five trucks there this year; Snakebite, Basher, Dragon Slayer, Heavy Hitter, and Bigfoot (whose driver Larry Swim won Ramsey a bike last year!).

The trucks competed in various competitions; spinning cookies,

popping wheelies, head-to-head racing, and a freestyle ride at the end.

Just before the freestyle event, Ramsey was ready to go; he'd had enough ("too loud", he said), so he and I went to the Jeep and Eric stayed to watch the finale.

Snakebite actually won the freestyle, but here's Bigfoot's ride.

Until next year, speedway....!