First Day of School - JUNIOR!

Connor's a JUNIOR in high school now!  

Mind.  Blown.

County Fair Time Again!

Another August, another county fair.  *Sigh*  Fun!

I'm not going to lie though...

It.

Was.

HOT.

UGH!!

And, Eric had major sinus issues and was not feeling well.  So.... Ramsey and I went on Saturday (there was rain forecasted for Sunday, so that was no option - sure would have been cooler though).

Everywhere we went, 4-H clubs had painted signs for kids to pop their heads into for pictures.  We hit nearly all of them.  I've pasted pics on this post, intermittently.

We started off at the beef barn this year.  No pictures.  ...didn't need Ramsey getting kicked or trampled (he doesn't have much fear of animals, large or small) and I had no one to take a pic of us together.  Que sera sera.

 Then, off to the bunny barn and to see the goats.  Ramsey seems to love the goats more than about anything (always has).    The fact that there were a number of baby goats made Ramsey's day!  He was attempting to bond.

Then, time to ride the ponies!    Ramsey said he didn't need me to walk beside him this year, like Daddy did last year.  He was such a big boy!

 He got nearly two full rides, as when he started, he was the only one.  When other kids showed up, they stopped, put them on, and let him have a second turn for free.  Nice!

 Future equestrian?  Hmm.

After visiting  the animals, we grabbed some [completely unhealthy] lunch (mini donuts).  Then, time for the rides!

 We got Ramsey a wristband and around and around he went, on every ride they had, some more than once.  We definitely got our money's worth!

 There was a common theme with Ramsey's riding; he seemed to get on the motorcycles and cars behind girls.   ...guess the ride operators know women are better drivers?! ha!

...behind another chick again.  :-)

 He LOVED the tractor ride.  Maybe it's because his buzzer actually worked on this ride.  Or, maybe he just likes tractors.

 I found it amusing that he picked the headless bee.   Poor bee.

 And...behind another chick again!  :-)

 When the ride was over, Ramsey insisted on going again.  But, this time, he wanted to take the wheel!

 Ramsey was being so good after the rides.  He actually said, "Ok Mom, I'm ready to go home now."  On the [mile long] walk back to the car, I noticed some play sets and five bouncy castles.  Part of me (who was sweating profusely) thought it'd be easy to evade these and walk around them, going straight to the car.  But, the guilt-ridden part of me knew this only comes around once a year, so we may as well do EVERYTHING.

When I routed back to the path to walk straight into the kids' play area, I asked the once-ready-to-go-home little boy if he'd rather play for a bit instead.  The answer was immediate and very clear!

 If I had to estimate, he spent nearly as much time in KiddyVille as he did on the midway!  Finally, I made the decision that it was time to leave.  Though Ramsey was hot, sweaty, and on the verge of a heat stroke, he relented and didn't fuss.  But, he would have stayed and played there until he dropped!  :-)

Until next year, county fair....!

National Night Out at the Park

National Night Out is always a fun event to take the kids to.  This year, Ramsey and I flew solo (Connor and Nana Karen usually attend, but we didn't have Connor and it was too hot for Mom!). 

We got there a bit early so Ramsey could tool around on the play sets.

With Ramsey being a little older, there were more things he could do.    We bounced around all over the park, this way and that, visiting all of the fun activities the event presented.

Ramsey got a kick out of the barrel train.  This was the first time he had ridden them.

  Like last year, Ramsey made the local paper (in front of the MRAP).  Once again, one of the photographers snapped a few shots, this time when he was whizzing away with the fire hose.  (I think the "cop shirt" -which has fit him for a LONG TIME - might be an eye-catcher for photographers - next year, maybe a fireman shirt?)

Ramsey didn't want to stop.  He would have stayed there all night!  The firefighters were nice and let him have a turn that was a little longer than normal.  :-)

He loves getting his picture taken with these funny back drops.

He got a charge out of getting to tour the inside of the fire truck.

 He got a super warm and fuzzy hug from the Canadian Goose at the wildlife refuge stand.  (The temp was in the 90s - I can only imagine how profusely that poor goose must have been ROASTING.)

Our Trip to the Cabin

With the chaos of getting Mom moved this year, our annual 4th of July vacation/trip to Nana & Bumpa's cabin was delayed a few weeks (we went at the end of July and the trip was only 4 days).

We made the most of our short amount of time and spent our time happily with Nana, Bumpa, Uncle Cory, Uncle Troy, Auntie Sarah, Sadie, Isaac, and of course the puppies, Maggie and Max.

Much of the time was spent on the lake.  The bigger kids fished, toured on the paddle boat, and explored.  Ramsey was lucky to have them eager to go swimming with him.

As usual, sweet Isaac was a super awesome cousin, being so helpful and caring.

Miss Sadie and Connor also swam with Ramsey.

 Connor had fun showing off a bit, doing somersaults off the end of the dock (with Riggs following immediately behind, of course!).

 I couldn't get over how big they're all getting!

 After getting his hair yanked, Connor may have thought hoisting Ramsey on his shoulders wasn't the best idea after all.   Ramsey loved it though!

 The big boys had caught a whole slew of fish.   It took Isaac and Connor a few hours to get them all cleaned and bagged.

 ...nothing like some cuddle time with Nana and Bumpa.  :-)