First Day of 4th Grade

 The day has finally come... FIRST day of 4th Grade!  Insane!

It was a foggy and humid morning starting out.

Goodbye my sweet boy.  As my Dad used to always say, "Give 'er hell!"   Seriously though... it doesn't get an easier; Momma still shed a few tears once Bill drove the bus away. 

As I got my morning breakfast ready, before heading downstairs, I caught this magnificent sight at the lake side.

"This is the day the Lord has made.  Let us rejoice and be glad."

Later in the day... got this picture from Ramsey's teacher; his 4th Grade class.

Open House Day - Class of 2032

 Oh Ramsey.... 4th Grade, here we come!  Totally unbelievable that our baby is this old and growing up so quickly!  

We've been trying to cram a LOT in the last few weeks before school starts.  The Open House at his elementary school was planned for this evening.   We had all of his school supplies bagged up and we headed out.

The theme this year for school is "Under the Sea", so fun pictures were taken in a photo op area of the ocean.

I completely FORGOT to take a picture of Ramsey and his new teacher, Mrs. Phillips.  Gah!

When we returned hom, we had to make sure we took a picture of him in his Class of 2032 shirt!  In a few years, this shirt will fit like a glove.  

County Fair - Rides Day!

RIDE DAY at the BCF!!   We were going to meet up with our friends Jonah and Charlie so Ramsey would have a "ride buddy".   

We thought the day was going to be chilly (hence the long pants and LS t-shirt), as the sun was hiding for quite some time.  But, once we got to the fair, the sun came out and it became rather nice!

We hit the food first so Ramsey could enjoy a fair funnell cake.  Thumbs up, per Ramsey (though the picture is missing his thumb. Doh!).

We found Charlie, Jonah, and more friends.  

A few years back, I took Ramsey down this big slide, but this year, he wanted to do it alone.  I was happy to hear that, as my scaredy-cat self was NOT looking forward to climbing up those rickety stairs again and trying to maneuver myself into an old potato sack!!

Ramsey got a late start, but he made it.  He was rather astonished, but also quite exhilarated!

His favorites are always the racecars, it seems.

Ramsey didn't love the spinning bear, but he made it.  HA!

He asked himself "What the heck have I done?!?!" here!  He wasn't looking forward to it.  But again, he made it.  I think he enjoyed it a little too.  The exhilaration is the fun part!

The Fun House was a popular place for them.  I think they hit it about three times!

The wobbly walking boards were throwing them for a loop... in a good way. ;-)

And, the BCF wouldn't be the BCF without "The Happy Swing".

Ramsey tolerated it, but still doesn't find it extremely "happy".

We ran into his friend Henry later who needed a ride buddy for his last ride.  :-)

So these kids still had a TON of energy and did not want the fun to end.  Ramsey and Charlie wanted to have a play date afterwards.   So, the boys and I left the midway, but stopping for Dippin' Dots before we left.

Before leaving the fairgrounds, we hit the kids' play area.

And the awesome bouncy houses, of course.  I thought the Butler combine/corn picker was a super fun inflatable!

The boys didn't care what it looked like.  They just cared that it was full of air and fun to bounce in!

Later that evening, I had to snap a shot of the boys with Connor.  Connor was just getting ready to leave for an outing with his friends... happily donning his "party hat". 

County Fair - Trip to the Beef Barn

 Ramsey has heard small bits and pieces of my 4-H days and showing cattle.  He's never seen much of it up close before though.  

Today, we took a trip to the BCF to visit our friends who were exhibiting beef animals this week.

Kali took Ramsey into the stalls where they had a teeny tiny calf there that their young son would be showing the next day.   Ramsey was able to pet him and learn more about taking care of him.

Ramsey played with our friends' two boys on the play set near the barns as I chatted it up with the ladies near the stalls.  

Afterwards, what's the fair if we don't get some FOOD?  Ramsey's choice: Dippin' Dots, of course!

Storybook Land & Mini Golf Day

 Storybook Land is sich a wonderful local treasure.  Ramsey is 9... and, in a few years, he won't probably give a rip about going to this gem with his Momma and Daddy.  So for now, each trip must be savored!

It was a little toasty today, but a trip on the train would give us a bit of a breeze.  

Ramsey wanted to run around on the playsets.

He met a little gal at one of the areas to hang out with for a bit.

And, we all were game to play some putt putt.

Eric WAS winning for a while. He bombed a few, so it put Ramsey in the lead.  I'm pretty sure I was mostly dead last!   We didn't keep score.

Ramsey had a "face slap moment" when he JUST barely missed a crazy tough hole-in-one.

Storybook Land and Thunder Road... you never disappoint. 

Some Funky Storms

 Driving home from town tonight, the skies were freaky looking.  I admit I sped home to try to miss the insuing chaos.   I have a [what I find to be a very rational] fear of tornadoes; they scare the hell out of me.

After the storm blew by and the sun started the set, the sunset skies were phenomenal - truly breathtaking!