a late afternoon at the park

Face of Opportunity Entry

Face of Opportunity Entry:

Here is a link to a business contest Derek's company has entered. You can vote everyday so please vote often! The winners receive air fare from British Airways to anywhere in the world to grow their business. Beckett and Robb would choose to fly to London and Bangkok to work with their fabric distributors and taylors. Thanks everyone!

State Fair

We went on a super fun outing with our bestest friends Zach and Mama Owley. Ally is a kindred spirit. We both come from the other side of the country. We miss the trees and fresh fruits and vegetables. We grew up in more rural settings and want those experiences for our kids too. Farm animals and swimming in lakes, all that good simple living stuff. We find ourselves teaming up to do things that our husbands would prefer not to. This particular day we took on the State Fair, a thing we both have fond memories of, but the boys do not. Ally is fearless. I'm not as good at independent as she is so I was glad to have a friend along for something I may not have done without one. It was so fun and the kids had a great time.

There was a fantastic exhibit where the kids went through their own farming experience. They first gathered grain to feed a cow (a fake one.)

They took their tiny bucket of corn and put it in the cow's feed trough.

They were really grown up little kids. Next came milking a cow.

They turned in the milk for seeds and planted them in a little garden.

And then came harvesting .

It wouldn't be a farm experience without a turn on a tiny tractor.

Eva was content to sit on her pink tractor parked next to a bale of straw.

Baron was a sweetie. All smiles and so cute in those little overalls. After the tractors, they brushed sheep for wool, gathered eggs, and turned in their produce for a tiny farm buck. They went to the general store and Eva bought herself a granola bar. It was a really great little adventure.

Of course we saw a lot of other things at the fair too. Eva loved the livestock farms. Seeing the cows get baths and a sheep being sheared were highlights. Baron was particularly fond of a goat who was trying to eat his stroller. He wasn't sure at first with these large beasts, but he warmed up and was wide eyed, taking it all in. We had fresh doughnut holes in all their cinnamony sugar goodness. And we stuffed ourselves on carni food that left my stomach pretty unstable the rest of the day. It was so worth it.

Museum of Ancient Life

August also yielded a trip to Thanksgiving Point's Museum of Ancient Life. Eva has recently been enchanted by dinosaurs. She of course uses the Spanish word "dinosaurio" and has combined it with the Spanish word for crocodile, "cocodrilo." So during this trip we saw many "Cocosaurios."