Minnesota State Fair

Yesterday the kids and I along with my mom and dad went to the State Fair. We go there every year and it is lots of fun!! We saw cows, sheep, pigs and baby animals which is always neat to see--the kids like to pet them and hear them make sounds.

This year the kids went to the Midway for some rides and games (in previous years we went to the Kidway--not anymore!! They are ready for BIG rides). I went with them on a roller coaster called the Crazy Mouse and it was fast, spinning fun--the kids said it was AWESOME. Nick won a stuffed animal at one of the games--he was sooo happy!

Another new thing we did this year was ride the River Raft Ride. Me, my dad and the kids sat in a round raft and floated along a water-filled canal. It was fast and had many rapids that would splash up and get us wet. Matthew said that it was his favortie ride.

We always do the regular stuff like Ye Old Mill ride, the big slide, eat our regular food, get the All-You-Can-Drink milk, get all the free stuff in the Education Building and the boys always get a toy tractor from the same shop. All three kids got an animal marionette puppet (with the strings and wood handling mechanism) that they can make walk, wiggle and dance--they are pretty cute!

We visited the Butterfly Garden at the fair too. We went in and there are tons of butterflies all around. They just land on you--the kids had them on their clothes, shoes and even on their heads! We stayed in with the butterflies for a long time--it was really cool.

After a long day and tired feet--we left for home. It was a great day and we look forward to next year with all the new stuff as well as the regular things too. We had a day to remember!!

Sammy the Grasshopper Hunter

Our dog, Sammy, loves to hunt grasshoppers (actually any bug). When we go to the lake, he likes to comb the beach for spider or any bug to "play" with. On this day, he found a grasshopper to follow. He picks it up and kind of throws it in the air--follows it around and sniffs it--digs at it in the sand. Ultimately he ends up killing the bug. Sometimes he eats them (spiders mostly) but usually he just amuses himself with his new toy.

It's fun to watch him when he is hunting down a bug! His days at the lake consist of looking for bugs, swimming in the lake, guarding the house and following me around all day. He is a funny little pup!

Emily & Oreo

Okay--we cannot go into a pet store anymore!! The kids and I (innocently) went to Petco to get crickets for Nick's lizard--a simple task, shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes, right? Of course NOT!

As soon as we entered the store Emily and I saw this super cute hamster up for adoption. We tried to pet it through its cage--she was black and white just like an Oreo cookie. We asked a Petco worker about her and got to hold her. Emily and I liked her a lot. After Emily found out how much the adoption fee was ($10 for the hamster, cage, ball to run around in and supplies) she wanted to adopt her--she can pay for it with her own money.

I reminded Emily about her guinea pigs that she had in the past and how she didn't take the best care of them resulting in finding a nice home for them. She said that she is older now and really wanted the hamster and that she would take care of her (she said that she might need my help a little too:) Oreo is an older hamster at 2 years old--their life span is between 2 and 4 years. I told Emily that she might die in a year or so but Emily said that was okay--she wanted to take care of her even if she was old.

Since I am an animal lover too, I said that she could adopt her. We got her home and set up her cage in Emily's room--Oreo seemed content and happy. Last night she was busy running on her hamster wheel--it was fun to watch. We can all hold her and pet her--even the boys--and she just sits in your hand. She is pretty cute. It warms my heart that Emily is growing up with a kind spirit to all animals and a big heart to want to give an old hamster a home.

Star Wars Legos

Nick was finished with summer school last week on Wednesday. He worked hard in class and his teacher repeatedly praised him--she even let him teach math one day! He got up every morning without complaining, ate his breakfast, got dressed and went outside to wait for the bus--all while his brother and sister were sleeping in!

He was such a good boy though his summer school that Gramma T. got him a special gift. He got to pick out something that he wanted and (of course) he picked Legos--his favorite thing! He really wanted the Star Wars Trade Federation ship set--it was a little more money than Gramma planned on but he had such a great attitude (not one grump or anything) during summer school that she got it for him.

Nick was extremely excited and happy. He put the whole thing together--Tim & I just sat with him to make sure that he didn't skip anything by accident. That evening after he finished the ship, we watched the Star Wars movie that had his new ship in it--he was overjoyed seeing it in the movie.

He was very happy to be rewarded for a job well done. Nick has such a tender heart that we know his special Lego set means a lot to him. He is an exceptional boy!

Stomp Rockets

Sunday the boys had their July Pack meeting for Cub Scouts. Nick is a Bear Cub Scout and Matthew just joined this summer and he is a Tiger Cub Scout. They were excited to make a stomp rocket--what boy wouldn't be?

The kids played some games first then they set to work on making a launcher for their rockets. Next they made the rockets by putting fins on the bottom and a black tip on top and they drew designs on them too. Then it was time for the really fun part--they got to shoot them! And they sure did fly high!! All the kids had a great time shooting their rockets.

While the kids were playing the adults BBQed lunch. There was a big spread of fun and everyone was hungry after all the rocket fun. Also, Tim had to get Matthew's rocket down from the roof of the picnic shelter once--then he shot it up there again and that time we couldn't reach it. He had to make a new rocket:) Nick shot his rocket and it hit him in the shoulder--it hurt! They learned that they need to stay clear of the rocket when they stomp on the launcher.

We had a lot of fun and when we got home after the picnic, the boys stayed outside and played with their rockets some more. Then we had to get them out of the trees but that was easier than the roof. Another fun, busy day!!

Sunburn!!

On Saturday we went to a water park in Shakopee for an afternoon of swimming and slides. The day was beautiful--not too hot or humid. Nick was there with a friend's birthday party and the rest of us went to enjoy the day.

The kids had an absolute blast going down the various water slides and diving board. Even Tim and I joined in the fun of the slides, etc. But, with the weather being so nice, I got really sunburned on my shoulders, upper back and chest. The kids were fine-only a little pink on the cheeks and Tim got a little red on his arm. Emily scolded me for not using sunblock--she was definately right because I am suffering the consequences!!

Star Wars

On Friday the 18th we went to the Science Museum to see the traveling Star Wars exhibit. We were pretty excited to see it--especially the boys! First we went to see the Omni-theater movie about special effects (Nick and I didn't go in because Nick doesn't like the huge, round screen and the steep slope of the seats--we looked at other stuff). I guess it was good but it had talked about many different movies--not just Star Wars.

Finally it was our time to go into the exhibit (they have designated entry times spaced 15 minutes apart). The kids really liked all the hands on activities that they could do. They made a hover car that really hovered (using the opposite polarities of magnets), driving a hover car, sustaining a computer city using tiles that the computer recognized--the boys liked doing that even though they didn't really know what they were supposed to do. There was programming a robots movements and of course the robots looked like R2-D2! And other stuff too.

There were tons of ship replicas and costumes from the movie--princess Leia, Chewbaca (it was really big!), Darth Vader, R2-D2, etc. They had ALOT of Star Wars stuff. It was cool to see it all up close. But by the end of the exhibit, I was very tired of looking at Star Wars!

We had a great time and we were all glad that we were able to see the exhibit before it leaves MN.