Pony Wheel Rides

The girls rode the ponies at the State Fair. Abby insisted that she was big enough to do it on her own with no one walking near her, and she did not disappoint. Casey wore her ribbon crown that she had just bought.


It was a terrific way to wind down the evening.


After the fun of the ponies, we were out of money and energy.


We had just enough time to go home, take Saturday Night baths, and pile into the van in PJs to go watch the fireworks.


It was a wonderful day.

Fair Food

Easily our favorite part of the State Fair: The food.

As a family, we shared the following during our day and evening at the fairgrounds-

Mini Doughnuts
Hot Chocolate
Corn on the cob from Friar Tuck
Baked zucchini with marinara sauce and Parmesan cheese
Barbecue beef sandwich
Corndog from the Deans
Cotton Candy
Husky Burger
Lemonade
Denali Cream Puff with mixed berries


Things I am looking forward to next time we go to the Fair:
Carmel Apple
Another Corndog


It was really fun, actually, to share the food with each other. We were able to have a little of a bunch of kinds of treats, nothing too much that you could not enjoy the next thing to come along.

Riding The Merry-Go-Around

A perennial favorite when the family goes to the carnival: The Merry-Go-Round. (The kids call it the Merry Go Around.) This year we rode the fancy one.
Then, we made the mistake of figuring out the cost for our children to ride the 45 second attraction:
3 tickets each x $1 each ticket x 3 children = $9!
Wow.
It was fun, though. :)
And the horses were beautiful.

Target Day

Target is finally coming to Alaska. Only a few weeks more and we will have our own store, and less than 30 minutes away. We are a tiny bit excited. :)

They sponsored part of the Fair the day we went, and one of the goodies we came away with were All Day Suckers, Target style.

Driving the 4x4

The big kids drove the small 4x4s around a grass track... Brian has apparently been taking notes while riding the go-karts with the grown-ups, as he was hugging the turns, passing people left and right, and not giving an inch. You can see Casey in the background of this photo, getting rescued by the employees as she was high-centered on the tires that were the track sides. She was just barely tall enough to drive her own this year, and could either steer or push the gas pedal down. Not both at the same time. :) She did super, though.

Fair Fun Begins

We joined the crowds at the State Fair on Saturday... It took about 20 minutes to get through the ticket line to get in, and the wind and rain kicked up while we were waiting. Made me nervous about our plan to be at the Fair all day until the fireworks at 10:30 PM. Would we stay dry and warm?

Brian and Chris took a fun "test drive" of some Toyota trucks while we were there... The Toyota People had set up a giant track, including a mud pit, rock quarry, log rolling area, and steep hills. Brian had a great time and Chris found a couple of things he liked about the vehicle.

My boys on top of the hill.

Abby and Casey and I hid from the rain in the hatchback of one of the show vehicles.

Oh Yeah?

So, I got my hair cut.

It's pretty short, and a little *sassy* (according to the stylist) and I really like it.

Right after my haircut, I was workin' it at the elementary school, in the front office, visiting with the school secretaries. Those ladies actually run the school, you know.

Anywho, I was reveling in the compliments they were shelling out, thanking them at the appropriate times when I was stopped dead in my tracks. The conversation went something like this:

Secretary: Wow! I love your haircut!
Me: Oh, thank you.
Secretary 2: It really looks nice!
Secretary 1: Yeah, you must have a great stylist.
Me: Thanks. She is a good stylist.
Secretary 1: I like how short it is.
Secretary 2: Really looks good short.
Me: Thank you.
Secretary 1: Yeah, it makes you look younger. A lot younger.

Me: {silent for a bit, then mumbles} Thanks.
Exit stage left.


So, I guess I was unaware that I was at a point in my life were I should be seeking out a haircut that would make me look younger. Hmmmm...

I ran the scenario by Chris and he said that maybe it's because my new haircut makes me look like a High School Student rather than the College Girl I usually look like.

Sweet.

I'll post pictures of the new haircut sometime for you to be your own judge.

In the meantime, let me in on a secret:
How do you choose which hairstyle you'll be asking for at your next hair appointment?

Get right to work.

First Day of School!

Yesterday was the first day of school. As tradition dictates, here are the photos of the kids before we left the house:

Casey, Mrs. LeSage's class, first grade

Brian, Miss Carr's class, 2nd Grade

The Gooch Gang, including Abby who was so excited that she could barely keep her shirt on.

At the Swanson Squirrels bench, right outside the front doors of the school... So exciting!

House for sale

Chris and I have put our house up on the market.
I know, it's a lousy time to sell, right?
Well, we are hoping that since the local economy is actually doing pretty well and houses in our price range are still going pretty quickly, we'll be able to sell ours. We plan to build a new home soon... Ideally, we'd move in around February. We'll see how it ends up working, though. For now, you can check out our website for the sale by going to www.HomeInPalmer.blogspot.com or just look at these photos we've posted. The more we think about leaving our little home for someone new, the more we realize how much we love it! It's been the perfect spot for our family all these (5) years and we hope the next owners love it as much as we have.

Morning finally came

Chris got up early (or did he even sleep?) to make the fire and cook some cinnamon rolls for us.

The big kids took advantage of the sunny morning to sing goofy songs at the top of their lungs. Perfect for waking up the rest of the people who were likely camping in the area. And for scaring off the squirrels that were scolding us from the trees.

And then it got dark.

Night came. Out came the flashlight. We all got ready to get in the tent for sleep. (?) Would anyone actually get to sleep?

All snuggled in...

How I found Casey in the chilly morning. Those are her braids peeking out from the tip top of her sleeping bag. She had cocooned all night.