Busy Week

It is my last week of summer vacation and we are making the most of it and cramming as much in as we can! Even though Randy was out of town Tuesday and Wednesday, the kids and I went to the Mississippi Valley Fair with their grammy and grampy Winslow. We left Tuesday around 4. After arriving at the fairgrounds, the kids and I took a walk around to check out the animal barns and rides. We returned to the car around 6pm, with 2 hours to go until the start of the concert. The kids were really good entertaining themselves with some toys that I had brought and just climbing around the van. Once we finally got to the concert, they continued to entertain themselves well by playing with toys, running around and playing with some kids nearby, dancing and chasing bubbles. When the concert ended around 10pm we headed out the gates. The kids were being pretty good considering how late it was, but we all decided it would be best to head home in order to be rested up for the next night. There was a huge thunderstorm during the night that woke Reese and I up for about an hour and then Reese was up at 6am. We kept busy all morning and all laid down for naps after lunch. After a short nap, we packed up and headed back to grammy and grampy's to follow them to the fair. We got there a little bit earlier and therefore had more time to waste. Again the kids and I walked through the animal barns and rides. We stopped and took in a puppet show and also went through the petting zoo. An hour and a half later we returned to our car to eat a little dinner. Again the kids played in and around the car for about 2 hours before we headed into the concert. Though the kids played well during the concert, by the end Reese was tired and whining that she wanted to go home. When we got to the car she was so delirious that she said knock, knock jokes and laughed histerically the whole way home! She stayed up until daddy got home around 11pm so that she could say goodnight.
Reese slept in pretty late the following morning and we spent some time outside that morning. After lunch, the kids took their usual naps. When daddy got home from work, we began preparing to go to the fair. Thankfully, we went out the latest we had all week, it was well past 6 before we even parked. We walked around the barns looking at the pigs and before we knew it, it was time for the concert to begin. We decided to get a little closer to the stage and settled in a sandy are to the right of the stage. It was great because the kids were entertained by playing in the sand throughout the whole concert. I was a little upset when Reese laid down and started making sand angels, but thankfully we got her cleaned up without too much trouble. Soon after the crowds had cleared out of the stands at the end of the concert, we headed back to our car. Though we had waited awhile, traffic was still pretty bad and it took us awhile to get home.
Friday we planned on taking the kids to Randy's grandparents while we attended the concert alone. We dropped the kids off around 5pm and almost didn't know how to act at the fair without 2 children in tow. After a coupld of beverages, I got my favorite fair treat, fried pickles. Though I was looking forward to enjoying my treat by myself, I did end up sharing! After the concert we hung around in the farmers tent for awhile. Finally, we went to Village Inn for something to eat before going home and collapsing into bed.
I was up by 6:30, why can I not sleep in when I actually have the opportunity to do so? I waited and finally went to pick up the kids around 8am. I couldn't believe it when I walked into the house and both kids were still sleeping! About 20 minutes later they started stirring and got up. We packed up all of their stuff and thanked Gene and Shirley before heading home. After lunch and naps, we went into town to do some tax free shopping. We got enough summer clothes for both of the kids to wear to Jamaica and Florida this upcoming spring. We also finished off most of their needs for fall, including new shoes. After dinner at Red Robin, we went to Sam's for our groceries. The kids played outside while we put away groceries at home. Then we took baths and got ready for bed. After such a busy couple of days, I could sleep for days, but we are going to spend Sunday at the zoo! Oh well! I can sleep when I am dead, I am loving making all of these memories with my kids!