Wednesdays

We get together with friends for dinner every Wednesday. This was the scene last week:

We were even missing three kids at that time, too!! Imagine how crazy it can get!!

Kate's tricks

Wanna see some tricks?? I found this video from the beginning of August.

She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy

A couple of weeks ago, we went with some friends to the Washington Fair Parade. I have told many people about the parades around these parts. The majority of the entries are usually tractors. Lots of the "Fair queens" or "Homecoming queens" ride on tractors. Yep, that's where we live.

This particular parade was over 2 hours long!! And I am not lying when I say we spent a large chunk of time just watching tractors roll on by.

Want me to prove it? I pulled out the iphone to give you a glimpse of 6 minutes of our parade fun.

I would suggest one thing, though. MUTE IT!!! I always tell myself, "Don't talk while the camera's on." But, I did. Stupid commentary the whole time. Even announcing, "I'm going to put this on our blog." Geez. And that cackle of mine... seriously, people, how DO you stand it????

Take my advice. Seriously. It was hard for me to listen to.

Oh, and please notice that the majority of these tractors aren't advertising a thing. The people aren't throwing out candy. Some don't even wave. It's just tractors. Kids on tractors. Couples on tractors. Big, grizzly men on tractors. Really old people on tractors. You get the idea.

I should also mention that Kate is nowhere to be seen in this video as she was sitting at my feet chewing on Tootsie Rolls while brown drool rolled down her chin. You'll hear me comment on that, too. Geez, again.

OK, that's enough set up. For your viewing pleasure...

Baby Blues

Think you know where Kate gets 'em? (Mark's got 'em, too, though!)

Beach Pictures

I kinda forgot about those beach pictures I promised to post. We mainly used our iPhone cameras on the beach, so they aren't that great. But, you CAN see our baby girl enjoying the sand. (And if you are wondering, blogger cuts off some of my "landscape" positioned pictures, so if some of the right side is missing, that's why.)

I think there are a bunch more on Mark's phone that we will have to upload.

My main goal was to get some good pictures of Kate on the beach and a few family pictures. A huge storm rolled in on the evening we had planned to do that. So, we had to go the morning before we left for home. Brad took us to a place in Orange Beach where he always saw people getting pictures done.

Seriously, these pictures blow me away. I LOVE them!! There are still more that Mark is working on, including some fairly decent family pictures. We want to take some of these and enlarge them, but I have no idea how we will choose!!

THAT one up there might have to be the one we blow up and frame. I love it!!

That was Kate's confused look.

Helloooo wind!!

Wait, maybe that one is my fave!

Oh gosh, or maybe that one.

Oh, how I love that girl!! More to come...

Vacation

We have some GREAT vacation photos taken with a camera other than our iPhones, but they will have to wait. Mark is working on editing two July weddings and putting together photo books for them. They are coming though, I promise. If it's anything like last year, they'll be up within three months!! (kidding, Mark!)

So, these are some lousy iPhone pictures (clarification: the pics are lousy, not the phone... I LOVE my phone!!) from vacation. And sit tight, more are on their way!

This was our first night, when we were headed out to Lambert's for Brad's birthday. A TWO HOUR WAIT, people!! This pregnant mama was starving!!

This was the next morning all ready to go to the beach!! And that blur next to Kate is one of Brad and Vicky's dogs, Charlie, who Kate is still talking about!

This one was for Papa!!

And LOOK at these baby tan lines!!

A Visit to the Farm

Hey all!! We got back from vacation around 2:30 a.m on Thursday morning. Poor Mark had to be at work at 7 a.m. that morning. As usual, we hit the ground running. We had dinner with friends that night, which I was over an hour late to because I locked my keys in my car about 45 minutes away from home and had to call AAA to send a locksmith. It stunk big time.

Friday morning, Kate and I met some of my teacher friends and their kiddos at Purina Farms. It's only about 15 minutes away, and Kate and I had never been. We packed a lunch and got there early around 9:30. The weather was just gorgeous!!

Here are the girls getting ready to go in.

Then, the boys joined them.

Seriously, aren't they all so cute standing there holding hands????

Poor Kate kept falling in her tennis shoes. She is so used to sandals that she walked funny the whole time she wore her little Nikes.

Luckily, I brought her sandals along and changed her shoes pretty close to the beginning of the trip. She was looking a little silly falling over nothing!

The kids got to look at sheep.

They got to play in hay, crawl through tunnels, drive toy tractors through corn, and ride on little tractor bikes.

They got to pet pigs. One of the pigs had a yucky "behind" and Kate hasn't stopped talking about it every time pigs get mentioned.

Here's Kate with a goose and one of the worker's hands. She was telling her why it's NOT a good idea to squeeze its beak. You would think it was the little guy next to her that tried that trick, but, nope... it was Kate! :)

Then, we ventured to the dog show, where we saw dogs do lots of tricks including jumping into a dog pool to chase a frisbee. The kids LOVED that one!!

After that, it was a picnic lunch and time to let the kids run a bit.

We finished our trip off with a tractor ride around the farm.

They were all exhausted!!

The kids played peek-a-boo around a tree while the Mamas packed the cars.

And, like any good trip, it ended like this.

I REALLY need to tighten that strap!!

The day was a job well done, Mamas!!