The WA State Fair

Happy Monday Friends.  I hope you had a marvelous weekend!  We had a great one.  Saturday was a great day.  We relaxed at home in the morning and in the early afternoon we watched the Oregon Ducks demolish Tennessee (we are NOT SEC fans in this house).  The game was looking a little iffy at the beginning when we were down by 7 but the boys showed up and played a great game.  Yes, we’re teaching Munchkin young to love football and the Ducks.  She loves watching the game on her daddy’s lap and she knows to put her arms up for a touchdown. 

We left at the end of the third quarter to head to the Washington State Fair.  Every year we talk about going and end up not going because something comes up.  This year we missed our county fair because of the cross country drive so I was determined to get to the fair.  We knew Munchkin would love the animals. 

First up once we arrived was fair food.  I mean, that’s one of the best parts of the fair, right? Nana share her funnel cake with Munchkin and it was her first time having it…she liked it (what’s not to like?!?)  The Man got fried apple slices.  They were super yummy!

After that it was on to the animals!  We were right, Munchkin LOVED them!  We saw bunnies, chicks, cows, horses, pigs and dogs.  She really liked the bunnies.  I think she might be asking for one in the future, especially after a visit to the fair!  She was intrigued by the piglets.  There were some sleeping and then there were several who were playing.  One was quite aggressive and was nipping at a sibling’s ear.  He was cute.  Munchkin liked the horses but was a little intimidated by their size.  She liked looking at them but when the horse looked at her she would bury her head in her Daddy’s shoulder.  It was adorable!

After that we headed to see the vendors and the quilts.  We were there on a Saturday night and the vendor hall was packed.  Nana was had the stroller and The Man was carrying Munchkin and we were not far behind her.  Out of nowhere there was this loud sound, kind of like a yoga ball popping.  No one knew what it was.  About 5 minutes later my mom complained about the stroller and that it was wheeling funny.  One of the wheels was flat.  That loud noise was our tire popping!  I was so glad I had brought the Ergo cause we couldn’t use the stroller for Munchkin anymore!  After that we found the quilts and enjoyed the amazing work that people can do.  It was inspiring!  Maybe I’ll start quilting again soon…

After that it was FINALLY time for rides!  We bought our tickets and found a spot for Nana and Munchkin to hang out.  The lines were long and The Man & I felt bad leaving them alone for a long time so we didn’t do too many rides.  We did ride the wooden roller coaster and it was awesome.  We didn’t make it to the free fall or the other coaster but we did make it to two other rides.  It was fun to go on them with The Man, even if we were surround by teenagers!  A lot them needed more clothes on though.  Or does thinking that just make me old?  We also wanted to take Munchkin on at least the carousel but you have to be two so that was a no go.  There’s always next year!

We still had some tickets left so we played some games.  We finally managed to win something at Ski Ball.  The Man and I each one a small stuffed animal.  We needed one more to trade up to a medium but we couldn’t win another one before running out of tickets.  Turns out it’s fine cause when we gave Munchkin the two we won she lit up.  She LOVES them!  She was so excited! We think it’s because she saw them up displayed and then when we produced them and gave them to her she thought we were the best parents ever! Or maybe that’s just what I hope she thought!

Over all we had a great time!  I’m already looking forward to next year.  I think we’ll go during the week when it will hopefully be a little less crowded.  Munchkin should be able to go on a few rides and enjoy the animals more.  I’m pretty sure we just found a new fall family tradition!

 

 

Linking up with:

Old Friends

I love opening the container with Christmas ornaments. Every year I feel like I’m greeting old friends as we take them out and hang them on the tree. What great memories they hold!

When I was growing up , my parents would buy my a Christmas ornament.  That way when I got old enough to move out, I would take them with me and not have a sad, bare tree.  Their plan worked great.  In addition to my own personal ornaments, my parents let me take whatever ones I wanted because my Mom didn’t want to put up a tree anymore.  The reindeer ornament in the photo above is a favorite.  It has the year, 1987 and my name on the other side.  I’ve been hanging in on my tree for 25 years.  Talk about an old friend!

Imagine my surprise and delight when The Man told me that his parents had done the same thing!  We even have some of his childhood Christmas decorations (like his advent calendar.)  Having these items from our childhood thrills me.  I tend to be sentimental and I love having pieces from the past.

Since we have ornaments from both of us our tree is a little eclectic.  The Man’s ornaments are predominantly Star Trek themed.  They’re the cool ornaments that plug into the lights and they make noise and light up.  I really enjoy them and not just because I have too!  Mine are random and are mostly bulbs.  Then there are the ones we’ve acquired since getting married, like the globe ornament we got on our honeymoon or the Disney one from our trip last year.

Breakables always go near the top of the tree and nonbreakables go on the bottom.  I’ve been doing this since before munchkin.  Curious kitties and puppy dog tails have been known to remove ornaments.  Our bottom branches are all our plush ornaments.  We have an Eeyore, a Stitch and some Bath & Body Works sheep, among others.

We’re going to continue the tradition of buying ornaments for Munchkin that she can take with her when she grows up and moves out.  She’s gotten 4 ornaments this year alone!  One is a gorgeous one from Nana.  It’s her name and is gold plated.  My first thoughts when I saw it was I don’t want her to take it when she leaves in 18 years!  Thankfully it will grace our family tree for many years to come before that happens.  Maybe by then I’ll be able to part with Rudolf and she can have one my childhood ornaments as well.  Maybe, because as you can see, Rudolf is well loved!

Do you have any traditions regarding decorating your Christmas tree?

What are your favorite ornaments?