Fair Time!

Today we took our first family trip to the fair. After talking about taking Iris to the state fair, with a complete lack of enthusiasm from both Josh and I (feeling guilty all the while because we should, of course, want to take her), Josh drove by the Benton County fairgrounds one day to find that they were setting up for the county fair. I don't know if I've ever actually been to a county fair. I've dropped off 4-H projects, but never, to my knowledge, stayed for the experience. I always believed county fairs to be a place of livestock, crafts, and complete boredom. However, I was either wrong, or our county is just fantastic. I now wonder why we ever even considered going to the state fair. Here, you have all of the animals, rides, food, and even rodeo (it wouldn't be Oregon without it!) that the state fair offers, but on a smaller scale. And it's even close to home! As a parent of young kids, this makes it especially appealing.
We decided to introduce Iris to the fun and excitement of fair rides. They had it all--the carousel, the giant slide, the plastic hot-air balloons that get three feet off of the ground. However, my fun-loving, never-scared-of-anything go-getter decided 2/3 of the way into the carousel that she was done for the day. At least it was long enough for a picture.

Linnea did quite well despite the temperatures in the 90's and the complete lack of any naps. But all the heat and overtiredness got to her eventually, and she slept--through the bells and whistles and shrieking kids, she slept. Though she woke up as soon as we put her in peace and quiet and coolness of the car. Go figure.

Iris did appreciate the animals, though (there was even an exhibit with reptiles, a giant tortoise, and a lion cub), and Josh and I took advantage of the nearness of the fair to home. After the kids were in bed, we called some friends over to watch them and headed back to ride a few rides ourselves. All in all, though, it was a lot of fun, and I think, for a few years at least, we'll stay on the small scale.

Positives and Negatives

As I am sure that you have noticed, if you follow my blog with any sort of regularity, that I have been especially negligent about writing since Linnea was born. I can blame this on the kids all I want, but the truth of the matter is that I haven't made time for writing. During the last couple of days, however, I have stumbled upon some truly inspirational blogs, and so, for the present moment, I am determined to once again keep up.
Things have been challenging around here lately, as Iris has prematurely entered her twos. Every question is always answered with an emphatic "no!", whether she actually wants the option she is given or not. Lately, "bye-bye" has replaced "no" as a surer sign of her negative feelings. Lately this phrase has encroached on things that most of us wouldn't think of leaving behind. The other day she hit her head on the crib. She kept repeating "bonkers, head" until I acknowledged that she had hurt her head, at which point she said, "bye-bye, head". That would be a tough one. This morning I told her that we should put pigtails in her hair because it would be cute. She responded, "bye-bye cute!" She may not care about looking cute, but look who won the pigtails debate!

Linnea, on the other hand, has been growing ever more positive. Right now she is contented to lay right beside me giving me happy little growls. As I seem to have the active ones, she loves jumping. We discovered this when she started to laugh hysterically at Iris' jumping. So we tried it with her--success! Sometimes I think Linnea's smiles are what get me through the days right now.
One reason I haven't been writing much lately is because summer has turned me into a domestic goddess. Not that you could tell by my perpetually messy house, but hey, we goddesses have more creative things to do than clean houses! This year I have entered into the full swing of summer's bounty and gone out picking every type of fruit I can find. This has loaded me down with several pounds of strawberries and blueberries that I then have had to figure out how to use. Luckily, my ambition has lead me to create jams, shortcakes, fruit leather, and muffins, which will all hopefully last until next summer. I think by then I will have learned that I actually need to pick a lot more next year!
My domestication this year has also led to the beginning of a small photography business. Don't get me wrong--you wouldn't want me behind the camera. Being a non-techy person, I hate all the details involved with good picture-taking. But Josh loves it, and I have a pretty good eye for posing and composition. And so, we are launching Caffeinated Nerd Photography. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
So, that's it for catching up with summer! We'll see how it goes from here on out! And I will leave you with a video of giggles from my happy one!