County Fair

 County Fair Time!


There were animals to see, smell, pet, cheer on, and laugh at...

 We checked out big pieces of farm machinery and climbed all over big tractor wheels...

We played some skeeball...

We ate greasy food and then went on rides ...

Jude even rode the big ferris wheel with me!

 

It was a good fair day...
We left with goodie bags and yardsticks...
and a tractor ride back to our car :-)

Drum Corp International Show

 We went to a nearby town to see a drum corp show.  I was super excited to hear a marching band performing on the field again...and I thought the kiddos might like it too.    

I didn't tell Tamlin where we were going but I gave him hints: 

1. we are going somewhere to see something

2.  there will be music and it will be loud

3.  it is something you have not seen

4.  we will eat popcorn

Tamlin thought we were going to see cars or to the movies or to see the car movie

I let the kiddos bring their leappads for entertainment while we waited for the show to begin.  Tamlin used the camera on his to take photos of the opener band during their warm ups.

I had fun telling both boys that this was something that momma and daddy used to do.  I got to point out the big bass drums and tell them that it was MY instrument for many years :-)

Jude thought it was loud...but he was humming along to the music, usually in the same key.

The bands were great and the showmanship was awesome to watch.  There was quite a bit of dancing on the field (more so than I remember being common back in the day).

 Tamlin liked the band that performed magic tricks on the field, such as making the flagline disappear and the drum major pulling a rabbit from his hat.

It was a fantastic night, even if little Jude was tired by the fifth band.  Next year, I'm dragging some of my ol' band geek friends along :-)

Rolling the dice

We had old friends over for a visit and a bit of Dungeuns and Dragons playing.  Brian and the guys played.  Scott's wife Jennifer and I chatted...and their boys and our boys played all over the house and yard.  We all had a good time :-)



I snapped this shot after everyone had left...


Tamlin was rolling our big 20-sided die and yelling to the monsters "I hit you for 10...I hit for you 12...oh...I hit you for 20!"

Jude was cheering him on by playing with the monsters.. "Roar!"

Oh, yeah... We are raising them right.

Our boys are in the newspapers :-)

 My boys are so gosh darn cute...

 And we go places...usually to cheap / free events... but like adventures...

And this month... We were in not one, but two local newspapers!

This is in the Vermilion Photo Journal, from the June Fish Festival.  We had entered, and won, the preschool division of the sand castle contest with our dragon attacking the castle.

 

This is from the Blues Festival in Huron on July 5th.  The boys were enjoying the live concert and dancing around.   So cute... and yes, Tamlin is sporting a striped shirt and plaid pants and fedora.  He is such a slave to fashion :-)

camping - day 2

We were up with the birds in the morning... one thing about tents is that there really isn't much sleeping in when the rest of the outside world is waking up.
  There were donuts for a quick breakfast, and of course, an early swim in the lake.  We slowly packed up our things and said goodbye to our little camp.b

We decided to be tourists for the day ... and hit up one of the local family attractions.  Our first stop was Perry's Cave.  According to our guides, this is where Captain Perry found drinking water for his men.
The cave tour was short but fun, mostly because it was Tamlin and Jude's first cave experience.  Lots of little stalagtite sodastraws hanging from the ceiling.   Do you see the lion sleeping here?
Jude wasn't too sure about it and insisted on being carried most of the time.  I think he didn't like the darken atmosphere and slippery trail.

Tamlin had fun.  And both boys liked it when they were allowed to touch an "eyeball" stalagmite.

After the cave, we went for a late brunch at the coffee shop/bagel shop/ chocolate store.
With bellies full, we headed back to fun times...
Like mini-golf!
What a hoot...but our boys certainly are not golf prodigies.

We just had fun with no score keeping, lots of ball swapping, and more than a few goofy shots.  Both boys got the concept of the game, but the means of hitting the ball with the club was a bit... interesting.  I'll just say that there may have been some shots taken using the club like a pool cue and other times where balls were "helped" along with a foot.

After mini-golf, we attempted a giant wooden maze. Man-oh-man it was a smidge more complicated than I had anticipated.  We had to wander through the maze and find four hole punches to complete the quest... it took us 30 minutes to finish it... and we were tired and hot by the end.  However, the kids did win prizes, which were Put-in-Bay bracelets.

We were hot, hot, hot and needed air-conditioning.  Our last attraction stop was the butterfly garden, which Jude loved.  He was fascinated by the butterflies emerging from the cocoons.

Both boys liked walking through the plants trying to find the different insects.  One even found a little refuge on my hat.  We left the gardens with a poster picturing all the different butterflies, which Jude clutched the entire ride home.

We did stop at the beach for one last romp in the lake before cleaning up and heading back home on the ferry.  Both boys slept well after our excursion in the fresh air.
Fun times.
Awesome.
Can't wait to drag out the tent again :-)

Here's our last photo... It's a find the Tamlin photo :-)