Fair Time

We have had such a fun and busy week. I feel like I haven't been home at all in the last 3 days and Aaron's parents are coming to visit on Tuesday and I have done nothing, nothing, to prepare for their visit. But it was worth it to see my kids having so much fun this week.

We started off with the pet and doll parade on Thursday. Sullivan and Eleanor rode in the wagon and Penelope walked. I got Sullivan's little firefighter jacket at a garage sale that very same day. It worked perfectly with our firefighter hat.

 Eleanor didn't really care what she wore as long as it sparkled and was pretty.

 Penelope was a fairy princess who forgot her wings in the car. :)

On Thursday and Friday we went to the fair. Thursday we looked at all of the exhibits and animals and Friday we did rides. It was so hot that we brought spray bottles to keep the kids cool. We went with our good friends, the Young family, and so here is Sullivan with Silas. Spraying each other of course.

There was a little play area for small children that had musical instruments, bowling, soccer, drawing, ball pit, etc. I think we went back to this spot 3 times.

 Oh yes, snow cones were also a great way to stay cool. And as an added bonus they were so yummy!

Penelope couldn't get enough of riding rides. She and her friend, Kael, could have kept going all night long. Their favorite ride was the Tilt a Whirl.

 Eleanor and Kael.

Sullivan LOVED this ride. I took him off of the ride and he just cried and cried so the girl who was running the ride let him back on and he rode it 4 more times in succession before he was willing to get off. I think it must have been the steering wheel that he loved so much.

Saturday morning was the Fun Run. Penelope and I did the 1 mile in 7 minutes, 20 seconds. I am always amazed at Penelope's running. She just kept a nice, steady pace the whole time and didn't stop once. She and I both won in our age categories. I tried to get Eleanor to run but she just wouldn't. Her reason? She wanted to wear her pretty shoes. :)

 Penelope won sunglasses, a sports bag and a water bottle.

 Kael, Penelope, Eleanor and Silas after the race.

 Sullivan enjoying the apples that they had at the race.

After the run, we went to the parade. The kids had a great time seeing all of the participants but by far their favorite thing is the candy.

Aaron actually got to go with us to the parade. Here he is being his normal goofy self, carrying the chairs back to the car.

Deer, Oh Deer

We are all moved in to our new house. Oh believe me, there is still plenty to do. I have a total of 3 pictures on the walls and a lot of re-organizing to do but we are mostly unpacked. I blame my sister, Janet, who came to help for 3-4 hours the Saturday after we moved in. And I'll tell you, she kept me on my toes the entire time she was here. We unpacked the whole kitchen and laundry/craft room while she was here. Probably 50 boxes. She would unpack everything and put it on the counter and I would frantically shove things in cabinets, trying desperately to keep up. Still, it was nice to get everything in so quickly. So thanks, Janet.

This is such a fun property. I have had lots of friends comment that you feel like you are out in the woods. And it does feel like that but then you look out of the windows in the back and you can see the whole town. But it is also fun to see things like this little guy. He just sauntered up to the house and started munching on my flowers. That doesn't bother me so much but I now am convinced that we will need a fence around our vegetable garden.

The kids were sleeping when the first deer came into our yard and Penelope kept telling me that she wanted to see a deer. Well, she got her wish last night. This was a bigger buck and wasn't quite as brass as the other deer. He was still on our property but didn't come up to nibble my flowers.

 He looked right at me and so naturally I said "Hi deer." He didn't hang out much longer after that.

 I love living in a small town. We had a little street fair/art walk this weekend. They had a dunk booth, a train that gave rides up and down main street, pedal tractors, a bounce house, food vendors, art work and classic cars. Penelope was in heaven. Eleanor and Sullivan were feeling a little shy that day and stuck close to me but they still had a great time. Eleanor in particular liked the classic cars and pointed out the pink one every time we passed. All of the kids events were free and it was so much fun.

For the Love of Books

Sullivan loves books. In fact, "book" was one of his first words.

 He often asks me to read to him and when I am busy he just helps himself to the books. Which is just fine until you realize that to get to the books here in our rental he has to first. . .

 climb on to the top of the piano. (Cue running.)

He doesn't know anything is wrong with this picture. He just wanted the books. 

 Luckily, not all of his escipades end with my heart racing.

 Most of the time I just think, "oh what a cute little man."

Ingenuity

Tights! I would have never thought that tights would be fun to play with but apparently they are quite adaptable to any purpose. :)

Sneak Peek

First of all, today is our 13th wedding anniversary. Time flies.

Anyway, we found out this week that the renters are moving out so we can sign on the house June 28th. 2 months early! I am so excited. We went with the appraiser last week and took some pictures of our house. The pics are from Aaron's phone so not so great, but still it gives you a little sneak peek. The house was built in the late 80's, so we will have some updating to do but it is in such great condition and there is such limited housing here in Shelby that we just feel like we are so blessed to be buying it.

We are going to have lots of room for visitors. ;) It is 2480 sq. feet with a full finished basement, attached 2 car garage, a big shop that is right out of the laundry room door, 7 bedrooms, 3 1/2 baths, a wood stove in the basement and a wood fireplace upstairs. The house is on about 2 acres (13 city blocks) and has a gorgeous view. See, lots of room for visitors.

My least favorite part of the whole house is the kitchen. It is small compared to our last kitchens but it will work. For now. Oh yes, I have plans. Big plans.  

This is the laundry room. Half of it. This room is bigger than the kitchen. It has an island of all things. I can't even explain how excited I am about this room. The wall opposite the washer and dryer is a big closet and then on the right hand side there is a 1/2 bath and another small closet and a great place to put our freezer. I might just have to get up and dance a little jig before I can continue.

The living room upstairs.

 This is the other side of the living room.

 The other fireplace downstairs. It is huge and separates two big rooms. I'm thinking library and family room. Of course, there is a whole lot of updating to be done down there but I am so excited for projects!

This is the cold room in the basement. I know it doesn't look like much but this almost makes my heart skip a beat. I can just imagine putting all of my veggies from my garden in here. My grandparents used to have a cellar that they stored all of their produce from their garden in and I'm so excited to have my own.

Well, that's all I'm putting on here. The rest you'll just have to come and see for yourself. We'll be in the house by July 1st!