A Fun Fair Day

Tomorrow is the official last day of summer.

Bummer.

It has been a really nice, really pleasant summer any way you look at it.  I don't think we got over 100 degrees but once or twice this time around and we have been known to have several days, weeks even, in a row of fried eggs cooking on the sidewalk kind of weather around here.

But not this year and we have been loving it.

To me the State Fair always says fall but there was still plenty of sunshine and things to do, things to see and things to eat in a manner of speaking.  Not that we did any of that mind you.

So when it came, HT and I made a play date with friends and away we went.

We bought a wristband for the rides for the boys and it was totally worth it.  Us moms got to sit on a bench in the shade most of the time and talk about stuff and such while the boys rode every ride they could.

There was a vendor there selling crabs with painted shells, the boys each wanted one for a pet and were busy trying to decide which one to bring home.  We did not however bring one home, that's just the kind of mom I am.

There were even seals putting on a show and for twenty or more dollars you could get your picture taken with them.

Yeah, didn't do that either.

Nor did we bring home a piglet.

Or a fish.

And just in case you were wondering how my entry for the state fair quilt challenge did, I got a second place ribbon.  They said that the challenge fabric got a little lost, because the background fabric was a bit too busy.  I got nailed for what I thought I could get away with and they overlooked what I thought I couldn't.  Go figure.

And no, I did not sign up for next year.

It came, we went and now there is nothing left but empty exhibit halls, vendor booths and food stands, trampled grass and the lingering aroma of cattle gone home.

The boys can't wait to do it again next year!

First Day

HT started preschool last week.  He is happy to be back.  At least I think he's happy.  He went willingly and pretty much ignored me once he got into the classroom.  Didn't even bother to tell me goodbye.  He was too excited to see all his old friends from last year.  Thing is, I'm pretty sure they all went onto kindergarten and this year he is in the 3 day a week class rather than the 2 day a week class, so not sure he would have seen those who didn't anyway.  He was kinda disappointed.  He told me nobody would talk to him.  I asked him if that was because they were supposed to be listening to the teacher and not to him.  He grudgingly agreed.  He also thinks that as soon as he turns five he will be going on to kindergarten.  He's the tallest kid in his class again this year and I'm sure the most talkative.

When he got home the other day he told me he had made two new friends and he had invited one of them to come home with him, a sweet little girl with blonde hair and blue eyes.  He doesn't get that he can't just do that without getting her mothers approval or for that matter his own mothers.

Goodbye Summer

As I pondered the days shortening and the cooler temps I received an e-mail the other day from Amanda (aka Dumb Mom) about a photo contest featuring our best summer photo.  And I thought to myself, "Now this is something I could do."  After all I have taken a LOT of pictures this summer and some of them are pretty darn good, if I do say so myself (and I'm hoping you'll agree)!

I knew that one of the hardest tasks would be picking out a photo I thought was award worthy.  I picked this one for several reasons, the lighting, the subject and the feeling it evokes and besides it seems to fit with the theme of the contest.

So here's the deal I need your help, my chance of winning depends on how many comments I receive, so I'm asking, begging, pleading with you to please, pretty, pretty please with sugar on top to not leave this here blog without commenting.  Would ya, could ya help a girl out and leave me a comment, "please would ya, huh?"

I'd be very much obliged and you'd have my undying gratitude.

And if you'd like to join in there is plenty of time to do so, just click on over to Amanda's for the low down and official contest rules then link up a fabulous summer photo of your own.  Just so we're clear, read about the contest here and enter your photo here.

*Contest messaging: This photo is being entered in the Goodbye Summer, Hello Snapfish photo contest sponsored by Snapfish at parenting BY dummies.  If voted the best summer picture I will win a photo canvas and other prizes from Snapfish & pBd. http://bit.ly/pRciVU

Sweet!

Hello, my name is Mama . . . and I'm a sugaraholic.

It's not easy admitting that I am addicted to sugar.  Admitting you have a problem is the first step to recovery, right?  But if the stuff didn't taste so good we wouldn't eat it.

Or would we?

Hmmm.

It has been days, hours, okay minutes since my last fix.

But, let's not think about that right now, mmkay?

Yeah . . .

So when a dear friend asked if the boys and I wanted to join her on a tour of the Sweet's Candy factory, we said, "Yes, please."

The whole place smelled like chocolate and sugar, sweet delicious yummy sugar and chocolate.

Did I mention the chocolate?

Anyway . . .

On our little tour we got to see how they turn that wonderfully crystalized white confection into all sorts of delightful treats, like jelly beans and taffy and cinnamon bears and chocolate coated creations, like orange sticks and ones with nuts and caramel and nougat.  I didn't see any chocolate coated taffy or jelly beans but there were chocolate coated cinnamon bears.  Enough to send a diabetic into a sugar coma and/or make your dentist a rich man.  We got to watch pieces of peanut clusters get a chocolate bath and see large drums full of taffy being put into bins and taken to the next stage in the process.  They even gave us a little sample.  We then got to see the completed product whiz by on conveyor belts where they were cut up and wrapped then sent off to another conveyor belt to be packaged.  The kids were fascinated.  They make over 100 different varieties of jelly beans and taffy.  They wouldn't let us take our cameras into the factory so I wasn't able to get any pictures of the candy making process, but they do have an online tour here if you're interested.

HT told me he is going to be a candy maker when he grows up.  Apparently sugar trumps medicine, he no longer wants to be his pediatrician.

Bummer.

Aren't we fetching in our candy maker head gear.

HT decided he liked his so well he wanted to leave it on.

Our friend gave each of us two dollars to buy ourselves a treat.  It didn't take HT long to decide on what he wanted, but it cost more than $2, so we pooled resources and bought them to share.

EM was too busy trying to sample every piece of taffy he could get his hand on.

I have obviously passed my sugar loving ways onto my children, not so sure that's a good thing.

Hmmm . . .