State Fair and Other August Happenings

I don't feel too behind on my blogging...it's only the 3rd and I should finish my August postings-wohoo!!

We went to the Iowa State Fair on the most beautiful day. The weather was perfect and it wasn't too crowded at all. We enjoyed lots of lemonade, Jake enjoyed a pork chop on a stick and a GIANT turkey leg. I had a corndog, and usually have a funnel cake, but was too full by the time we were ready to go home. By the way, can you tell Isaac was a little tired by the end of the day? (see picture above...)

Our first stop was at the petting zoo-Isaac LOVES animals and was a fair-lover from the start. (This was actually his second time at the fair, but he was 4 months old last time and probably remembers...nothing). Notice the little cup I'm holding-we bought it full of food and towards the end I was feeding a goat and he stole the cup! It was stuck on its mouth like a muzzle. I bravely had to stick my hand way in the cage and take it off. I think the goat ended up eating part of the cup as well. Never a dull moment at the Iowa State Fair...

Another stop for our little animal lover were the animal barns. This little baby donkey was just lying there-it was SO cute!!! (Not cute enough to convert us to be Democrats) But cute nonetheless.

And last, but certainly not least...something you'd only see at the Iowa State Fair: McGruff demonstrating the many features of an Oreck vacuum cleaner.

One of Isaac's new favorite chew-toys is a toothbrush (I just get him the cheapies at Wal-Mart for $1.50 for two). He was playing with one in the car and fell asleep. (Jake was driving) I literally had to pry it out of his little hand!

I know I already posted about Nauvoo, but I found this picture today and couldn't NOT post it. We were at dinner in Nauvoo and Isaac just swiped this chicken leg right off my plate and started chomping away. Hungry? I think so....

One day when we were at my parents' my dad took Isaac outside to play. My mom was washing dishes and looked up to see the most beautiful sight in the world-my little Isaac!

Isaac always seems to be pretty interested in the bubbles left in the tub after I wash him up-so I decided to buy him some actual bubbles. He really wasn't all that impressed-I had to make him smile for the picture so it looked like he was having a grand ol' time. The cutest thing is that the bubbles are "Cars" bubbles and came in a bottle that looks like an oil bottle. You can see it fairly well in the picture. Maybe I need to add more next time-I did almost twice as much as the directions said the first time!!

Window Washing

A couple of weeks ago I finally finished cleaning my windows-inside and out (we also have storm windows on most...that makes like 8 sides if you count the top and bottom portions individually). I knew they were bad-especially the two in our dining room. However, I was AMAZED and how much sunnier our dining room became when I was finished. It was a little time consuming to wash the inside, open the window, open the storm window, close the regular window, go outside and clean the outside of the regular window, go inside...well, you get the idea. I did 5 windows like that and the other 6 weren't too bad. We need to get them "reglazed" (there's some sort of special caulking-like-stuff that goes around the seam between the glass and the frame). I haven't gotten any estimates on that, but we did get several estimates for new windows when we moved in. Those ranged between $6,000 and $18,000 (good 'ol Pella Windows). Needless to say, we will not be putting new windows in this house. Although you can see the difference in the two windows (left is before, right is after) the picture still doesn't do the whole effect justice.

TOFW

Hooray! I have been trying for the last couple of years to go to Time Out For Women, an event sponsored by Desert Book. I finally convinced most of the women in my family that it will be great fun-well, it really didn't take much convincing-I think they just needed someone to organize the whole thing. Now that I don't have a baby who needs me ever few hours to eat, I can go and enjoy the day and a half of upliftment (I know that's not a word) and some time with just the ladies in my family. I'm sure every presenter will be great, but I'm most looking forward to Mary Ellen Edmunds and Cherie Call. Look for pictures and an update the end of October. I'm so excited-I can't wait!!!

Smoothies

You may remember my efforts to get Isaac to eat yogurt from a previous post. Well, after the mess that caused, I thought I'd try a different approach (he still won't drink milk at all). I bought some yogurt smoothies and he LOVES them! He drinks one almost every morning for breakfast. He's certainly more like his dad when it comes to breakfast (Jake rarely eats anything unless he's been up for a few hours!) and is full after just a smoothie. They have a little foil top and I just poke a hole in it with a knife and he drinks away. It took a few days for him to master the method, but it works out great and I don't have to be so concerned about the lack of calcium intake.

Omaha Zoo

Last month Jake and I took Isaac to the zoo in Omaha. We went with his sisters and their kids and had a great time. The weather was perfect-cloudy and about 75°!! It was very busy, but worth the trip. Isaac loved the animals-especially the goats in the petting zoo. Our only disappointment was the food. We bought burgers there and they were not that great-just like the kind you'd get in an elementary school cafeteria. Ick! We've been to the zoo in Des Moines a few times, but this one is WAY bigger! Isaac was tuckered out by the end of the day and slept the whole way home (I enjoyed a few Zzz's myself while Jake drove!).

There was actually milk coming out of this cow! It was really a cool exhibit.

A few of the animals we saw-this monkey was hanging by its toes!

Picture on top left-end of the day (Isaac is getting a bit sleepy...)

Picture on top right-Isaac feeding his hand to the goat. This boy LOVES real animals!

Picture on bottom middle-Jake's attempt at getting Isaac to ride the goat...boys will boys I suppose.

No TV

On Monday our DishNetwork stopped working-it wasn't during a storm and it worked earlier in the day and when we got home-nothing. So Jake called and we were told someone would be out to look at it later in the week. (Jake even got the $30 call fee waived and they agreed to not charge us for our local channels for a year-$5 a month. Really that's only fair since we're not getting ABC right now anyways). Well, then they called and said it wouldn't be until the middle of September that someone could come out to fix it-not acceptable. Jake just cancelled our service (without penalty because we're on a month-to-month contract) and then called DirectTV. Supposedly we will have someone coming out (I think) on Monday to get us hooked up. We shall see what happens. It's been interesting not having TV all week-really a blessing in many ways.

Catching up...

I have been quite the slacker with this whole blogging business. I seem to go through phases like most people I guess. So here are a few things to catch up on.

A while ago Isaac was really wanting some riding toys (he told me so himself...). Well, being the frugal mama that I am I turned to trusty craigslist. I've never bought anything off of there before, but figured as long as I Cloroxed anything I bought it'd be fine. Well, I found a lady selling THREE riding toys for $8-TOTAL! Jake met her one day and just like that Isaac had what he'd been wanting (not that he'll always get what he wants this easily). Over the past month or so they've all gotten quite a bit of use. I also bought him a walker for $5!!! Though he never really figured out he can walk in it. Plus he's too close to walking to use that thing-he pushes his little shopping cart all over the house and is totally content making laps until he's tired. Lastly, I am in the process of buying him a Halloween costume (only 2 months aways, people!!!) for $4!!!! The identity of his costume will remain secret until closer to the holiday. So, over all, I'd recommend craigslist for whatever you're selling or buying. I certainly found some great bargains!!!