Amery Fall Festival

Amery, here we come!  Corey’s Dad, otherwise known as Papa, lives close to Amery, WI and they have a fun little gathering every September called the Amery Fall Festival (I know… catchy, right?)  We’ve made it 3 of the last 4 years and this year was no exception.  We got to hang out with Uncle Craig, Auntie Gretchen, Cousin EJ and Papa.

The day kicked off with the longest parade you’ve ever seen.  There were Queens, Princesses, and marching bands galore.  In fact, I think I saw the Queen of England float by at one point.  The boys didn’t seem all that interested in the parade this year – they were having more fun trying to climb the light post and picking stray candy out of the rocks nearby. 

After the parade, we ventured over to the carnival.  Not a big fan of carnival rides so we just played a few games.  The only success we had at the gams was this awesome video Uncle Craig happened to catch.  It's quick so watch it twice.  Focus on Jack and his serious competitive side first.  Then watch it again and focus on little Mosh. WATCH VIDEO He is a talented thief - but we hope he doesn't make a career out of it.  What a cute little stinker he is!

Off to the pony rides.  I had to turn a blind eye to my germaphobic tendancies as the boys were putting on their public helmets (I’ve been like a Mama monkey checking for lice since J. )  The boys fearlessly hopped on their full-grown, full-size horses – did I say “pony” earlier?  No ponies here.  In fact, Joshua had the biggest horse in the bunch – and the biggest smile I might add.  Thanks to Uncle Craig for being Mosh’s spotter. 

Time for lunch and a little down time before the big finale of the day – the Demolition Derby!  None of us had ever been to a derby before and what better place to take a braud of boys?!?  We were excited.  We hopped in the car and headed over to the Amery Airport, the site of the derby.  It was not cheap to enter and there was already a mess of people there the witness the event.  We got lucky and found a little nook on the bleachers that was up for the taking.  Corey had to run to the lue so I was in charge of the boys – alone – on bleachers – for a few minutes.  Jamison was hanging on me in the Baby Bjorn, Joshua kept falling off the bleacher bench and Jack was just taking it all in.  Finally, Daddy came back (thank God!) and we were off to the races.  Start your engines! 

The boys were in complete awe for 5 minutes watching all the crashing and chaos unfolding in front of them.  At minute 6, Jack asked if he could lay down on the bench and take a nap.  We knew at that point it was definitely time to pack up the troops and head out.  Besides, we really did not fit in there whatsoever.  Apparently, a twelve of Pabst beer, a pack of Marlboros, and a serious beer belly were required for admittance.  We missed that memo.  The derby seems a bit surreal looking back now – it was like this alternate universe we really don’t care to ever visit again.  What an experience!

Before the trek home to Minne, we stopped by Papa’s house to say Hi.  It was about 4:00pm by this time and the boys had entered a beyond-tired, CRAZY zone.  They were two little crazy men at Papa's getting into anything and everything they could get their hands on.  Defintiely time to go.  Dad had a peaceful drive  home as the rest of us drifted off to dreamland.  What a fun day! 

On a side note, flip back up through the picks and notice Joshua's lollipop in almost every picture.  He doesn't ever actually put his tongue to it, he just likes carrying it around like a security blanket.  It does go quite nicely with his stylish, throw-back to the 50's outfit. :)

All for now!  Thanks for sharing in our adventures!

Little Bruiser

Oops, he's done it again.  Our little accident prone Joshua has yet another wound.  Although he must be one of the clumsiest toddlers on Earth, or at least Minnesota, this new shiner was not caused by his own clumsy mishap.  Big brother had a part in it. 

I put them down for a nap on Sunday afternoon.  Usually, they are pretty good about going to sleep but on this day they were in the mood to be their mischievous selves.  I had to go in a couple of times to squash the giggling and bed jumping and remind them it was time to sleep.  Just as I thought success had been realized, I heard a cry coming from their room.  It wasn't a very intense cry so I thought the lamp was in Josh's bed, yet again.  As soon as I walked into the room Joshie immediately said "JAAACK DIIIDITT."  I knew at that point we were dealing with some kind of wound. 

The room was very dark (thanks to the miracle invention of room darkening shades) so I asked him where his owie was and he pointed to his left cheek, just below his eye.  I felt it and almost passed out.  It was a bump like you would see on a cartoon character - straight out almost like someone was poking their finger through his skin.  I asked Jack what happened and he said "I don't know... I was sleeping."  Mmmhhhmmm, right. 

I took Josh downstairs to ice while Dad went back upstairs to get the real story.  First it was the penguins hard glass eye and then it was a hanger.  We still don't know exactly what happened and never will but it's his first real shiner, not to be the last, so we had to share.  Would it be bad to wrap this kid up in bubble wrap and duct tape?

Great Minnesota..COLD..Get Together.

After much debate, we decided to venture out to the great Minnesota get together.  I love the fair but Corey isn't a huge fan - he toughs it out for the sake of the boys fun.  What a good Daddy!  Grandmama and Grandpa Bill were along for the ride and what troopers they were trapesing along with us.  We arrived at 10:00am and were there until 7:30pm!  9 1/2 hours with three boys under 5 and two grandparents (no offense ;). 

Time went surprisingly fast but we packed a lot into our fair-filled day!  We saw horses, the largest pig, sheep, and of course, cattle - little Mosh got a little too personal with a cow as the cow stood up from a lying position and put his rear end right in Joshie's face.  It was a little scary at the time but pretty funny looking back. 

Unfortunately, Josh is just a tad too small to partake in most of the activities so he just hung out in the King's stoller and took it all in while gobbling up mini-donuts, ice cream, and cheese curds (his favorite fair food.) 

Jack on the other hand, got to ride the go-carts with Mommy, the roller-coaster and hot air balloon with Grandma, bumper boats, giant slide, and bounced on the big trampoline. 

I realized just how patient he has become while waiting his turn on the mini-bungy and just how brave he has become as he was trying to do flips.  Such a cool kid! 

Besides waking up occassionally to eat and charm the pants off us, Jamison slept almost all day in his comfy little cove of a stroller.  It's a good thing too because it was so stinking COLD!  65 and windy all day.  It definitely felt colder than that but he was snug as a bug in his fully enclosed little castle. 

The highlight of the day for me was when Jack suddenly busted out into a dance to some music that was blaring near by.  We've seen him dance many, many times as that is a common occurence in our household, however, this was different.  He busted out some moves we had never seen before, quite talented moves I might add.  It was a cross between Michael Jackson and Tina Turner.  He wants to be a Doctor when he grows up but we think he should seriously consider show-business.

The boys were ANGELS all day despite no nap and we had a ball, but by the end of the day we were loaded to capacity and ready for some sleep.  The boys were out cold in T minus 5 seconds after getting loaded into the car.  Night, night sweet boys.  

Baby J is Baptized!

Baby Jamison was officially baptised on August 22nd at the famed Gethsemene Lutheran Church.  I call it famous because that is where a lot of our family history has taken place.  I love the way they do a baptism because it is not a cattle call of new babies.  Instead, they will only do one baby at a time and the pastor walks the babe up and down the aisle while the entire congregation sings a sweet song.  Gets me every time - such a sap!!!  

Jack even had an important role in the service.  Well, two actually.  He was in charge of dropping, not throwing, Jamison's little rock into the little fountain thing (I'm sure there must be a name for this "thing" but I have no idea what it is.)  He was also in charge of blowing out the baptismal candal.  He did fabulously!  Joshua, on the other hand, was a handful.  Dad and Uncle Colin worked up a sweat trying to control him in front of the entire congregation.  Finally, we had to hand him off to Papa.  Although mischievous, he, and Jack, could not have looked any cuter in their little suits.  So stinking cute! 

After the service, we had a small gathering at our house.  We enjoyed french toast casserole, ham, cake, and all the fixings.  And of course, I took the opportunity to have a little photo session.  Doesn't Jamison look afraid!?!

Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate - especially Jamison's new Godparents - Auntie Sheye and Uncle Colin.  It was a great day!

Who Stole the Cookie...

So... the other day I ran into the laundry room to quickly transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer. When I returned to the family room, Josh was mysteriously missing.  I knew he hadn't gone far because I could hear some little rumblings coming from the pantry.  No, it wasn't a mouse.  It was our sneaky, too smart for his own good, 2 year old.  Since Mommy was busy with laundry, he took the opportunity to help himself to a little "snack."  This is the sight I saw as I opened the pantry (yes, he even closed the door behind him.) 

He crawled up onto the double-decker wooden step-stool and helped himself to some cookies.  I said "Joshi, have you been into the cookies (notice the bag in the background?)" and he adamantly said "no, Mommy" while shaking his head back and forth.  It was one of those moments you shouldn't laugh but it was IMPOSSIBLE not to. 

As I reached in to pull him out of the closet, I noticed a bunch of cookie carcasses on the floor of the pantry.  From my best guesstimate, he managed to pull apart about 4 - 5 cookies, lick out the middle, and dispose of the shells in record breaking time.  He was so proud of his accomplishment! :)